Parlour Talks are Magdalene's informal, interdisciplinary seminars designed to bring MCR members together with Fellows to hear accessible, interesting talks across a wide range of subjects. This is a wonderful opportunity to meet people from across different disciplines as well as the fellows who you might not otherwise encounter.

Talks take place at 18.00 in the Parlour and will finish in good time for Formal Hall afterwards. Wine and nibbles will be provided, and there is no need to book.

Tuesday 17 March
James Syrett and James Wenn 

Abstract
James Syrett (Magdalene, m. 2008) and his partner James D. Wenn (Corpus, m. 2007) went to examine an underground building at a country estate in Essex in April 2019, not realising that they would end up unlocking the entirety of English culture from the Roman period to the start of the 20th Century. It was the cross pollination of the study by James S (geology and maths) and James W (ASNaC and country houses) that answered some of the biggest questions in history — why did the Saxons love garnet? What is the meaning of the Coronation Pavement? Why is the Gate of Honour in Caius College so weird? The answer lies in the geometry of garnet crystals, a secretive cult from Ancient Greece, and a dance that can bring the dead back to life. They present their research in easy to access terms, using animations, diagrams and reconstructions. The architecture of England is ready to talk once more.
The talk is of particular interest to historians, art historians, architects, classicists, and mathematicians.