LINDA MARIE ZAERR
Department of English
Boise State University
Boise, ID 83725
Office phone: (208) 426-1213
Home phone: (208) 384-5801
FAX: (208) 426-4373
E-Mail: lzaerr@boisestate.edu

EDUCATION

PhD in English
University of Washington -- 1986 -- Seattle, Washington
Dissertation: "The Dynamics of Sloth: Fin Amour and Divine Mercy in John Gower's Confessio Amantis."  Director: Míceàl Vaughan

MA in Medieval Studies (interdisciplinary)
University of York -- 1982 -- York, England
Dissertation: "Attitudes to Children in Late Medieval English Literature."   Supervisor: Derek Pearsall

BA in English
Willamette University -- 1980 Magna cum laude -- Salem, Oregon

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

8/98-present Boise State University Professor
8/92-6/98 Boise State University Associate Professor
8/87-6/92 Boise State University Assistant Professor
9/86-6/87 University of Washington Acting Instructor
1/85-6/86 University of Washington Predoc. Teaching Assoc.
9/82-12/84 University of Washington Teaching Assistant

Courses taught:

Graduate

Interdisciplinary Medieval Studies
Pearl-Poet
Middle English Romances

Upper Division

Chaucer
Medieval Narrative
Medieval Drama
Medieval Women Writers
Medieval Arthurian Literature
Medieval Tales of War and Love (in Avignon)

Sophomore

Introduction to the Humanities (one-year sequence)
Western World Literature
Introduction to Literary Studies
Legends of King Arthur (radio course)
Performance through the Ages (in London)
Travelers’ Tales (in Avignon)
Introduction to Medieval Literature
British Renaissance Prose and Poetry
Humanities for Elementary Education Majors
Greek and Roman Classics
Reading Drama
Children's Literature
Reading Fiction

Freshman

Authority and the Individual
Expository Writing
Writing about Literature

Studies abroad programs:

Northwest Intercollegiate Consortium for Studies Abroad. Northwest Faculty in Avignon Fall 1994.

Northwest Intercollegiate Consortium for Studies Abroad. Northwest Faculty in London Spring 1990.

LANGUAGES

Old and Middle English
French
Latin
German (reading)
Greek (one year)

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

Articles:

"Just Axe Me" [under construction]

“The Weddynge of Sir Gawen and Dame Ragnell: Performance and Intertextuality in Middle English Popular Romance.” Performing Medieval Narrative. Ed. Evelyn Birge Vitz and Nancy Regalado. Boydell and Brewer, 2005.

“Music and Magic in Le Bel Inconnu and Lybeaus Desconus.” Medieval Forum 4. December 2004. <http://www.sfsu.edu/~medieval/Volume4/Zaerr.html>.

"Medieval and Modern Deletions of Repugnant Passages in Medieval Texts."   In Improvisation in the Arts.  Ed. Timothy McGee.  Kalamazoo: Medieval Institute Publications, 2003.  222-46.

"Meter Change as a Relic of Performance in the Middle English Romance Sir Beves." Quidditas 21 (2000): 105-126.

"A Nonsynchronous Model for the Performance of theMiddle English Tail-Rhyme Stanza with Vielle." Versification: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Literary Prosody 2.1. 29 May 1998. <http://sizcol.u-shizuoka-ken.ac.jp/versif/NonsynchModel.html>.

"Fiddling with the Middle English Romance: Using Performance to Reconstruct the Past." Mediaevalia 21 (1996): 47-66.

"Mystical Meaning: The Bell Founder’s Window at York Minster." Studia Mystica 16 (1995): 52-71.

"Cil d'aval et cil d'amont: Borderlands and the Woman Jogleor in Aucassin et Nicolette." Text and Performance Quarterly 14 (1993): 1-11.

"Transmission by Memory: Vows in The Tournament of Tottenham." Joint article with Mary Ellen Ryder, linguist. Mosaic 26 (1993): 21-35.

