IMC 2014: Sessions

All medieval rulers encountered resistance to their authority and many reigns were (as in the East Roman empire) 'tempered by revolution and assassination'. Resistance and rebellion were, when successful, often justified after the event as proof of divine providence. They were thus legitimized post factum, not ex ante. By the same token, failed challengers were considered rebels, whose cause had been proven empty. During the course of the Middle Ages, however, more systematic ideas concerning the rightfulness of resistance began to appear, which were often connected to notions of contract, good lordship, and reciprocity between ruler and ruled. Much has been written, and continues to be written, on resistance to rulers and emperors. The purpose of this round table is to consider in an informal and unscripted way, possible new approaches to the phenomenon of resistance. The round table has a broad compass, with contributions on Scandinavian, West European, Central European, and South-East European history.

Participants include Sverre Bagge (Universitetet I Bergen), Neven Isailovic (Institute of History, Belgrade), Aleksandar Krstic (Institute of History, Belgrade), Christopher Nicholson (University College London), and Björn Weiler (Aberystwyth University).