IMC 2007: Sessions
Session 1608: Vikings and Crusaders
Thursday 12 July 2007, 11.15-12.45
Moderator/Chair: | Peter Jensen, Department of History, University of Southern Denmark, Odense |
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Paper 1608-a | Livonia and the Crusades: Before and After (Language: English) Index terms: Crusades, Historiography - Medieval, Mentalities |
Paper 1608-b | The Invention of the Vikings: The Change of the Concept from the 19th Century until Today (Language: English) |
Paper 1608-c | The Northern Warrior: A Historiographical Approach to the Historian's View on Vikings and Crusaders (Language: English) Index terms: Crusades, Historiography - Modern Scholarship |
Abstract | Paper a: The Livonian Crusades were a turning point in the development of the present-day Latvia and Estonia and a watershed in the development of local identities. From part of heathendom with no awareness of common identity and constant local-level struggles Livonia became part of Christendom. Crusades launched the slow process of integration of the local populations into European societies. Cities, from their outstart born as Christian citadels and through their Hanseatic ties maintaining constant contacts with older parts of Christendom were in the vanguard of his process. The upcoming paper shall offer a brief look and the Livonian societies before the crusades and the society as it emerged as a result of the crusades with a special emphasis on the christianization of the local societies, the progress of which effort can serve as a certain indicator of the Europeanisation of the local populations. To a certain extent this process also illustrates the internal power-struggles within Livonia and the attitudes between the carriers and recipients of Christianity. The missionary side of the Livonian crusades has generally been presented as a superficial effort. The paper will aspire to analyze also how justified such judgment is, taking into account the relative nature of the Christianity of rural societies and the fact that the crusades served just to plant 'the God’s vineyard' and to establish pre-conditions for its cultivation. |