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The International Conference on Middle English (ICOME) started in the mid-1990s as a bi- /triennial conference and has been organised by leading universities in the field of the history of English across Europe (Poznań, Helsinki, Dublin, Vienna, Naples, Cambridge, Murcia, Stavanger, Florence, Glasgow, Málaga, etc.). Traditionally, ICOME gathers researchers working on both Middle English language and literature, including perspectives on variation and change, textual and manuscript studies, literary and cultural approaches, language contact, pragmatics and narratology. The 14th edition of ICOME will be held on 3–6 June 2026 on the idyllic Au peninsula, located on the southwestern shore of Lake Zurich (Schloss Au) in Switzerland. The theme of the conference will be “Travel and Travelling”. We encourage papers dealing with any aspect of the theme, e.g. Middle English lexis of travel, medieval English travellers and travel writing, important journeys and pilgrim routes, travelling texts and manuscripts, etc. Papers unconnected to the conference’s theme are also welcome. Moreover, we will host a round table dedicated to teaching Middle English and organise an excursion to Einsiedeln, where participants will visit the Abbey and walk a stretch of the Way of St. James, following in the footsteps of medieval pilgrims.

The International Conference on Language Variation in Europe, ICLaVE, is the premiere forum for research on language variation in Europe and elsewhere. It brings together scholars of languages and language varieties in Europe and elsewhere to discuss current empirical, methodological, and theoretical issues related to the study of language variation and change, broadly conceived.