IMC 2026: Sessions
Session 1042: Multinormativity, Manuscripts, and the Digital Turn
Wednesday 8 July 2026, 09:00-10:30
| Organisers: | Gerda Heydemann, Friedrich-Meinecke-Institut, Freie Universität Berlin Charles West, School of History, Classics & Archaeology, University of Edinburgh |
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| Moderator/Chair: | Charles West, School of History, Classics & Archaeology, University of Edinburgh |
| Paper 1042-a | Multinormativity in the Carolingian Period: Biblical Norms and Exegetical Knowledge (Language: English) Index terms: Biblical Studies, Law, Manuscripts and Palaeography |
| Paper 1042-b | Digital Codicology, Multinormativity, and the Problem of Audience in Carolingian Advice to Rulers (Language: English) Index terms: Computing in Medieval Studies, Manuscripts and Palaeography, Political Thought |
| Paper 1042-c | Beyond Legal Pluralism: Looking for Multinormativity in the Manuscripts of the 'Barbarian Laws' (Language: English) Index terms: Law, Manuscripts and Palaeography |
| Abstract | It is well known that in the early Middle Ages, there was a variety of competing norms in circulation that sometimes complemented and sometimes contradicted one another. This session employs the concept of 'multinormativity' to generate fresh insight into how this worked in practice. The papers explore the normative authority of biblical exegesis, the interplay of different norms in manuscripts of the 'barbarian law codes', and the value of new digital techniques for establishing the audiences these norms reached, and how these audiences interpreted and understood them. |