The Department of Medieval Studies of Central European University
cordially invites you to the public lecture of the Faculty Research Seminar
Daniel Ziemann
Central European University
Canon Law and Politics in the 9th
century A.D. - The Dacheriana
Collection and its Historical Context
18:00 p.m. on Wednesday, February 13, 2013
CEU–Faculty Tower #409
Budapest, V. Nádor u. 9.
Reception to follow.
During the ninth century the shape of politics and political communication changed
significantly. Legal terminology and juridical thinking became more important for political
negotiations and the management of conflicts. One of the main factors for this development
can be seen in the growing importance of Canon Law collections, which were created,
copied, distributed all over the Frankish Empire. Though Canon law collections had been
present in the Latin West from the 6th century on, the number of manuscripts as well as the
variety of collections increased considerably during the ninth century. From the middle of
the ninth century on, the use of these collections became more widespread, particularly in
lawsuits against bishops.
This lecture focuses on one of the most popular Canon Law collections, the so-called
“Collectio Dacheriana.” Although this collection is just a selection from two other law
collections, the nature of this selection and its topical focus offer interesting insights not
only into various aspects of Canon law, but also into some of the political discussions of
that time.
Daniel Ziemann is Associate Professor at the Department of Medieval Studies at
CEU. He is a medieval historian and received his PhD in History from the Johann
Wolfgang Goethe-University in Frankfurt (Main) in 2002. Prior to his appointment at
CEU in 2009, he taught at the University of Cologne.
He researches the political and legal history of the early and high Middle Ages with a
special focus on Southeastern Europe and the Frankish and Holy Roman Empire. He is
interested in processes of “ethnogenesis” and the mechanisms of political communication.
He has published several articles on medieval Bulgaria, early medieval Canon Law, and
Salian and Staufer Germany. In 2007 he published a book entitled Vom Wandervolk zur
Großmacht. Die Genese Bulgarians im frühen Mittelalter 7.-9. Jh. [From a migrating
people to a great power. The emergence of Bulgaria in the Early Middle Ages, 7th- 9th
century A.D.]. He is currently working on the impact of Canon Law on mechanisms of
political communication in the ninth century.
Department of Medieval Studies, Central European University • 1051 Budapest, Nádor u. 9., tel.: 327-3051, fax: 327-3055, e-mail: medstud@ceu.hu, http://medievalstudies.ceu.hu