Spring Symposium

The Spring Symposium is the annual highlight of the SPBS calendar and witnesses a gathering of Byzantinists from around the globe. These gatherings began, on a much more modest scale, in 1967 and have continued every year since, the only exception being 2006 when the XXIst International Congress of Byzantine Studies – held that year in London – took its place.

 

	Date	Theme	Location	Symposiarch(s)
55th	13 - 15 April 2024	Justice in Byzantium	Canterbury, University of Kent	Laura Franco and Anne Alwis
54th	17-19 March 2023	Material Religion in Byzantium and Beyond	University of Oxford, Corpus Christi College	Ine Jacobs, Jaś Elsner and Julia Smith
53rd	27-29 March 2021	Nature and the Environment	University of Birmingham	Leslie Brubaker and Daniel Reynolds
52nd	30 March-1 April 2019	Blood in Byzantium	University of Cambridge	Peter Sarris
51st	13-15 April 2018	The Post-1204 Byzantine World: New Approaches and Novel Directions	University of Edinburgh	Niels Gaul
50th	25-27 March 2017	Global Byzantium	University of Birmingham	Leslie Brubaker, Daniel Reynolds and Rebecca Darley
49th	18-20 March 2016	Inscribing Texts in Byzantium: continuities and transformations	University of Oxford	Marc Lauxtermann and Ida Toth
48th	28-30 March 2015	Whose Mediterranean is it anyway? Cross-cultural interaction between Byzantium and the West 1204–1669	Open University, Milton Keynes	Angeliki Lymberopoulou
47th	25-27 April 2014	The Emperor in the Byzantine World	University of Cardiff	Shaun Tougher
46th	23-25 March 2013	Byzantine Greece: Microcosm of Empire?	University of Birmingham	Archie Dunn
45th	24-26 March 2012	Being in Between: Byzantium in the Eleventh Century	University of Oxford	Marc D. Lauxtermann and Mark Whittow
44th	8-11 April 2011	Experiencing Byzantium	University of Newcastle	Claire Nesbitt and Mark Jackson
43rd	27-29 March 2010	Byzantium behind the Scenes: Power and Subversion	University of Birmingham	Dimiter Angelov and Michael Saxby
42nd	20-22 March 2009	‘Wonderful Things’: Byzantium through its Art	Courtauld Institute of Art	Antony Eastmond and Liz James
41st	4-6 April 2008	The Archaeologies of Byzantium	University of Edinburgh	Jim Crow
40th	13-16 April 2007	Byzantine History as Literature	University of Birmingham	Ruth Macrides
39th	2-4 April 2005	Performance Indicators	Queen’s University, Belfast	Margaret Mullett
38th	March 2004	Byzantine Trade 4th-12th Centuries	University of Oxford	Marlia Mundell Mango
37th	29-31 March 2003	Eat Drink and be Merry (Luke 12:19): Food and Wine in Byzantium	University of Birmingham	Leslie Brubaker and Kallirroe Linardou
36th	23-25 March 2002	Was Byzantium Orthodox?	University of Durham	Andrew Louth and Augustine Casiday
35th	March 2001	Rhetoric in Byzantium	University of Oxford	Elizabeth Jeffreys
34th	1-4 April 2000	Travel in the Byzantine World	University of Birmingham	Ruth Macrides
33rd	27-29 March 1999	Eastern Approaches to Byzantium	University of Warwick	Antony Eastmond
32nd	March 1998	Strangers to Themselves: the Byzantine Outsider	University of Sussex	Dion C. Smythe
31st	March 1997	Desire and Denial in Byzantium	University of Sussex	Liz James
30th	23-26 March 1996	Byzantine in the Ninth Century: Dead or alive?	University of Birmingham	Leslie Brubaker
29th	March 1995	Through the Looking Glass: Byzantium through British Eyes	University of London	Robin Cormack and Elizabeth Jeffreys
28th	26-29 March 1994	Mount Athos and Byzantine Monasticism	University of Birmingham	Anthony Bryer and Mary Cunningham
27th	April 1993	Constantinople and its Hinterland	University of Oxford	Cyril Mango and Geoffrey Greatrex
26th	1992	New Constantines: the rhythm of Imperial Renewal in Byzantium, 4th-13th centuries	University of St Andrews	Paul Magdalino
25th	25-28 March 1991	The Sweet land of Cyprus	University of Birmingham	A.A.M. Bryer and G.S. Georghallides
24th	March 1990	Byzantine Diplomacy	University of Cambridge	Jonathan Shepard and Simon Franklin
23rd	18-21 March 1989	Salonica, the second city	University of Birmingham
22nd	1988	Latins and Greeks in the Aegean World after 1204	University of Nottingham	Benjamin Arbel, Bernard Hamilton, David Jacoby
21st	1987	The Byzantine Eye: Word and Perception	University of Birmingham
20th	1986	Church and People in Byzantium	University of Manchester	Rosemary Morris
19th	March 1985	Manzikert to Lepanto: The Byzantine world and the Turks 1071-1571	University of Birmingham	Anthony Bryer and Michael Ursinus
18th	30 April-1 May 1984	Byzantium and the West c.850–c.1200	University of Oxford	James D. Howard-Johnston
17th	March 1983	Life and Death in Byzantium	University of Birmingham
16th	1982	The Byzantine Aristocracy	University of Birmingham	Michael Angold
15th	1981	Byzantium and the Slavs	University of Birmingham
14th	1980	The Byzantine Saint	University of Birmingham	Sergei Hackel
13th	1979	Byzantium and the Classical Tradition	University of Birmingham	Margaret Mullett and Roger Scott
12th	18-20 March 1978	The Byzantine Black Sea	University of Birmingham	Anthony Bryer
11th	19-22 March 1977	The Two Shining Lights: Islam and Christendom: Empire, Caliphate and Crusades	University of Birmingham
10th	20-22 March 1976	The Byzantine Underworld: Heroic Poetry and Popular Tradition	University of Birmingham
9th	22-24 March 1975	Iconoclasm	University of Birmingham
8th	1974	Byzantine Society and Economy	University of Birmingham	Anthony Bryer and Judith Herrin
7th	1973	Byzantine Literature and Art	University of Birmingham
6th	1972	Byzantium and the East	University of Birmingham
5th	1971	Asceticism in the Early Byzantine World	University of Birmingham
4th	1970	The Roman Empire in the East: Constantine to Justinian	University of Birmingham
3rd	1969	The Tourkokratia	University of Birmingham
2nd	1968	Byzantium 976–1261	University of Birmingham
1st	1967	Byzantium and Europe	University of Birmingham