IMC 2019: Sessions
Session 737: Times of Gold and Iron: Ceremonies, Objects, and Meanings in the Medieval Mediterranean, 10th-13th Centuries, I
Tuesday 2 July 2019, 14.15-15.45
| Organisers: | Javier Albarrán-Iruela, Departamento de Historia Medieval, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid Francisco Lopez-Santos Kornberger, Centre for Byzantine, Ottoman & Modern Greek Studies, Department of Classics, Ancient History & Archaeology, University of Birmingham |
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| Moderator/Chair: | Hugh Kennedy, Department of the Languages & Cultures of the Near & Middle East, School of Oriental & African Studies, University of London |
| Paper 737-a | The Ritualization of Holy War in al-Andalus: Ceremonies, Banners, and Meanings (Language: English) Index terms: Islamic and Arabic Studies, Language and Literature - Spanish or Portuguese, Military History, Political Thought |
| Paper 737-b | Liturgy of Blood under the Rule of the Caliph 'Abd al-Raḥmān III (Language: English) Index terms: Islamic and Arabic Studies, Liturgy, Political Thought |
| Paper 737-c | A Convenient Scapegoat: Regalia, Identity, and Imperial Politics in the Works of Synesios of Cyrene and Michael Psellos (Language: English) Index terms: Byzantine Studies, Learning (The Classical Inheritance), Political Thought |
| Abstract | Gifts, ceremonies, and regalia were crucial elements in both expressing and enhancing power relations in the medieval past. They were cultural products but also a framework for innovation. This double session analyses the materiality of power through ceremonies and meaningful objects across the Mediterranean world, from Iberia to Byzantium, in times of coexistence and exchange, but also conflict, among communities. Through the analysis of a range of material and literary sources, speakers explore the role of rituals and objects used to underline their status and exemplify authority to their audiences. |