"Jerome of Moravia's First Fiddle Tuning as an Individualized Modal Framework." Fellowship of Makers and Restorers of Historical Instruments Quarterly (Oxford) 67 (April 1992): 36-38.

"Sir Launfal: Performance as Interpretation of Late Medieval English Romance." Lesarten: New Methodologies and Old Texts (Méthodologies nouvelles et textes anciens). Ed. Alexander Schwarz. Bern, Frankfurt am Main, New York, Paris: Peter Lang, 1990. 141-52.

"The Tournament of Tottenham: Music as Enhancement of the Prosody." Joint article with Joseph Baldassarre, musicologist. Fifteenth-Century Studies 16 (1990): 239-52.

"Duke or Duck: Reading the Stories in John Gower's Confessio Amantis." Willamette Journal of the Liberal Arts 4.1 (1989): 1-9.

"Harp in the Hall: Performance as an Aid to Teaching Romance Literature." Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Teaching 16.1 (1989): 6-7.

"New Channels in Education: Interactive Television." Arts and Sciences Newsletter 2.1 (1988): 6.

Review Essays:

"Medieval Werewolves and What they Wear." Joint article with Stan Steiner, Elementary Education. Book Links 4 (November 1994):11-15.

"Playing God: Authenticity in Fifteenth-Century English Drama." Rocky Mountain Review 44.1-2 (1990): 83-90.

DVD and VHS Recordings:

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. DVD. A forty-five-minute performance of Middle English excerpts. ISBN 0-8425-2535-1.  TEAMS and the Chaucer Studio, 2002.

The Weddynge of Sir Gawen and Dame Ragnell.  VHS. The complete text in Middle English. ISBN 0-8425-2458-4. TEAMS and the Chaucer Studio, December 1999.

Audio Recordings:

The Grafted Tree. Compact disk. Psallite. Rosewood Music, RM 1400, 1997.

Three Medieval Romances. Audiotape. The Quill Consort. Silver Quill, SQ 3341, 1992.

The Dark Quill. Audiotape. The Quill Consort. Silver Quill, SQ 0213, 1992.

Music and Medieval Romance: A Possible Performance of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Audiotape. Linda Marie Zaerr, narrator and vielle player. The Chaucer Studio, 1990.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Audiotape (two cassettes). Music by The Quill Consort. The Chaucer Studio, 1990.

Tales and Music of the Middle Ages. Audiotape. The Quill Consort. Ars Noel, NSP 1010, 1989.

An Introduction to Medieval Music. Audiotape. The Quill Consort. Ars Noel, NSP 1009, 1989. Republished by The Chaucer Studio, 1990.

The Harper in the Hall: Medieval Tales Retold. Audiotape. Psallite, PS 3182, 1988.

Translations:

Text translations from medieval Latin and French for Zaerr, Laura. Aires of Olde: A Collection of Medieval Tunes. Edmonds, Washington: Paradise Music, 1989.

Reviews:

Rev. of Women and Arthurian Literature: Seizing the Sword, by Marion Wynn-Davies. Rocky Mountain Review.

Rev. of The Arthurian Yearbook II and III, ed. Keith Busby. Encomia: Bibliographical Bulletin of the International Courtly Literature Society 16 (1994): 23-25.

Rev. of Memorization in the Transmission of the Middle English Romances, by Murray McGillivray. Encomia: Bibliographical Bulletin of the International Courtly Literature Society 14 (1992): 11-14.

Rev. of Chaucer and Langland: Historical and Textual Approaches, by George Kane. Rocky Mountain Review 43 (1989): 249-50.

Paper presentations at professional meetings:

“How the Axe Falls: A Retrospective on Twenty-Five Years of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Performance.” Annual Meeting of the Medieval Association of the Pacific. Portland State University, Portland, Oregon, 28-29 March 2003.

““Performing Medieval Romance: Chrétien de Troyes.” Forty-minute session with Evelyn Birge Vitz. Twentieth International Arthurian Congress. University of Wales, Bangor, 21-26 July 2002.

