IMC 2023. International Congress on the Study of the Middle Ages. University of Leeds, Monday 03-Thursday 06 July, 2023. (original) (raw)
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East Central and Eastern Europe in the Early Middle Ages Edited by Florin Curta
Early Medieval Europe, 2007
B). To this reader, there are a few points that needed clarification. Despite being sensible, flexible, and a clear improvement over previous typologies for being based on multiple criteria (i.e. material, manufacturing techniques, decoration, translucency and opacity, colour), Brugmann's choice of typology is not adequately justified. She states that the typology was arrived at because it proved to be the most 'effective for chronological analysis', but this inevitably rests on a circular argument that the ends justify the means. Disappointingly there is little in the way of synthesis or suggestions for future research. For instance, Brugmann does not develop upon the possible models she outlines for the economy of bead manufacture, exchange and consumption, nor the significance of beads for femalegendered costume and their use in adorning the dead during funerary rites. Despite an assessment of previous work, Brugmann might also be accused of resting her interpretations on a simplistic and static dichotomy between 'Roman' and 'Germanic' tastes and fashions when discerning the degree of Roman survival and the degree of continental and Scandinavian influences on Anglo-Saxon bead-types and uses. Despite the limitations-justifiable given the scale and nature of the project-Brugmann's work makes important and valuable additions to the study of early medieval artefacts. The author builds a rigorous foundation for future research concerning this important category of early Anglo-Saxon objects.
MECERN abstracts, 2023
Filipova, Snežana (SS. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje) Continuities and changes in the visual and material culture on Macedonian land in the Middle Ages Culture and art represent and preserve the spirit of the land and form the curriculum vitae of the land and the people. The continuity of high-quality art values, the cohesion of cultures and art styles and valuable works of art make us very proud. Macedonian territory is in some cases the only region where some of the most important works of medieval styles have been preserved. Certain monuments are inevitable when giving an art history survey. Developed city life predates the Roman period. The importance of the municipium Stobi is proved by the visits of Emperor Theodosius, while the importance of Heraclea is demonstrated by the 7 visits of Manuel II Komnenos. Since the time of Tzar Samuel, Skopje had importance as strategical point for Byzantium, the Serbian State and the Turks. Macedonia was very important for the Roman Empire, as shown by the roads, theatres, aqueducts, beautiful palaces and mosaics, and also for Byzantium. Since the Komnenos dynasty had lands and authority here, they invested in new churches and residencies. After the beautiful, marble Roman-era portraits, there was a continuation in the art of royal portraiture in icon painting and within the Komnenian-era churches. Since the fifteenth century there has mainly been a late Byzantine art influence. Later, some features of late European Baroque art were introduced. In the late nineteenth century Macedonian architects built large churches in the Balkans, and Macedonian sculptors were engaged in Serbia and Moldavia. Thus Macedonian artistic genius had a large impact on Balkan art. Ohrid, as the seat of the Archbishopric, was another mighty artistic centre. Some researchers think that Theodor Duka (1224-1230) was elected tsar here by the Archbishop Demetrius Homatianus. During the Middle Ages the Church became the main creative institution. In the late thirteenth and fourteenth centuries Macedonian churches were painted by the best painters of Palaiologan era, Michael and Eutihius. Art continued to flourish to a lesser extent under Turkish rule. Still, the Bishopric of Ohrid managed to order new art works and objects and to receive gifts by town guilds or rich orthodox citizens. To sum up, there has been a continuation in the creation of high-quality orthodox art in Macedonia for over 16 centuries, since the fourth century, CE. Also, the places where a pagan temple and later a church were erected show over two millennia of continuity, which speaks of the continual usage of “holy places”. Sometimes this is related to “holy springs of water”, sometimes to the long-time memory and respect towards holiness as a general state.
2017
Not much is known of the complex relationship between Dubrovnik’s elite and the city’s ecclesiastical institutions: the questions of who founded or renovated churches in the earliest period, who promoted the monastic movement, and many more, remain open. This paper is a note to the complex topic of the relationship between the urban elite and Dubrovnik’s ecclesiastical institutions, viewed from the aspect of their real estate in the early medieval period. Ecclesiastical institutions in the early Middle Ages could serve as the repository of family property and identity. The ecclesiastical, political and social circumstances of that period resulted in major changes in the structure, appearance, and layout of the city, which was not only a specificity of medieval Dubrovnik. Ecclesiastical property was neither homogeneous nor unchangeable; instead, it varied with regard to the provenance and the time period, links to particular families, locality, (dis)continuity, importance, and purpose (pious purposes or income). Evolution of the commune in the 12th and 13th centuries implied a gradual disempowernment of the Archbishop and the clergy, as well as the emergence of new administrative bodies.
