Mathilde Alain
'The Christian kingdom of Ethiopia in the travel diary of Francisco Álvares (1520-1526)'
I am a second year PhD candidate in Cotutelle between the Centre for the Study of the Renaissance at Warwick and the Centre d’Études Supérieures de la Renaissance at Tours, co-supervised by Natalya Din-KariukiLink opens in a new window, Nathalie BoulouxLink opens in a new window and Paul BotleyLink opens in a new window.
My doctoral project, 'The Christian kingdom of Ethiopia in the travel diary of Francisco Álvares (1520-1526)', funded by the Chancellor's International Scholarship, aims to provide a critical edition of Alvares' travel diary and a detailed analysis of the text. In order to achieve that I study the text's transmission, a central question as the original manuscript – presumably Portuguese – has been lost.
I am interested in Ethiopian history as well as in the history of travel and in travel writing literature, connected and global history.
I have recently been awarded with the Society for Renaissance Studies/British School of Rome scholarship to stay at the British School of Rome (April-June 2023). This award enables me to study Álvares' Italian manuscripts.
Contact
Email: mathilde.alain@warwick.ac.uk
Publications
- 'The travel account of Francisco Álvares: Ethiopian-European relations in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth century' (Global history and culture centre in Warwick blog post)
- Noter, classer, utiliser : les carnets de voyage d'Antoine d'Abbadie en ÉthiopieLink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window, Sources. Material & Fieldwork in African Studies 3, 2021.
- Anaïs Wion, Vanessa Desclaux, Mathilde Alain, 'Les carnets d'Ethiopie d'Antoine d'Abbadie', Chroniques de la Bibliothèque Nationale de France, 2021, 92, pp.42-43.
- Les trois journaux de voyage d'Antoine d'Abbadie : la première strate d'une longue activité scientifiqueLink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window (Transcrire les carnets d’Antoine d’Abbadie #2), Carnets d'Afriques, 2021 (blog post)
Conferences and seminars
- Conference: 'L'empire des sens. Vers un paysage sensoriel à la Renaissance' (1-2 June 2023, Centre d'Etudes Supérieures de la Renaissance, Tours), paper title: 'Une expérience sensorielle de l'Ethiopie chrétienne au XVIe siècle : le récit de voyage de Francisco Alvares'
- Conference: 'Ethiopians abroad in the Middle Ages' (23-26 May 2023, Ecole française de Rome), paper title: 'Este frade andara em Itália e sabia algum tanto de latim: Ethiopians abroad and Francisco Álvares’ travel account'
- Seminar: 'Transcribing and editing the notebooks of Antoine d'Abbadie (1837-1848): the use of Digital Humanities' with Vanessa Desclaux and Anaïs Wion (11 November 2022, Department of Computer Sciences, University of Addis Ababa)
- Seminar: 'Transcrire les carnets d'Antoine d'Abbadie (1837-1848)' with Vanessa Desclaux and Anaïs Wion (11 November 2022, Lycée Guebré Mariam, Addis Ababa)
- Seminar: 'Transcribing the notebooks of Antoine d'Abbadie (1837-1848): at the crossroads of scientific, technical and ethical issues' with Vanessa Desclaux and Anaïs Wion (3 November 2022, Centre Français des Etudes Ethiopiennes, Addis Ababa)
- Workshop: 'Penser et écrire une histoire des connexions entre les royaumes chrétiens d'Ethiopie et de Kongo et la Méditerranée médiévale et moderne' for the project ETHIOKONGMED (11-12-13 July 2022, Ecole française de Rome), paper title: 'Une ambassade portugaise à la cour du souverain éthiopien : le récit de Francisco Álvares (1520-1526)'
- 64th International Conference in Humanistic Studies: Music in Africa and its Diffusion in the Early Modern World (1300-1650), paper title: 'Le paysage musical et sonore au royaume Chrétien d’Éthiopie dans le récit de voyage de Francisco Álvares (1520-1526)' (Centre d'Etudes Supérieures de la Renaissance, Tours, 27 June- 1 July 2022)
- Study day: 'Identity, culture and language in the pre-modern world (c. 500-1700): interactions and exchanges' - CMRC Study day - , paper title: 'A Portuguese embassy at the royal court of Ethiopia: the travel account of Francisco Alvares (1520)', (31 May 2022, University of Southampton)
- Warwick PG Conference, Department of History - paper title: 'A Portuguese embassy at the royal court of Ethiopia: the travel account of Francisco Alvares (1520)' ( 27 May 2022)
- Workshop: "Arts, christianisme et pouvoirs en contact Éthiopie, Kongo et mondes méditerranéens, XIVe - XVIIe siècles" , paper title: "Un aperçu de la musique et de l'architecture au royaume chrétien d'Éthiopie dans le récit de voyage de Francisco Alvares (1520-1526)", (11 February, Grenoble)
- Co-organisation of a workshop with Vanessa Desclaux & Anaïs Wion: "1er transcrithon des carnets scientifiques d’Antoine d’Abbadie en Éthiopie (1840-1852)Link opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window" (July 7 2021, Campus Condorcet); paper title: 'Les carnets d'Antoine d'Abbadie'
Education and Professional Development
2020-2021: research assistant at the French National Library (Paris) for a research project about the notebooks of Antoine d’Abbadie who travelled to Ethiopia (1838-1848), with Vanessa Desclaux & Anaïs Wion (a presentation of the project in FrenchLink opens in a new window)
2018-2020: MA in History (Renaissance Studies), Centre d’Études Supérieures de la Renaissance (Tours)
2019-2020: Erasmus at the University of Coimbra (Portugal)
2015-2018: Bachelor in History, University of Tours (France)
2017-2018: Erasmus year at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (Trondheim, Norway)
Teaching
- 2023: Seminar Tutor for the class 'Geographical Discoveries' with Natalya Din-Kariuki, part of the module for second and third year undergraduates: 'Renaissance Europe II: Movement, Revolution, and Conflict' (term 2, 2h) - University of Warwick.
- 2022: Chargée de Travaux Dirigés (seminar tutor) in History for second-year undergraduates: 'Transferts culturels XII-XVe siècles' ('Cultural transfers 12-15th centuries') (term 1,18h) - University of Tours.
- 2022: Chargée de Travaux Dirigés (seminar tutor) in History for first-year undergraduates: 'Techniques documentaires' (methodology classes to search primary and secondary sources) (term 1,18h) - University of Tours.
Other activities
- Co-organizer of the CSR's reading group about Montaigne's Essays with Iván Parga Ornelas (2022-2023)
- Member of the Work in Progress committee, organized by the History Department of Warwick (2022/2023)
- Team member of the project 'Mss Abbadie' co-led by Anaïs Wion (CNRS) and Vanessa Desclaux (BnF)
- Vice-secretary of the ADCESR (Association of the PhD Students of the CESR, Tours) (2022-2023)
- SSLC representative for the PGR students for the CSR (2023)
- Member of the Hakluyt Society