IMC 2024: Sessions
Session 1536: Crisis, Flight, and Places of Refuge, I
Thursday 4 July 2024, 09:00-10:30
| Sponsor: | Universität des Saarlandes / Universität Graz |
|---|---|
| Organisers: | Cristina Andenna, Historisches Institut, Universität des Saarlandes Julia Zimmermann, Institut für Germanistik: Arbeitsbereich Germanistische Mediävistik, Universität Graz |
| Moderator/Chair: | Emilia Jamroziak, Institute for Medieval Studies / School of History, University of Leeds |
| Paper 1536-a | The Diaspora of the Latin Churches of Outremer: Negotiating and Compensating Flight, Exile, and Relocation before and after the Crises of 1187 and 1291 (Language: English) Index terms: Crusades and Ecclesiastical History |
| Paper 1536-b | The episcopus exclusus in Comparative Perspective (Language: English) Index terms: Ecclesiastical History, Politics and Diplomacy and Religious Life |
| Paper 1536-c | From a Provisorial Place of Refuge to a Permanent Stay: Avignon, Curia, and Papacy in the 14th Century (Language: English) Index terms: Ecclesiastical History, Politics and Diplomacy and Religious Life |
| Abstract | People flee their homelands or places of residence for countless reasons, often related to various human, climactic, social, religious, or economic difficulties. Researchers in the field of migration studies frequently examine the interplay of “push” and “pull” factors and the causal relationship between crisis and flight. Cause (crisis) and effect (flight) can, of course, develop complex and mutually reinforcing relationships, as the act of flight sets new events in motion. Those who have left home as exiles, refugees, and/or migrants often find that the act of relocating leads to new processes of coping and overcoming, as does the act of returning from a place of refuge to a place of origin. Even once an initial crisis has been resolved, whether through external circumstances or the displaced people’s own actions, the effects of crisis and flight remain felt. In this context, it is the place of refuge in the immediate aftermath of a crisis – of whatever kind – that holds central importance. In some cases, this place of refuge may be conceived as a place of greater welcome, opportunity, or well-being; in others, it may serve simply as an interim stay, a place to linger before setting off again somewhere else. Furthermore, places of refuge may sometimes be understood beyond spatial or geographical terms. They can also be framed through other (religious, cultural, etc.) categories. Whether taking the form of a physical or non-physical location, the place of refuge often appears as a liminal space which can be subject to its own laws and the construction of new norms. This is the point of departure for these two sections, which place medieval crisis, flight, and refuge in comparative perspective: Papers analyze specific decisions and motivations to flee, as well as varying experiences of seeking refuge, finding both points of difference and common ground across a range of sources and case studies. Papers in these two panels place a broad spectrum of sources in conversation to identify narrative and historical patterns and deepen our understanding of what it means to take refuge. |