In this interview, Michał Machalski discusses his recent thesis research into rulers, subjects, and loyalty in 13th Century Poland’.   The thirteenth century in Poland was a period of intense turmoil and fragmentation, with many of the nobility battling for supremacy, and for the right to be King, while the Teutonic Knights made increasing incursions into Polish lands.In this complex and fractured period, Michał looked at aspects of loyalty between the rulers from the local Piast dynasty and their subjects; how this loyalty was expressed, enacted, enforced, rewarded, and when lacking, how disloyalty was punished.  Although loyalty within the church was beyond the scope of his research, Michał explains how senior Bishops became arbiters of loyalty and guarantors of oaths.  Michał shows how through declarations and demonstrations of loyalty, the Polish society was held together and enabling Kazimierz III the Great to gain the throne and unite Poland. This podcast is part of a series of interviews covering central Europe in the medieval period for MECERN and CEU Department of Historical Studies.Image - Duke of Wroclaw Krakow Henryk IV Probus, from Codex Manesse 1305-40 (27668147667)

Dorottya Uhrin is an assistant professor at the Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) in Medieval History Department.  In this interview she discusses her on-going research into the phenomenon of the ‘virgin kings’ that occurred in the eleventh and twelfth centuries in Europe. Dorottya’s work focusses on Prince Emeric, the last surviving son of King Istvan I of Hungary who, according to his saintly legend, died a virgin.  She compares Emeric’s history and legend with those of the Holy Roman Emperor Henry II and the English king, Edward the Confessor, who were, again according to their saintly legends, ‘virgin kings’.  Dorottya notes that while they were all venerated for their perceived sanctity, the image of the ‘virgin king’ as a positive phenomenon was short lived and their popularity was limited.  This was possibly due to the lack of legitimate heirs, which for Hungary caused significant internal conflict, and for England eventually resulted in a foreign invasion.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 Boreczky discusses her fascinating research into the medieval illustrations of the story of ‘Apollonius, King of Tyre’ a romance from late antiquity which became a Medieval blockbuster, popular throughout Europe.Anna is an art historian and expert in medieval book culture, and is part of the Fragmenta et Codices research group in Budapest.  She starts by telling the story of Apollonius, King of Tyre, which is a moral story and an exciting adventure of love, fortune and marital fidelity spread over the eastern Mediterranean. In her forthcoming book, she discusses 26 illustrated books of the Apollonius story, made between ca. 600 and 1500. Her research includes two fragments; the first found in St Catherine’s Monastery at Mount Sinai which is a palimpsest and forms part of a very early copy of the Gospels in Arabic; the second is called Apollonius Pictus and is kept in the National Széchényi Library in Budapest..   Anna’s principle interest is in the illustrations,  their role within the renewals of the story and within the narrative strategies employed by illustrated Apollonius books These images show that when the book was copied or printed, the illustrations were updated to the contemporary era to increase the engagement of the readers.  In addition, Anna’s research confirms that illustrated romances were known in late antiquity, and assumed to be highly popular, with obvious lasting appeal.The image shown here is taken from Heinrich Steinhöwel: Apollonius von Tyrus. Augsburg, 1476. Berlin, Staatsbibliothek Preussischer Kulturbesitz, 8 Inc 73, fol. 44r.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, Olga Kalashnikova and Jan Kremer discuss their on-going research into historical digital gaming.  They note that around sixty percent of the population regularly play digital games, and that historical games generally constitute twenty percent of the most popular games, implying that history sells games. Olga and Jan research not only the games and their developers, but most importantly, the gamers, focussing on how they understand the games they play and the history behind those games.  In this interview they consider if, and how the most popular historical digital games can change or re-enforce popular perceptions of history. And if they do, will this makes professional historians more or less relevant.  They also discuss how national governments might use historical digital games for political propaganda with an example of a game developed and marketed on behalf of the Russian state.  Finally Olga and Jan consider what might be better ways of using medieval, or any history, in digital games to ensure they are historically valid while still being entertaining and profitable for the developers.This podcast is part of a series of interviews covering central Europe in the medieval period for MECERN and CEU Department of Historical Studies.Photo image - Pentiment (2022), photo provided by the Obsidian Entertainment

