IMC 2014: Sessions

Session 1324: Prophecy and Empire, II

Wednesday 9 July 2014, 16.30-18.00

Sponsor:	Centre for Medieval Studies, University of Bristol
Organiser:	Anke Holdenried, Department of History, University of Bristol
Moderator/Chair:	Anke Holdenried, Department of History, University of Bristol
Paper 1324-a	Mission, Crusade, and Prophecy on the Northern Borders (Language: English) Christian Krötzl, School of Social Sciences & Humanities, University of Tampere Index terms: Crusades, Language and Literature - Scandinavian, Mentalities, Political Thought
Paper 1324-b	The End of the Empire and the End of the World: A View from the Armenian Side (Language: English) Zara Pogossian, Department of History & Humanities, John Cabot University, Rome Index terms: Byzantine Studies, Geography and Settlement Studies, Language and Literature - Other, Political Thought
Paper 1324-c	Introducing Astrology: Al-Ashraf 'Umar and his Kitāb al-Tabṣira' - Yemen, 13th Century (Language: English) Petra G. Schmidl, Institut für Orient- und Asienwissenschaften, Islamwissenschaft, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn Index terms: Islamic and Arabic Studies, Language and Literature - Semitic, Political Thought
Abstract	The aim of these sessions is to investigate how imperial and prophetic traditions interlinked in the medieval period (c. 500-1500). Topics include: • Classical and Christian prophecy/empire • Non-European traditions of 'prophecy' and 'empire' • Emperors/rulers as sponsors of prophecy • The medieval legend of the Last Emperor: its development and adaptation to various contexts throughout Christendom, East and West • 'Informal' empires: how Latin and vernacular texts use prophecy to construct rulership and to comment on the aspirations of specific rulers or dynasties • Non-biblical traditions of prognostication, for example astrological predictions concerning the fate of different medieval realms and that of their enemies • The interdependency of 'prophecy' and 'empire' in medieval visual and material culture • Approaches to 'Prophecy and Empire' in modern historiography