Reading the signs: the meanings of medieval and Renaissance objects, symbols, and tokens

in memory of art historian and Kellogg Fellow, Dr Cathy Oakes

Signs and symbols have been used throughout human history to record deeds, to project identity, and to convey messages over time and place. Their specific forms and meanings depend, however, on the society and culture in which they operate. Oxford Festival of the Arts is delighted to join Kellogg College and Oxford Lifelong Learning in presenting this interdisciplinary conference offering fresh perspectives on the signs and symbols used by medieval and Renaissance people. It is inspired by the work of the late Dr Cathy Oakes, FSA, and Kellogg Fellow and art historian. Cathy’s research interests were wide ranging, but she is particularly well known for her study of iconography in images of the Virgin Mary in medieval art and architecture. As her work showed, it is critical to appreciate the context in which signs and symbols were used so as to understand what they meant to those who made, saw (and heard) them.

At a time in our history when few people could read or write, when most communication was by word of mouth, when heads of state and others in authority had to project their power and influence over long distances, and when people had to trust to their powers of memory and their senses, the use of visual and oral signs, physical gestures, and material tokens was of special importance. Signs and symbols permeated all aspects of life, from religious devotion and liturgical practice to politics, personal relationships, trade and commerce, and the law. Extraordinary weather events were seen as portents; great decisions were guided by the movements of the stars. This day conference will offer ways of seeing the signs and symbols which were ubiquitous in our medieval and early modern past.

This is an academic conference in memory of a much loved and missed friend and inspiration, mentor, colleague, and respected art historian, Dr Cathy Oakes.

Chair & Convenor: Professor Elizabeth Gemmill
Co-convenor: Dr Michelle Castelletti
Conference organisation: Kellogg College Oxford & Oxford Festival of the Arts
Conference Secretary: Craig Paterson
Festival Administrator: Milica Tičerić

DAY TICKET (including all refreshments £30) *
Supported by Kellogg College Oxford, and the Oxford Festival of the Arts

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE:

9.30am – 9.55am               Registration & Coffee
10am                          ‎               Welcome/Introduction

SESSION 1

10.10am – 11am                  KEYNOTE SPEAKER 1: Professor Elizabeth Gemmill, Professor Emerita in Medieval
‎                                                        Economic and Social History; Fellow Emerita of Kellogg College Oxford
                                                       Proclamation, Authentication, Degradation: signs and symbols in late medieval Scotland

11.05am – 11.20am           TEA/COFFEE & BISCUITS

11.25am – 11.45am            Paper 1: Carolin Victoria König
                                                        Between enclosure and liberation: Deciphering the mythological scenes of Correggio fresco´s at the monastery San Paolo

11.50am – 12.10pm            Paper 2: Mariona Ponce Bochaca
 The Virgin-Pearl: Iconography, Devotion, and Political Meanings in the Chequers Ring

12.15pm – 12.25pm            Questions/discussion

12.30pm – 1.15pm              LUNCH BREAK (Hot fork buffet, including three options, and dessert) **

SESSION 2

1.20pm                                      Introduction 2

1.30pm – 2.20pm                KEYNOTE SPEAKER 2: Dr Christine Jackson, Fellow Emerita of Kellogg College Oxford
                                                      Curating courtly and intellectual image and reputation in early Stuart Britain: an introduction to the art of self-presentation in the life and works of Edward, Lord Herbert of Cherbury (1582-1648)

2.25pm – 2.45pm                Paper 3: Dr Steve Kershaw
                                                      The allegory of Kairos in the relief in the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, Torcello, Venice

2.50pm – 3.10pm                Paper 4: Craig Paterson
‘                                                     Tokens speak’: Objects, proof, and persuasion on Shakespeare’s stage

3.15pm – 3.25pm                Questions/discussion

3.30pm – 3.45pm               TEA/COFFEE & PASTRIES

SESSION 3

3.50pm                                    Introduction 3

4pm – 4.25pm                     Paper 5: Dr Michelle Castelletti
(including questions)

4.30pm – 5.20pm              KEYNOTE SPEAKER 3: Dr Lynn Robson, Fellow Emerita of Regent’s Park College Oxford
                                                     Ladies of Wool: Hilary Mantel and tapestries of Queen Esther and the Queen of Sheba 

5.25pm – 5.35pm               Closing remarks

5.40pm – 6.30pm               Wine/Champagne Reception

** Current Menu:
Preserved Lemon, Roasted Vegetable and Chickpea Tagine (Ve)
Sriracha Honey Chicken with Spring Onions and Sesame
Mediterranean Fish Stew with Sultanas, Capers and Gremolata
—
Fresh fruit platter (Ve)
Home-baked Scones with Jam and Clotted Cream (V)

* if anyone has any dietary requirements, please e-mail these to Milica Tičerić mticeric@mcsoxford.org by May 1, 2026.

Image: The Virgin Mary. Wall painting on the East splay of the Annunciation window (north wall) in the Chancel of the Church of St Mary the Virgin, Chalgrove, Oxfordshire. Photo by Dr Michelle Castelletti.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER ABSTRACTS

Professor Elizabeth Gemmill
Proclamation, Authentication, Degradation: signs and symbols in late medieval Scotland

This paper looks at how quite ordinary people in late medieval Scotland (and not just persons of wealth and influence) needed to use and understand signs and symbols in their daily lives and work. Marks and tokens were used to authenticate deeds, to guarantee the quality of craftsmanship, to attest to the ownership of commodities traded overseas, to advertise goods for sale, to proclaim citizenship, and to warn against imminent dangers such as plague, war, or deceitful traders. Symbolic actions underpinned the operation of the law and shamed those who broke it. But if signs and symbols had such salience it matters to know how their use (or abuse) was controlled, by whom and to what purpose, and what this might tell us about the operation of power.

Dr Christine Jackson
Curating courtly and intellectual image and reputation in early Stuart Britain: an introduction to the art of self-presentation in the life and works of Edward, Lord Herbert of Cherbury (1582-1648)

Lionised by his admirers as the embodiment of knightly chivalry and noble learning, and castigated by his detractors as a duellist, intellectual dilettante and deist, Lord Herbert of Cherbury was a colourful seventeenth-century nobleman who enthusiastically pursued overlapping careers as a county governor, courtier, soldier, ambassador and published scholar. From his pious teenage years at Oxford to his controversial deathbed in London, he was driven by upbringing, temperament, ambition and political rivalry to pay careful attention to the fashioning and reception of his image and reputation as he negotiated the opportunities and challenges life offered him. This paper will explore how Lord Herbert consciously martialled material objects and visual display to shape and enhance his self-presentation.

Dr Lynn Robson
Ladies of Wool: Hilary Mantel and tapestries of Queen Esther and the Queen of Sheba 

In her Wolf Hall trilogy of novels, Hilary Mantel uses tapestry depictions of two biblical queens – Queen Esther and the Queen of Sheba – to weave together imaginative fiction and historical authenticity. This lecture will explore the role of woven objects in Mantel’s creation of her fictionalised Tudor world and consider the significance of the act of seeing/gazing to the interpretation of literary texts, works of art, and the art of research.