CEU Medieval Studies and MECERN

In this interview, David Rockwell, Ph.D student with the Department of Medieval Studies, discusses his research into the lobbying practices of bankers and other lenders that aimed to influence imperial law-making affecting the economic life of sixth century Byzantium.  He looks at the history of economics and corruption of the period from his unique perspective as a former senior finance and capital markets lawyer in today’s global trading hubs.

In this interview, Konstantin Golev, the Associate Professor at the ‘Institute for Historical Studies at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences’ discusses his on-going research into “Winter is Coming – the Seasonal Nature of Nomadic Warfare”.

His research focusses on the interaction between the nomadic tribal peoples of the vast Eurasian steppe, specifically the Cumans and Mongols, and their sedentary neighbours to the west.  He does this mostly through a detailed analysis of the asymmetrical nature of warfare of nomadic peoples, who, unlike most sedentary populations, preferred to go to war, invade and raid in winter, and avoided fighting in summer.  Konstantin explains that this unusual seasonal nature of warfare is largely due to there being more grass available for their many horses in the cooler, wetter months, than the hotter and drier part of the year.      

Konstantin also shows the different approach to battle between the nomadic peoples and their sedentary neighbours.  The nomadic fighters each had several, light, fast horses with limited armour, while their opponents favoured fewer, stronger, well armoured but slower ‘knightly’ mounts. For the nomadic people, warfare and fighting was purely an economic function and had little to do with political ambitions, therefore when they were unlikely to win a battle, they simply retreated.

In addition, Konstantin explains the challenges of studying Medieval Eurasian nomadic peoples.  Due to the nature of their constantly mobile life-style, they leave limited archaeological records and, all but two tribal groups, have left no written records. 

This podcast is part of a series of interviews covering central Europe in the medieval period for MECERN and CEU Department of Historical Studies.

In this interview Anna Kinde discusses her doctoral research into the arrangement and use of space in medieval cathedrals in Central Europe.  She approaches this topic on the premise that people and communities are reflected in and by their built environment, including non-domestic and religious spaces, and thus by studying the built environment helps us to understand the societies that built them.   As numbers of central European cathedrals have been destroyed or extensively rebuilt, Anna’s analysis of the use of space includes liturgical instructions and secular records of activities such as trials and signing important documents that occurred within the space of cathedrals.

Anna also notes how good structural design enhances feeling of personal well-being and positive social interaction.  This can be seen and felt within many medieval ecclesiastical buildings.

This podcast is based on archive material from the CEU Medieval Radio, an initiative of the doctoral students of the Department of Historical Studies.  It forms part of a series for the CEU Department of Historical Studies and MECERN.

In this interview Dr Jana Gajdosova talks about her research into the architects, their lives, their business practice, and their architecture during the late gothic period.  The conversation focusses on the architects Peter Parler, who worked on Prague Cathedral, and Lorenz Lechler, both of whom may be described as members of an international, professional elite of the middle-ages.  Dr Gajdosova is a medieval art specialist at Sam Fogg, an international art dealership and gallery in London.

Link to the video of the Lorenz Lechler drawing - https://vimeo.com/666276544

This podcast is part of a series of interviews covering central Europe in the early and medieval period for MECERN and CEU Medieval Studies.

In this interview Emir Filipovic, Associate Professor of Medieval History at Sarajevo University, discusses his research into conflict, collusion, and diplomacy in 14th century Balkans.  This was a period and region of great change, with competing powers, shifting alliances, and much political and military complexity.  The Byzantium empire was in slow decline and emerging powers were competing for a slice of the Byzantine cake; there were shifting alliances; two Popes were both bidding for influence, and the phrase ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’ had true meaning.  Amongst all of this, an alliance was formed between a Christian king and the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid, potentially to be confirmed by a marriage which, if it had taken place, would have placed a member of the Ottoman ruling family in a significant position in a European, Christian, royal dynasty.

This podcast is part of a series of interviews covering central Europe in the medieval period for MECERN and CEU Medieval Studies.

In this interview, Orsolya Lang, the Director of the Aquincum Museum in Budapest, Hungary, talks about her work in the town of Aquincum on the Roman Limes, and its legacy on the early medieval period.  Orsolya discusses Aquincum, which at its height had a population of around 60,000, including a legionary fortress, administrative centre and civil town, and the settlement was an important part of the global Roman world.  Aquincum initially absorbed and ‘Romanised’ settlers from outside the empire, but with the gradual decline of the empire, semi-nomadic ‘barbarian’ tribes from regions north and east of the Limes slowly replaced the settled, urban, Roman population.  These people brought new cultures and new life styles, and with them the early middle-ages emerged. 

This podcast is part of a series of interviews covering central Europe in the early and medieval period for MECERN and CEU Medieval Studies.

In this interview, Robert Antonin, Associate Professor of History at Ostrava University in Czech Republic, discusses his research into the importance of rulership rituals in the High Middle Ages, Bohemia.  He shows how the visualization of rulership through the public display of ritual built the legitimacy of the ruler, and how the public acceptance of this legitimacy enhanced social cohesion and stability.  While Robert’s research period is the high medieval, he suggests a similar process happens in today’s modern democracies.

This podcast is part of a series of interviews covering central Europe in the medieval period for MECERN and CEU Medieval Studies.

The ‘Oxford Handbook of Medieval Central Europe 800 – 1600’ was conceived in Budapest, Hungary in 2014, outlined in Olomouc, Czechia in 2016 and finally published by Oxford University Press in 2022. 

In this interview, the joint editors of the book, Nada Zecevic and Daniel Ziemann, discuss the process of creating a Handbook that consists of twenty-four chapters written by over fifty different scholars spread throughout the world.  They discuss how the book’s style and content was created, how the boundaries of chronology and geography were defined and agreed upon, and how they managed the many challenges of such an extensive subject and ambitious project. Nada and Daniel also reflect on the final chapter of the Handbook and consider the use, and potential abuse, of medieval history and the role that historians should play in presenting medieval history.

In this interview, Dr. Fabian Kümmeler talks about his on-going research into the socio-professional community of herders on the island of Korčula in Venetian Dalmatia, in the fifteenth century. Based on largely neglected archival holdings from the Croatian State Archive in Zadar, which include business contracts, records of litigation and dispute resolution, Fabian describes how the herding business functioned, who was involved, the legal environment and how it was enforced. Together they offer a fascinating window into the daily life of the herders and their fellow islanders in 15th century.

Dr. Fabian Kümmeler is the APART-GSK Fellow at the Austrian Academy of Sciences and Principal Investigator of a project on “Pastoral Communities in Southeast Europe, 1400–1600”.

This podcast is part of a series for the CEU Department of Medieval Studies and MECERN

In this interview, Zoë Opačić, Senior Lecturer in the Department of the History of Art at Birkbeck College, University of London, UK, discusses her current research into how royalty, religion and relics impacted town planning and architecture, and thus changed the shape of major cities in central Europe.  The interview focusses on Prague, Krakow and Vienna in the fifteenth century, specifically during the reigns of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV and Kasimir the Great.

This podcast is part of a series of interviews covering central Europe in the medieval period for MECERN and CEU Medieval Studies.