Suchergebnisse

At a time when so many people under thirty regard most people over thirty as hopeless dotards, an almost sexegenarian cannot feel too comfortable as the caster of horoscopes for future medieval research. Surely David Herlihy would have been a more suitable prophet, had he not been assigned the traditionally historiographic role of inspecting the past; so would Harry Miskimin, were he not otherwise employed. Here I am, nevertheless, with no choice but trying to race ahead as fast as I can; fifteen minutes, one and a half per century of the middle ages, are quickly gone.

Cover -- Title -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- List of Figures, Maps, and Table -- Preface -- List of Abbreviations -- 1. Introduction: Early Medieval Studies in Twenty-First-Century America -- Part I Paradigms: Romanitas, Ethnicity, and Visual Culture -- 2. Material Ethnogenesis? A Crystal Conch of the "Goths" -- 3. Ethnic and Primitive Paradigms in the Study of Early Medieval Art -- 4. The Amber Trail in Early Medieval Eastern Europe -- 5. "Romanness" in Early Medieval Culture -- Part II Methods: Texts and Manuscripts from Carolingian Francia

Abstract
This contribution seeks to evaluate the influence of the "global turn" on medieval studies, with an accent on the European Middle Ages. Developing global perspectives for the premodern period constitutes a real challenge. First, the very notion of the "Middle Ages" is a Eurocentric concept and its application in non-European contexts can be criticized. Second, while the observation of far-ranging contacts and networks of exchange has opened important avenues for research in premodern history, the quantitative significance of those contacts remains difficult to evaluate. Third, there is an ongoing tension between different visions of (medieval) history's function in society. Despite these problems, recent contributions to the "global Middle Ages" have opened up new approaches to phenomena that are equally pertinent for European medieval studies. While the global turn might not entirely reshape the history of medieval Europe, it certainly adds important layers and new perspectives to subjects that not only resonate with contemporary interests but have long been a concern of European medieval history, such as migration, commerce, and religion. In spite of the difficulties and challenges (methodological, linguistic, etc.) that it poses, the global turn has the potential to contribute to the development of new thematic approaches and new forms of cooperation in the field of medieval studies.

This book argues for the value of applying methods deriving from cognitive sciences (such as neuroscience or psychology) to studies of medieval history, literature, art and culture, and suggests ways in which this comparative approach might be achieved.