IMC 2016: Sessions

Session 1334: Biblical Exegesis and Its Carolingian Contexts

Wednesday 6 July 2016, 16.30-18.00

Sponsor:	Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship 'BIBLACE' / Institut für Mittelalterforschung, Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien
Organiser:	Gerda Heydemann, Geschichte der Spätantike und des frühen Mittelalters, Friedrich-Meinecke-Institut, Freie Universität Berlin
Moderator/Chair:	Mayke de Jong, Departement Geschiedenis en Kunstgeschiedenis, Universiteit Utrecht
Paper 1334-a	Exegesis and the Liberal Arts in Walafrid Strabo's Handbook (Language: English) Richard Corradini, Institut für Mittelalterforschung, Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien Index terms: Biblical Studies, Learning (The Classical Inheritance), Manuscripts and Palaeography, Political Thought
Paper 1334-b	Exegesis and Preaching: Hrabanus Maurus's Homiliary for Lothar I (Language: English) Marianne Pollheimer-Mohaupt, Institut für Mittelalterforschung, Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien Index terms: Biblical Studies, Political Thought, Religious Life, Sermons and Preaching
Paper 1334-c	Exegesis and Legal Thought: 9th-Century Examples (Language: English) Gerda Heydemann, Geschichte der Spätantike und des frühen Mittelalters, Friedrich-Meinecke-Institut, Freie Universität Berlin Index terms: Biblical Studies, Law, Political Thought
Abstract	The crucial importance of the Bible and its exegesis in Carolingian culture and politics has received renewed attention in recent years. This session explores the social relevance of exegesis through three case studies which concentrate on the interface between exegesis and other fields of knowledge and social practice. Richard Corradini examines how exegetical traditions were appropriated by Walafrid Strabo in his Vademecum, where they were placed alongside a wide variety of texts about the artes liberales in order to provide modes of interpretation and to develop a response to the challenges posed by contemporary political and social developments. Marianne Pollheimer discusses how biblical commentaries were transformed into sermons by Hrabanus Maurus in his homilary for Emperor Lothar I, thereby highlighting the ways in which exegetical knowledge was communicated to the court and could offer orientation for a ruler faced with crises and political upheaval. Gerda Heydemann examines the links between law and exegesis. Focusing on 9th-century commentaries on the Gospel of Matthew, the paper will explore how the interpretation of the Bible shaped Carolingian notions of justice and informed debates about how to construct a legal order in accordance with divine law.