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TÁMOP-4.2.2/B-10/1-2010-0014

DAVID IN CULTURAL MEMORY

Pázmány Péter Catholic University, Faculty of Humanities

Doctoral School in History

Piliscsaba campus, 9-10 October, 2013

Historical books of the Bible represent the figures of Saul, David, and Solomonas kings, David indeed being portrayed as the model founder of a dynasty. The regrettable lack of evidence resulting from sources unattached to the biblical text makes it impossible to complete the work of an authentical reconstruction of the historical reality behind these figures. Considering these traverses, the object of our conference is not to give a political reading to the biblical sources but rather to interprete the images of David in written and iconographic traditions – David’s figure,as it is framed in the deuteronomic historiography, and in the memory of the Chronicles, papers exposing the intentions, purposes, and methods of the redactors of these texts as well as revealing their use of patents and schemas of ancient Near Eastern literature, topoi, genres, and other literary models. Another theme to deal with is the figure of David in postbiblical literature as well as in late antique and medieval Jewish and Christian sources, the role of the Davidic figure as a model for kings of the posterity.

Biblical psalms are also acquainted with David’s name, some of the compositions being credited with David as their author, and episodes of the Davidic career being referred to as model situation for the composition. Postbiblical memory had retained the memory of the psalmist David, and even vested his figure with a magical authority. References to psalms and to David’s name in compositions written with magical, apotropaicpurpose, and examples of David being represented as Orpheus on mosaics from the late antiquity give further evidence to a tradition related with David as a magical figure.

Papers on David in cultural memory are welcomed. Please send an abstract of max. 250 words with your proposal to:

Prof. Ida Fröhlich

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Pázmány Péter Katolikus Egyetem
1088 Budapest, Szentkirályi u. 28.

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