5. Royal Power and the Sacred (10th-11th centuries).
The proposed section will deal with the issue of the relationship between the ruler and the sacred. The cultural reality of the West in the 10th and 11th centuries was the result of a long process of transformation of the ancient world. It took its final shape as a result of the reforms and practices of exercising power by the Carolingians. An important element of this was the strengthening of the idea of the origin of monarchical power from God, its sacralization and the development of the coronation ritual. Numerous duties were imposed on the ruler. These included care for the Church and the followers of Jesus, expanding the borders of the Christian world, founding churches and establishing monasteries, and finally - responsibility before God for the salvation of his subjects. In return, the ruler could count on the prayer pro rege et regibus, the inscription of his name in the Eucharistic prayer, the support of the saints he endowed with gifts and, after the act of unction, on the inviolability of his position as a monarch. The model of the sacrality of power, developed in the Carolingian era and developed by the Ottonians, was thoroughly redefined and ultimately rejected by
The coronation of Roger II of Altavilla in 1130 was the foundation act of the Kingdom of Sicily. The king then began to create the ideological foundations of his new royal authority. They seem to be reflected in the royal titulary as seen in the charters he issued. The initial period of the reign is particularly rich in terms of formulas used in royal diplomas: it seems that Roger II (or his chancery) was then looking for ways to define the foundations of the royal power in Sicily. Of particular note is the phrase christianorum adiutor et clipeus used by the king in the first years of his reign. There is also a particular devotional formula used almost exclusively by emperors at that time: divina favente clementia, as well as the title rex semper augustus. These terms may suggest that Roger II drew the ideological foundations of his power not only from Byzantine models but that he could have been inspired by the ideological patterns of the Western Empire. The aim of the paper is to present the formation of the titulary of the kings of Sicily in the first years of Norman Sicilian monarchy. I believe it allows to understand the basis for Roger II’s legitimization of the royal power, and to some extent it also reflects and helps to understand the political reality in which the new kingdom was created.
2025-09-18 17:30-18:00, Instytut Kultury Europejskiej UAM, 1.26
The so called „Instruction” is a short didactic treatise attributed to Vladimir Monomakh, the grandson of Yaroslav the Wise and the Grand Prince of Kyiv (1113–1125). In it’s form included in the „Primary Chronicle” (Povest’ vremennykh let (Повѣсть времѧньныхъ лѣтъ, “Tale of Bygone Years”) it consists of a short description of the prince’s life and accomplishments, his letter to Oleg Svyatoslavich, the prince of Novgorod and Seversk, and instructions concerning good rulership addressed to his successors. The goal of the paper is to describe these instructions, elaborate upon Monomakh’s internal policy and the differences between his rule and the policies attributed by contemporary sources to his predecessors: Vladimir the Great and Yaroslav the Wise.
2025-09-18 18:00-18:30, Instytut Kultury Europejskiej UAM, 1.26
The royal cult of Saint Denis and Saint Remigius, considered special patron saints of the Carolingian Kings of the Franks and later of the Kingdom of the West Francia between the mid–8th century and the end of the 9th century, seems to have diminished after Hugh Capet and his descendants took royal power in 987. Both Hugh and his successor, Robert the Pious, seem to be looking for new patron saints of the monarchy in France. These are primarily local saints, such as St. Aignan of Orleans and St. Savinian of Sens, although there is also evidence of promotion of cults common in Europe, such as St. Benedict or the Virgin. The aim of the paper is to present the early Capetian search for new patron saints of the dynasty, but also the political conditions for the valorisation, in the last years of the 10th and 11th centuries of the cult of patron saints of kings and kingdom other than the Carolingian ones, before Louis VI and Abbot Suger reinstated St. Dionysius as the principal patron saint of the French kingdom in the first quarter of the 12th century.
2025-09-18 17:00-17:30, Instytut Kultury Europejskiej UAM, 1.26
The subject of the presentation is a reflection on the role of royal power in the works of monastic authors from the period of the monastic reform in the 10th century. The main focus of the research will be the analysis of the writings of Saint Abbo of Fleury (c. 940-1004) and his reflections on the role of rulers in Christian society, as well as the relationships between the monastery, royal power, and episcopal authority. Key research issues include considering the nature of royal power within the context of the Fleury Abbey, reflections regarding the influence of kings on the renewal of monastic life, and the relationships that should exist between monasteries and secular rulers. As part of the adopted comparative perspective, the study will also include writings from other monastic circles, such as the Abbey of Cluny, and works by authors associated with the Lotharingian reform.
2025-09-18 16:00-16:30, Instytut Kultury Europejskiej UAM, 1.26
The oldest preserved manuscripts of the “Story of the Rus’ian Script” date back to the 1470s. In Poland, this text is known thanks to the mention of St. Adalbert and his activity “in Moravia, Bohemia and among the Poles”. According to the story contained therein, these lands were to be christianized by Cyril and Methodius in the spirit of Byzantine Orthodoxy, only later eradicated by Adalbert. The presence of this motif, unknown from other sources, was explained by researchers as political tension between the Principality of Moscow and the Kingdom of Poland–Lithuania. However, such an approach does not explain the origin of the 15th–century writer’s belief in the influence of the supposed Methodian mission on the Piast lands nor its decline as the presumed consequence of St. Adalbert’s mission. The latest research focusing on the intellectual formation of St. Adalbert suggests that this question cannot be reduced to an unjustified stereotype. Referring to these findings and the new perspective on the "Story of...", an attempt will be made to explain the presence of the Piast thread in it.
2025-09-18 18:30-19:00, Instytut Kultury Europejskiej UAM, 1.26
Instytut Kultury Europejskiej UAM w Poznaniu Uniwersytet im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu
The cultural reality of the West in the 10th and 11th centuries was the result of a long process of transformation of the ancient world. It took its final shape as a result of the reforms and practices of exercising power by the Carolingians. An important element of this was the strengthening of the idea of the origin of monarchical power from God, its sacralization and the development of the coronation ritual. Numerous duties were imposed on the ruler. These included care for the Church and the followers of Jesus, expanding the borders of the Christian world, founding churches and establishing monasteries, and finally – responsibility before God for the salvation of his subjects. In return, the ruler could count on the prayer pro rege et regibus, the inscription of his name in the Eucharistic prayer, the support of the saints he endowed with gifts and, after the act of unction, on the inviolability of his position as a monarch. The model of the sacrality of power, developed in the Carolingian era and developed by the Ottonians, was thoroughly redefined and ultimately rejected by the Gregorian Church.
2025-09-18 15:30-16:00, Instytut Kultury Europejskiej UAM, 1.26
The Life of St. Germanus the Scot, most likely composed around the 10th or 11th century, was long ignored by historiography as a text of no value, merely a compilation of various hagiographic traditions concerning a non-existent saint. One of the earliest editors of the source, Jean Bolland, had already deemed the text worthless. In particular, he considered the account of Julian the Apostate’s rise to power, describing how he used a magical trick to seize the imperial crown, as completely unnecessary and fantastical. While the Life of St. Germanus may indeed have little factual value, it nonetheless serves as an excellent and underutilized source for analyzing perceptions of royal power in the West Frankish Kingdom during the 10th and 11th centuries. It appears that the author, in describing Julian's acquisition of the crown and employing an antique setting, was referring to contemporary representations related to the royal office and its usurpation.
2025-09-18 16:30-17:00, Instytut Kultury Europejskiej UAM, 1.26
