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Downside Abbey 27th – 29th October 2016 www.benedictinecultures.co.uk/This 3-day interdisciplinary  conference  at  Downside Abbey,  27th – 29th October 2016 , is part  of  the Heritage Lottery funded 'Beacon of Learning' project which marked the dawn of wider access to their internationally important collections. The project has marked an exciting chapter in the history of Downside Abbey.  As the largest monastic library in Britain, we preserve a collection of books, medieval manuscripts and archive material, collected during the past 400 years. With over 450,000 books, periodicals and papers dating back to the ninth-century, the collection is of both national   and international importance. The library houses unique collections, amongst them those on sundials, ornithology, local history, and of recusant first editions. It is also the archival repository of the English Benedictine Congregation, and has archival material dating back to the eleventh century.Call for PapersBenedictines carry on a monastic tradition that stems from the origins of the Christian monastic movement in the late third century, regarding Benedict as their founder and guide even though he did not establish a Benedictine Order as such. He wrote a Rule for his monastery at Monte Cassino in Italy and he foresaw that it could be used elsewhere. The Rule found its way to monasteries in England, Gaul, and elsewhere. At ﬁrst it was one of a number of rules accepted by a particular monastery but later, especially through its promotion by Charlemagne and his son Louis, it became the rule of choice for both male and female monasteries of Europe from the ninth century onwards.This interdisciplinary conference will examine all aspects of Benedictine life in the period 800 – 1900 and welcomes papers from researchers in ﬁelds including History, Literary Studies, Theology, Philosophy, Musicology and Art History. Proposals (c. 200 words) for papers of 20 minutes should be emailed to sparsons@downside.co.uk by 29th July, 2016. Panel proposals consisting of three speakers are also encouraged, as are papers from postgraduates.http://www.benedictinecultures.co.uk/call-for-papers.htmlvia https://twitter.com/drsimon_johnson/status/753145754689077249