Introduction

C. Stephen Jaeger, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

"The State of Medieval Studies" was the slightly overconfident title of a conference held at the University of Illinois, Urbana, in late 2003. In that title "state of the union" met "state of the art" (the latter the name of a program that funds "cutting-edge" conferences—more hubris—in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Urbana). Fourteen speakers were asked to deliver papers that survey their fields or disciplines. The question put to them was, "What are the most significant projects, questions, methodologies, areas of study, trends currently of interest in your discipline, and what are your views on future directions in medieval studies?" The participants were all in a position to answer that question, either because they directed programs, institutes, or funding agencies that put them broadly in touch with current work through applications or because of their recognized mastery and distinction in their own field—or both. Many resisted the call to prophecy, but all of them produced surveys of their discipline that are deeply informing.