“ReVIEWing Medieval Literature: Experiments in Performance.” One-hour session with Evelyn Birge Vitz. Conference on Medieval Performativity. University of California, Berkeley, 10-11 May 2002.

“Performing the Animals in William and the Werewolf.” Annual Meeting of the Medieval Association of the Pacific. San Diego, California, 22-23 March 2002.

"Various Lenses for Medieval Spectacles.”  Plenary session with Evelyn Birge Vitz.  Public Performance/Public Ritual: The Seventeenth Barnard Medieval and Renaissance Conference.  Barnard College, New York, 2 December 2000.

"Music and Magic in Sir Orfeoand Lybeaus Desconus." Annual Meeting of the Medieval Association of the Pacific. Victoria, British Columbia, 25-27 February 2000.

"A Modern Deletion from a Medieval Text: the 'He Said/She Said' Section of The Weddynge of Sir Gawen and Dame Ragnell." Ninth Triennial Congress of the International Courtly Literature Society. University of British Columbia, Vancouver, 25-31 July 1998.

"The Prehensile Tail and the Powerful Princess: Relics of Performance in Sir Bevis." Thirty-First Annual Conference of the Medieval Association of the Pacific. Honolulu, Hawaii, 14-16 March 1997.

"For I Haf Sen a Selly: Pageantry as a Pedagogical Tool." Assisted by Katharsis Players Thomas Talboy and Dwayne Blackaller. Thirtieth Anniversary Meeting of the Medieval Association of the Pacific. San Diego, California, 15-17 March 1996.

"An Owl’s Choice: Music and Middle English Verse." Ninth International Congress of the New Chaucer Society. Trinity College, Dublin, 23-27 July 1994.

"Mystical Meaning: The Bellfounder's Window at York Minster." 28th International Congress on Medieval Studies. Kalamazoo, Michigan, 6-9 May 1993.

"Medieval Werewolves and What They Wear: Teaching Medieval Culture through Performance." NCTE Northwest Regional Conference. Boise, Idaho, 8-10 April 1993.

"'And Elles hyt were Vnryght': Internal Advertisement in Middle English Romances." Performance Aspects of Medieval Arts and Learning. Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 19-20 Feb. 1993.

"Cil d'aval et cil d'amont: Inversion as an Archetype of Feminine Experience in Aucassin et Nicolette." 27th International Congress on Medieval Studies. Kalamazoo, Michigan, 6-9 May 1992.

"Fiddling Around: An Argument for Using a Flat-Bridged, Concordantly-Tuned Fiddle with Fourteenth-Century English Romances." Medieval Association of the Pacific Annual Meeting. University of California, Irvine, 21-22 February, 1992.

"Aucassin et Nicolette: Translating the Performance Tradition of a Medieval Romance." Joint talk with Joseph A. Baldassarre. Rocky Mountain Medieval and Renaissance Association Annual Conference. Breckenridge, Colorado, 18-20 April 1991.

"Music in Medieval Romance Performance: The Tournament of Tottenham." Joint talk with Joseph A. Baldassarre. Joint Annual Meeting of The American Musicological Society and The College Music Society. Eugene, Oregon, 12-14 April 1991.

"Memorization and Oral Transmission in the Vow Section of The Tournament of Tottenham. Annual Meeting of the Medieval Association of the Pacific. Davis, California, 1-3 March 1991.

"The Tournament of Tottenham: Music as Enhancement of the Prosody." Joint talk with Joseph Baldassarre. Colloque International sur le XVe siecle. Perpignan, France, 2-7 July, 1990.

"Lithe and Listenithe: Performance as a Method of Approaching Medieval English Romances." Joint talk with Joseph Baldassarre. Rocky Mountain Medieval and Renaissance Association Annual Conference. Grand Canyon, 21-23 April, 1989.

"In Seculum Viellatoris: A Possible Performance of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight." Medieval Association of the Pacific Annual Meeting. Los Angeles, 31 March-1 April, 1989.

"Harp in the Hall: Performance as an Aid to Teaching Romance Literature." International Congress on Medieval Studies. Kalamazoo, 5-8 May, 1988.

