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IMC 2021: Sessions

Session 116: Kinship and Violence in Early Medieval Europe

Monday 5 July 2021, 11.15-12.45

Organiser:Alex Traves, Department of History, University of Sheffield
Moderator/Chair:Charles West, Department of History, University of Sheffield
Paper 116-aMurdering Relatives in Early Medieval England: Social Attitudes and the Structure of Kinship
(Language: English)
Alex Traves, Department of History, University of Sheffield
Index terms: Language and Literature - Old English, Social History
Paper 116-bViolent Women and Kinship in Gregory of Tours: A Network Approach
(Language: English)
Ulriika Vihervalli, School of History, Archaeology & Religion, Cardiff University
Index terms: Gender Studies, Historiography - Medieval, Social History
Paper 116-cFamily Matters: Punishing Royalty in the Early Medieval West
(Language: English)
Harry Mawdsley, Department of History, University of Sheffield
Index terms: Gender Studies, Law, Politics and Diplomacy
Abstract

Kinship and violence were closely entwined in the late antique and early medieval worlds. These three papers will re-interrogate this important relationship using a variety of methods and approaches, particularly focusing on the issues of internal family violence and gender. The speakers will explore social attitudes towards the murder of relatives in early medieval England and how this affects our understanding of the structure of kinship groups; network analysis will be used to analyse Merovingian women who lacked a stable male kinship network and how this affected their propensity for violence; and how kings punished their royal relatives in the post-Roman West and the ways these punishments differed according to gender will also be explored.