| Paper 1014-a | Natural and Supernatural Explanations for Famines, Plagues, Natural Catastrophes, and War under the Reign of Heraclius, 610-641
(Language: English)
Nikolas Hächler, Institut d'histoire et civilisation de Byzance Collège de France Paris
Index terms: Byzantine Studies, Learning (The Classical Inheritance), Medicine, Political Thought |
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| Abstract | Paper -a:
Heraclius' reign was shaped by devastating challenges for Byzantium. Various sources attest famines, plagues, natural disasters, and the terrors of war. Many interpreted the events as God's punishment for the wicked behavior of Byzantium's inhabitants. Some historiographers, physicians, and philosophers, however, identified natural and socio-political causes. This paper examines different explanatory models for these events which can be grasped in the literary sources of the 7th century. It will provide insights into the perception of difficult challenges by contemporary observers and thus facilitate our understanding of the ensuing reactions of the Byzantine state.
Paper -b:
Scholarship surrounding Henry of Huntingdon's 12th-century Historia Anglorum has often focused on his contemptus mundi (contempt for the world) - a genre and theological belief system which governs his account of English history. This paper explores the role of geography, or earth-writing (geo-graphia) in Henry's providential history. The natural world emerges as one of God's stimulos ire sue (tools of wrath) which punishes those who desire too much of this world. In the Historia, regna terrena (earthly kingdoms) are consistently opposed to the regno perpetuo (perpetual kingdom). Ultimately, Henry - a cleric writing human history - is torn between them himself.
Paper -c:
The aim of this paper is to explore some elements of the political discourse of the Libro de Gracián, a Castilian text from the first half of the 15th century. The text includes several criticisms of what can be called a 'climate' of political corruption, that is, the generalisation of vice and avarice among advisors of the king, prelates, nobles, and judges. It also addresses the social consequences of this 'climate' of corruption, including pestilence, war and famine, with an eschatological bent. My analysis will focus on the role of these representations in its context, understanding them as strategies of delegitimating certain political practices of the period.
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