IMC 2014: Sessions
Session 218: A World of Empires, II: Assigning Imperial Authority
Monday 7 July 2014, 14.15-15.45
| Sponsor: | Cluster of Excellence 'Asia & Europe in a Global Context', Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg |
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| Organisers: | Chris Jones, Department of History, University of Canterbury, Christchurch Christoph Mauntel, Historisches Seminar, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg Klaus P. Oschema, Historisches Seminar, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg |
| Moderator/Chair: | Len Scales, Institute of Medieval & Early Modern Studies, Durham University |
| Paper 218-a | The 'Emperor of Persia': Structuring the World in the High Middle Ages (Language: English) Index terms: Historiography - Medieval, Mentalities, Political Thought |
| Paper 218-b | No 'Emperor of Europe': Anti-Ottoman Polemics and the Politics of National Diversity in Europe (Language: English) Index terms: Historiography - Medieval, Mentalities, Political Thought |
| Paper 218-c | The 'Emperor of China': Exploring Distant Societies with European Eyes in Marco Polo's La description du monde (Language: English) Index terms: Art History - General, Language and Literature - French or Occitan, Political Thought, Rhetoric |
| Abstract | When medievalists use the term 'empire', they refer primarily to the Roman Empire and its successor states such as the Holy Roman Empire. Yet beyond this Rome-centred tradition, the concept of 'empire' was applied in other contexts in the medieval West. This strand will analyse the plurality of imperial concepts. Firstly, we will focus on the appropriation of imperial attributes, exploring conceptions that were developed beyond the German-Roman Empire and considering how extensive alternative claims to 'imperial' superiority could be. Secondly, we will examine the way in which imperial attributes were ascribed to those beyond western Christendom's borders by Europeans. |