THE SETTING Among the impressions Marshal Marmont, Napoleon’s general and duke of Ragusa, recorded on the city he had seized, was that very old, rich and powerful nobility ruled in Dubrovnik, who, in spite of their arrogance and austerity in governing, were generally held to be the paragon. What remained for the Ragusan commoners to look up to at the beginning of the nineteenth century, the time of the French occupation and the fall of the Republic (1808), was but a vague trace of the once magnificent glory. Though long gone, this glory of the nobility still permeated the entire community. The French were to give the final blow to the political monopoly of the nobility, but their political and civic ideology had already become part of the city’s identity. This small group of people embodied the Republic. Guarding their privileges, they managed to secure liberty and autonomy on this little patch of land, flocked under the flag of St. Blaise. The remains of the Roman municipal heritage, communal institutions, particular economic and political circumstances, Roman and Slavic culture and ethnicity, the origin of the most prominent families and their way up the social ladder, reality and legend were all woven into the fabric of the noble status. ... Until the Late Middle Ages Dubrovnik had shared the fate of other Dalmatian cities. The foundations of their political organization and social differentiation were the same, determined by the Roman heritage, the autonomy acquired in the days of the Byzantine decay, Venetian law and institutions. But in the fifteenth century Dubrovnik became the second republic in the Adriatic and its political elite continued with the rise to power, a fate hardly met by the nobility of the Dalmatian cities that came under the Venetian rule at the same time. Dubrovnik was turning into an aristocratic republic in which political power had been restricted to the nobility, rigidly closed, and hereditary. The concept of Ragusan nobility became a synonym for power in both theory and practice. Thanks to this, the nobility had succeeded in maintaining political monopoly over the centuries, even in times when they lost the leading economic position to the benefit of the prominent commoners. Despite the losses it experienced, which at times seriously hampered the government efficiency, the ruling class tightened its hold on political leadership. Throughout the longstanding rule, they firmly guarded the Republic’s political autonomy as well as their own social and political position. Following the example of the Italian city-states, Venice in particular, they pursued the train of Renaissance political thought that gave priority to political reality, showing no will to alter it but only to consolidate it. A tendency towards the immutability of the political and social structures led to a petrified hierarchy, remaining so as far as the historical circumstances had allowed. The unusual durability of Dubrovnik’s customs, laws, contracts and social relations reveals continuity as a fundamental value. Following the period of social and administrative differentiation, the nobility viewed the Ragusan society as perfected, investing all available strength into the preservation of the current state by choosing the past in preference to the novelties of the present. The pursuit of stability and durability of social order and institutions, permeated all the aspects of the Republic’s and city’s life, assuming the role of a guiding principle in the historical pursuit of the noble class and consequently, of each individual, too. The golden past and glorious ancestors were the point of reference in every area—the past legitimized contemporary political arrangements. The story of Dubrovnik’s nobility cannot be reduced only to their own class—it includes the broad network of interrelations in the city and elsewhere, as well as individual histories. The lifestyle of the Ragusan noblemen reflected the patterns of political, economic, and social relations as well as the general sentiment of the age, all of which is to find its expression in the re-thinking of their position in the Ragusan society. A much clearer picture can be obtained on the basis of a comprehensive understanding of the fifteenth century that was the turning point in many ways. These are all layers upon which the story of the nobility is to be told, the story of their beginnings, rise and fall, and, of course, the story of their Republic and republicanism. Viewed individually, Ragusan noblemen had to abide by the strictest class codes defined by law and custom, thus raising the general question about the relationship between the individual and the community. My aim was to grasp them both as a unity and individuals, and uncover their duties, abilities, self-understanding and means of personal fulfilment. As much as possible, I have endeavoured to bring to light individual histories, letting people give their own accounts, in hope of establishing a kind of dialogue with the past. Their life stories often brought me back to the common features of the Ragusan late medieval and early modern culture, in a constant counterpoint. Nobility’s identification with their Republic opened space for a broader range of issues and topics, the story of the nobility thus growing into a tale of the Republic. The actors in the narrative are all of its citizens, though the main focus lies on the nobility which played the leading role in the moulding of an outstanding picture of Dubrovnik, radiating just as intensely to our own day. By weaving the story of the nobility, my aim was to set apart myth from reality in order to fathom its impact upon that very reality. Besides the grand picture of rulers coming from the Mirror of the Major Council and the councils’ minutes, I have also tried to catch the reflection of the everyday and private life, so as to approach and fully understand the richness of the Republic’s life in the fifteenth century, the period that opened the doors to its glory. Fifteenth-century Europe was pregnant with new ideological, political, economic, strategic, and spiritual concepts. The urban nobility Europe-wide had finally defined its noble status, shaped its governmental system by which it obtained the right to power. In that way the nobility came to profoundly shape the ideological and material framework of the life of their communities. Therefore the key to understanding of the Ragusan society lies in the comprehension of the nobility’s social position and policy. The fifteenth and sixteenth centuries mark the Golden Age of Dubrovnik, despite the Ottoman Empire that surrounded the Republic and stretched across much of the Balkan hinterland, Hungary and Croatia. The nobility’s contribution to the “gilding” of the era was considerable, because it was their foreign policy, diplomacy and money that maintained independence and liberty of the Republic. Under the influence of contemporary political ideas and (even more) practice, they succeeded in establishing an ideology and value system which survived, in its guidelines, until the last days of the Republic. This fundamental ideological framework remained important and adhered to despite the changing political circumstances in the area. The Golden Age was followed by a slow general decay, affecting the ruling class and the Republic alike. With the shift in the world trade, the vitality of Dubrovnik’s economic life declined. Unwilling to recognize the changes, the nobility’s position further deteriorated. Underneath the apparent continuity, the concept of the nobility was experiencing a significant change: having withdrawn from commercial pursuits, noblemen concentrated on the preservation of privileges and real estate. Social stratification gave way to an increasingly wide division between nobles and non-nobles but, on the other hand, the particular mentality, conceived and nourished in humanistic circles, infused the entire city. The frame of republicanism and commonality, along with a deepened sense of duty and patriotism, pride at their origin and glory became a mainstream in which most Ragusans shared, merging into the centuries-fostered concept of social consensus.