PROCESSES OF RELIGIOUS ACCULTURATION IN LATE MEDIEVAL AND EARLY MODERN
EUROPE: TERMS AND METHODS
Second Expert Meeting, Groningen 18-20 January 2012
Abstracts
Public and Private
The categories of “public” and „private“ are very important for the description of
medieval religiosity and its role in the social life till today, despite their being
embedded in the definition of the public – private dichotomy of the modern state. They
seem to fit in very well with other terminological dichotomies such as “male” –
“female”, “powerful” – “powerless”, “elite” – “low status” etc. But the term “public”
brings specific problems: The medieval public was mainly constituted by means of
representation, and only gradually, during the 15th ct., by increased political
communication. In this shift (from the “representation” to “communication”), the
“vernacularisation” probably played a key role. The strand aims to discuss a) the
definition of the terms in various scholarly contexts, b) various possibilities for the use
of the terms in the description of medieval phenomena, c) the role of the terms in the
assessment of particular source material and its contextualization.
Identity
Identity is one of the most important terms for the description and understanding of
medieval society especially in the relation to cultural transfer or/and (religious)
acculturation. How did people regard and define themselves, by which means did they
identify themselves with a particular social group (or society), and did the surrounding
society (or individuals) regard this particular group as homogeneous? Were the selfrepresentations of that particular group (or society) understandable for others? Which
mechanisms and processes played a role in this “recognition”? The strand aims at
understanding the “search for identity” in medieval religious texts – how various
identities meet and merge in them, how they influence each other, how they change and
produce new qualities.
Political use of the Vernacular
This strand will be devoted to vernacular texts, mainly translations whose main
intention was to provoke a public response, either in politics or in theology or (usually)
for combined uses. Most interesting are those texts which were made by a culturally as
well as politically (and/or theologically) well-defined social group, which were
addressed at another social group in order to convince, persuade or win over its
members for a particular position. Thus, translations are being studied as a medium of
intercultural or inter-group contact and influence. The session will emphasize the
causes and motives in the production of such texts and the various forms of their
reception.
Individuals and Groups/Groups Dynamics
Main focus of this strand will be the analysis of group dynamics and relations between
individuals and formal and informal groups in the reconstruction of processes of
cultural and religious transformation and religious acculturation. This could include
reconstruction of exchange of religious knowledge and textual material, creation of
textual communities and communities of interpretation (lay; religious-lay), as well as
the organisation of religious activities in the public space and in a civic context.
Didactic literature (with a specific stress on Mirror of Princes)
The strand will be focussing on didactic literature, with a specific stress on Mirror of
Princes, one of the most recurring genres in the research conducted by the members of
the research group. Questions of authorship and primary and secondary readership
could be addressed, as well as the study of strategies of transmission of moral and
religious contents and the relation between worldly, moral and religious leadership in
the changing political, social and religious patterns of the very long fifteenth century.
Performance
The strand will investigate the interconnections between medieval images, texts,
theater, and practices of viewing, reading and listening, exploring various
manifestations of performance and meanings of performativity in late medieval
religious life. Among the topics could be considered the interconnections between ritual
and theater, dynamics of performative readings of illuminated manuscripts and printed
books, buildings and sculptures, performative models of medieval spirituality, social
and political spectacles encoded in ceremonies, junctures between spatial configurations
of the medieval stage and mnemonic practices used for meditation.
Collaboration and exchange/Clash of culture
Main focus of this strand will be the investigation of forms, patterns, strategies and
outcomes of the collaboration and exchange between religious individuals, clerical
groups and institutions and lay individuals, groups and associations. At the other end
of this spectrum, presentations could concentrate on religious discussions, clashes and
repressions which characterize the long fifteenth century. Specific attention could be
given to changing patterns and transformations and to regional differences.
Research Strategies /Methodological approach
Main focus of the strand is theoretical background and methodological approach in
research on Latin as well as vernacular religious texts, their contextualisation and the
possibilities of comparison. The strand is open for every sort of textual material
analysed in the individual research projects.