The Council of Constance as a European Event. Encounters, Media and Rituals

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Birgit Studt
• Subject Area: Medieval History
• Term: from 2014 to 2015
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 252624651

The autumnal conference ‘The Council of Constance as a European Event. Encounters, Media and Rituals’ held by the Konstanzer Arbeitskreis für mittelalterliche Geschichte in 2011 followed up on several preceding meetings and explored the current thematic focal points and methodological approaches in Medieval Studies, which will inable scholars to analyse, describe and assess the events of the Council of Constance in new and fruitful ways.The volume publishing the results of this conference therefore concentrates on fields of research, which have not been thoroughly attended to yet. Whereas the conference held in honor of the 550th anniversary of the Constantiense in 1964 did not focus on the Council itself, but rather on the late medieval world in which it took place and the political, social, ecclesiastical, and intellectual trends of the 15th century, the following meeting in 2004 ‘The Councils of Pisa (1409), Konstanz (1414-18) and Basel (1431-1449)‘ bestowed special interest on developing institutions as well as agents and their personal networks. In light of the forthcoming 600th anniversary it stood to reason to finally concentrate on the council itself but not solely on the actions in the city of Constance. Instead, it seemed mandatory to recognise the European dimension of events. It is absolutely essential to analyse the relations between European powers and the council. Special attention has been given to the Iberian Penisula and the role of Western Europe as a prominent setting for union negotiations, which should no longer be regarded as secondary scenes or political periphery. The necessity has become apparent to integrate dealings taking place afar from Constance, but at the same time in constant exchange with the prelates assembled there. In this regard, recent publications on the history of diplomacy yield helpful new approaches. On the whole the books main concern is to seek approaches towards an assessment of the Council of Constance, which apply to ongoing trends in medieval ecclesiastical history as well as research on conciliarism. Accordingly, the Council of Constance is to be appreciated as a political occurrence in line with the more recent political history under the keywords „Encounters, Media and Rituals“. The nations’ and realms’ concerns and agendas, the council’s long range effects as well as external stimuli can thus be comprised. Historical preconditions of communication are of interest no less than the actual operations of all involved diplomatically, argumentatively an economically. As important factors of the public dimensions of political communication media and rituals are to be considered, such as the spoken word and correspondences, preaching and music, the diffusion of manuscripts and texts as much as the physical and emblematic presence of subject-matters and individuals.

• DFG Programme: Publication Grants
• Participating Person: Professorin Dr. Gabriela Signori