"Graven Images: Pygmalion as a Fin Amant in John Gower's Confessio Amantis." Medieval Association of the Pacific Annual Meeting. Tucson, 4-6 March, 1988.

"Dido and Penelope: Cross Currents in John Gower's Confessio Amantis." Medieval Association of the Pacific Annual Meeting. Eugene, 6 March, 1987.

Professional memberships:

Medieval Academy of America
Medieval Association of the Pacific
Rocky Mountain Medieval and Renaissance Association
International Courtly Literature Society
Medieval Romance Society
Medieval Society of Southern Idaho

Major Performances:

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.  With Shira Kammen and Laura Zaerr.  Sponsored by the Oregon Humanities Center and the Coleman-Guitteau Teaching-and-Research Professorship.  Knight Library Browsing Room, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon.  5 June 2007.

Medieval Feast Adventures. With Laura Zaerr. First United Methodist Church, Eugene, Oregon. 16 May 2006.

Sir Launfal. With Shira Kammen, Laura Zaerr, and the Darkwood Consort. Esther Simplot Performing Arts Academy, Boise, Idaho. 15 May 2005.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. In Middle English. Psallite. Twentieth International Arthurian Congress. Theatr Gwynedd, University of Wales, Bangor, 24 July 2002.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. In Middle English.  Psallite.   Sponsored by the Medieval Romance Society.  36th International Congress on Medieval Studies.  Kalamazoo, Michigan.  3 May 2001.

The Weddynge of Sir Gawen and Dame Ragnell.  Camelot 2000: A Millennial Conference on the Arthurian Legends.  University of Rochester, Rochester, New York.   27 October 2000.

Floris and Blauncheflur.  In Middle English.   Psallite.  Sponsored by the Medieval Romance Society.  35^th International Congress on Medieval Studies.  Kalamazoo, Michigan.  4 May 2000.

Sir Orfeo. In Middle English. Psallite. Sponsored by the Medieval Romance Society. 33rd International Congress on Medieval Studies. Kalamazoo, Michigan. 7 May 1998.

"Medieval Romance in Performance." With Andrea Budgey, Randall Rosenfeld, and Katherine Hill (from Sine Nomine, the ensemble in residence of the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, University of Toronto). Sponsored by the Medieval Romance Society. 32nd International Congress on Medieval Studies. Kalamazoo, Michigan. 8 May 1997.

"Medieval Mélange." With Andrea Budgey and Randall Rosenfeld (Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, Toronto). Boise Public Library, Boise. 27 April 1997.

"Three Romances." Psallite. Sponsored by the Educational Programs Committee and the English Department. Willamette University, Salem, Oregon. 28 February 1997. And Corvallis Arts Center. Corvallis, Oregon. 1 March 1997.

"The Weddynge of Sir Gawen and Dame Ragnell." In Middle English. Psallite. Sponsored by the Medieval Romance Society. 31st International Congress on Medieval Studies. Kalamazoo, Michigan. 9 May 1996. Preview performance sponsored by the Ada Community Library and the Medieval Society of Southern Idaho. Ada Community Library, Boise. 7 May 1996.

"The Weddynge of Sir Gawen and Dame Ragnell." In Modern English. The Katharsis Players. Women’s History Month (sponsored by the Women’s Center). Student Union Jordan Ballroom C, Boise. 13 March 1996.

"The Quill Consort Unplugged." Old Boise Guitar Company, Boise. 20 Dec. 1993.

Governor's Awards in the Arts. The Quill Consort. Nampa Civic Center, 26 Sept. 1992.

"Music and Chaucer." The Quill Consort. New Chaucer Society Congress. University of Washington, Seattle, 3 Aug. 1992.

"Medieval Music and Tales." The Quill Consort. Idaho State University, Pocatello, 17 April 1992.

"A Halloween Concert of Medieval Tales and Music." The Quill Consort. Boise Little Theater, Boise. 27 and 30 Oct. 1991.

