WORD AND SWORD
THE CHANGING FACE OF AUTHORITY IN THE MIDDLE AGES
12.00pm–5.30pm, Wednesday 20 May
Ibrahim Ahmed Room, Reed Hall, University of Exeter
12.00–12.15
Introduction
Anke Holdenried and Sarah Hamilton
12.15–12.45
Education I
Josef Lössl (Cardiff): Augustine’s ‘On True Religion’, ch. 45–51.
12.45–1.30
Lunch
1.30–3.00
Women
Emma Loosley (Exeter): Life of St Nino.
Carolyn Muessig (Bristol): The Power and the Word: Questions of Female Religious Authority
in Late Medieval Italy.
Gwen Seabourne (Bristol): Extracts from report II of John the Cooper of T. v. Isolde widow of
Richard Ildok (1312), from W. C. Bolland (ed.), Year Books of Edward II 1311–12, Selden
Society vol. 31 (London, 1915), 87–91.
3.00–3.30
Tea
3.30–4.30
Bishops
Levi Roach (Exeter): Routinizing Charisma? Æthelwold of Winchester and Monastic Liberty
Teresa Witcombe (Bristol): Bishop Maurice of Burgos’ Concordia Mauriciana.
4.30–5.00
Education II
Ian Wei (Bristol): Magisterial Authority and Henry of Ghent: Quodlibet XV.15.
5.00–5.30
Conclusions
Anke Holdenried, Sarah Hamilton and Rob Gossedge
WORD AND SWORD
THE CHANGING FACE OF AUTHORITY IN THE MIDDLE AGES
This theme aims to tackle an issue which is at the heart of medieval culture and society: the extent to which
the conceptualisation of moral authority changed across the period between Late Antiquity and the sixteenth
century. This is a problem which lies at the base of scholarship on the successive educational and pastoral
reform movements of the ninth, tenth, eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth and fifteenth centuries, for example. It is one
which crosses between those who work on Latin and vernacular texts; between those who work on cultural,
religious and social and political movements. It therefore has the potential to encompass a wider variety of
scholars working on a variety of texts: from exegesis to law to records to vitae and other literary works. The
aim of this workshop is to bring together scholars from different disciplines and periods to identify a common
set of research questions.
We propose that the workshop is framed around the discussion of seven sources; rather than deliver research
papers, the seven lead participants have been asked to introduce a short text from their own research, and to
explain how it relates to one or more of the questions suggested as a framework for the initial discussion.
Presentations will not be longer than 10 minutes to allow plenty of time for discussion.
Several questions have been suggested, and it is hoped that preparation for the workshop and the workshop
itself will generate others:

What is the relationship, if any, between office and authority? How did office holders conceive and
articulate their authority?

Does the Weberian binary of charismatic authority v. bureaucracy really work for the Middle Ages?

What is the language of authority? Is it consistent across the Middle Ages? How was it promoted?
What was the role of education?
Overall: How far did the conceptualisation and articulation of moral authority change across the period?