"Zounds!" The Quill Consort. Co-sponsored by University of Utah Departments of English Language and Literature, History, Music, and Theater; the Humanities Center; College of Fine Arts and Division of Continuing Education. Social Work Auditorium, Salt Lake City. 17 April 1991.

"Aucassin and Nicolette." The Quill Consort. Faculty Artists Recital. Morrison Center Recital Hall, Boise. 7 Dec. 1990.

"The Quill Consort." Olin Hall, Roanoke College, Virginia. 29 and 30 Nov. 1990.

"Un petit concert." The Quill Consort. Colloque International sur le XVe siecle. Chapelle St. Dominique, Perpignan, France. 4 July 1990.

Willamette University Convocation. Psallite. Salem, Oregon. 1 Feb. 1990.

"The Tournament of Tottenham." The Quill Consort. Faculty Artists Recital. Morrison Center Recital Hall, Boise. 3 Nov. 1989.

Evening concert for the general public and five workshops in the schools. The Quill Consort. McCall, Idaho, 1-2 Oct. 1989.

Concert for the Rocky Mountain Medieval and Renaissance Association Annual Conference. The Quill Consort. Grand Canyon, 22 April 1989.

"Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: Medieval Entertainment on the Feast of Patrick." The Quill Consort. Faculty Artists Recital. Morrison Center Recital Hall, Boise. 17 March 1989.

Boise Digest. Television interview (Jeanette Ross, interviewer) and performance. The Quill Consort. Channel 27, Boise. 6-12 Feb. 1989.

"Sir Cleges." The Quill Consort. Sounds of Christmas Past. Channel 27, Boise. Dec. 1988.

"Minstrels in the Middle Ages." The Quill Consort. San Francisco Early Music Workshop. Dominican College, San Rafael. 5 Aug. 1988.

"Caedmon." Psallite. San Francisco Early Music Workshop. Dominican College, San Rafael. 2 Aug. 1988.

"The Luter's Tale: An Evening of Medieval Entertainment." The Quill Consort. Morrison Center Recital Hall, Boise. 23 Feb. 1988.

"A Medieval Evening." Psallite. Corvallis Public Library. Corvallis, Oregon. 17 Dec. 1988.

Psallite -- This duo formed in 1980 with harpist Laura Zaerr (Willamette University) works to renew the medieval bond between music and literature. All instruments are reconstructions of medieval instruments, and all music is drawn from twelfth- to fourteenth-century France and England. For professional performances, texts are presented entirely in Middle English or Old French.

The Katharsis Players -- This experimental acting company formed for the academic year 1995-96 with classicist Thomas H. Talboy and actor Dwayne Blackaller wass dedicated to bringing productions of dramatic, narrative and musical pieces to modern audiences using the original languages.

The Quill Consort -- This duo with musicologist Dr. Joseph A. Baldassarre presented numerous professional performances 1987-1994 and was dedicated to the research and historically accurate performance of medieval music and literature.

Workshops:

"Performance of Middle English Romance." The Quill Consort. University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 20 Feb. 1993.

"Text and Music in the Middle Ages." Psallite. Smith Auditorium, Willamette University, Salem, Oregon, 28 March 1992.

"Medieval Instruments" and "Medieval Storytelling." The Quill Consort. University of Montana, Missoula. 5 Oct. 1991.

Grants:

Mini-Development Grant to Aid Instruction. College of Arts and Sciences. $617.40. Funds were used to purchase two chain mail byrnies and coifs for the Medieval Drama production You’ve Got Mail and subsequent Medieval Drama Guild productions. Fall 2003.

Service Learning Grant. $350. Funds were used to purchase a replica of a medieval bagpipe for use in the Medieval Drama Guild production You’ve Got Mail and subsequent productions. Fall 2003.

Mini-Development Grant to Aid Instruction.  College of Arts and Sciences.  $400.  Funds were used as an honorarium for Bay Area medieval musician Shira Kammen to participate with a graduate seminar on The Art of Medieval Story in exploring how music interacts with memorized narrative.  The event was videotaped by University Television Productions and resulted in a video to be used in subsequent courses involving performance.  Spring 2001.

Mini-Development Grant to Aid Instruction. College of Arts and Sciences. $400. Funds were used to purchase a five-foot tenor shawm for $400, including the case and shipping. The shawm enabled professional musician Alan Nielsen to function as Music Director of the Spring 1997 Medieval Drama production and provided him with an appropriate instrument to play in the production. The money thus provided an instrument that was not previously available in Boise. Spring 1997.

Faculty Research Grant. College of Arts and Sciences. $5000. "Performance Models from the Middle Ages." To understand better the medieval model of an intimate relationship between performer and audience, I examined all versions of twenty-nine Middle English verse romances and recorded all references to performers and performances. This work has had direct results in the form of several articles and numerous performances, notably a performance of The Weddynge of Sir Gawen and Dame Ragnell sponsored by the Medieval Romance Society at the Annual Congress on Medieval Studies in Kalamazoo, May 1996. Spring 1995.

Mini-Development Grant to Aid Instruction. College of Arts and Sciences. $977. With Joseph A. Baldassarre, Music. The goal of this project was to produce a cassette tape of three medieval romances with music: one in Middle English, one translated from Middle English, and one translated from Old French. The cassette is appropriate for use in humanities, linguistics, music, and history classes. Spring 1992.

Mini-Development Grant to Aid Instruction. College of Arts and Sciences. $700. With Joseph A. Baldassarre, Music. The goal of the project was to narrate and produce 100 copies of a cassette tape introduction to medieval music for use in classes in medieval literature, music history, and humanities. The recording has subsequently been produced by the Chaucer Studio. Spring 1989.

Awards:

Bricker Award for Teaching. Spring 1994.

Named Influential Faculty by Top Ten Scholar. Spring 1994.

Outstanding Faculty Award. English Majors Association and Sigma Tau Delta. Spring 1989.

ACADEMIC SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES

University service:

Faculty Senate, Graduate Faculty Representative
Subcommittee: International Programs Committee
Boise State University, Aug. 1997-May 1999

Arts and Sciences Mini-Development Grants Selection Committee
Boise State University, Autumn 1997

College of Arts and Sciences Promotion and Tenure Committee
Boise State Unviersity, Autumn 1996

Matriculation Committee
Boise State University, Aug. 1991-August 1993

Arts and Sciences Mini-Development Grants Selection Committee
Boise State University, Autumn 1990

Department service:

        Student Affairs Committee, Chair
         Boise State University, December 2000 to present

         English Department Promotion and Tenure Committee
         Boise State University, January 2000 to January 2002

Advisor to Sigma Tau Delta, the English honor society
Boise State University, Aug. 1991-1996

English Department Executive Committee
Boise State University, September 1993-1996

English Department Academic Affairs Committee
Boise State University, Sept. 1991-Sept. 1993

English Department Promotion and Tenure Committee
Boise State University, March 1988-March 1990

English Department Faculty Affairs Committee
Boise State University, Sept. 1987-May 1988

Textbook Selection Committee for "Writing about Literature"
University of Washington, Sept. 1985-March 1986

Professionally-related community service:

Founding member of the Medieval Society of Southern Idaho. President since inception in 1992.

Background lecture for docents for the Boise Library’s Arthurian exhibition. Library, Boise. 16 Jan. 1996.

Introduction and discussion for the film Sorceress. Women Filmakers Festival. Idaho Film Foundation. The Flicks, Boise. 7 and 9 Jan. 1991.

English Department faculty representative for Discover BSU. 21 Oct. 1989 and 1990.

"The Classic Fairy Tales." Let's Talk about It. Idaho Commission for the Humanities. Horseshoe Bend, Idaho, 7 Feb. 1989 and Ola, Idaho, 27 Jan. 1988.

"Heaven and Earth: Medieval Christian Art." Slide talk. First Presbyterian Church, Kalamazoo, Michigan. 8 May 1988.

Numerous guest lectures and performances at local schools and BSU classes as well as performances for local businesses, libraries, art galleries, and special events.