Adinel Dincă is Associate Professor at Babeș-Bolyai University (UBB) in Cluj-Napoca.  In this interview he talks about his major research project “Restory – Recovering Past Stories for the Future: A Synergistic Approach to Textual and Oral Heritage of Small Communities”.  While this project focuses on the little known group of Transylvanian Saxons, it includes partners from all over Europe. The project aims to rediscover local experiences and micro histories by working along-side local galleries, libraries, archives, and museums, to share them with the localities that the stories came from.Adinel breaks down how the endeavour was developed, how the several elements of the project function and how the partners are working together.  He also points out that the research is particularly interested in the local stories of good resource management, whether this is through primary education to build better human resources, or through re-use and re-purposing of physical resources for pragmatic and symbolic aims.This podcast is part of a series of interviews covering central Europe in the medieval period for MECERN and CEU Department of Historical Studies.The Restory project is funded by the European Research Executive Agency through the Research and Innovation Actions, Cluster 2 - Culture, Creativity, Inclusive Society, Pillar 2 of Horizon Europe (call HORIZON-CL2-2023-HERITAGE-01-04: Cultural heritage in transformation – facing change with confidence; Project nr. 101132781). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

In this interview, Nicholas Tayler talks about his thesis research into the migration of missionaries and merchants from the Lotharingian region, in the current day Low Countries, to ‘New Europe’ and specifically to Hungary.Nick looks at how he is tracing this fascinating, but largely forgotten migration route from Lotharingia to Hungary through a mixture of documents and histories, mostly from ecclesiastical archives, archaeology, place names and personal names.  This vast, complex and challenging research highlights the migration and it‘s multi-vectoral influence on the developing kingdom of Hungary.  Nick also discusses his research’s methodological foundations in Bruno LaTour’s ‘Actor Network Theory’ and the concept of Entangled History,  and how these tools help with the understanding of these routes of people and influence.  Nick explains how understanding medieval episcopal politics can help make sense of modern Europe. Nicholas Tayler was awarded the Bak Fellowship scholarship in 2023 -2024 to support his research.  For information about this scholarship please click here.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, Lena Sadovski talks about her current research into the community of New Christian merchants trading between Apulia in southern Italy, and Spalato, modern day Split, in Dalmatia in the 15th and 16th century.Lena explains who the New Christians were, and why they moved between Apulia and Spalato. She shows how, and why this route of international trade was so important for Spalato and their colonial over-lords, the Venetians, and the types of goods moving in both directions.  This trade also highlights the importance of family connections within and between the communities of New Christians in both Apulia and Spalato.   And despite the New Christians having converted from the Jewish faith to Christianity several centuries earlier, Lena shows that the memory of their religious alterity could be weaponized by their opponents in moments of conflicts, underlining the persistence of Jewish ‘otherness’ despite decades of successful integration into the Dalmatian society.Photo credit - Državni Arhiv u Zadru, 16: 59/66.7-IV, fol. 188r.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, Katalin Szende, Professor of Medieval Studies at the Central European University, and founding member and current President of MECERN, talks about her on-going research into Fair Relations: Business, Church and Power in the 11th – 13th Century.  Her focus is on the cathedral cities of the three major polities of the period and region, Bohemia, Poland and Hungary, their differences and similarities. Katalin notes that there are few traditional, archival sources of information for her research, and so uses the method of spatial analysis to understand the changing relationship between ecclesiastical , secular , and mercantile power.  These relationships become clear from the locations of, and physical and visual links between the cathedral, the stronghold and the marketplaces of a city. The research presented in this podcast was funded and hosted by the Religion and Urbanity: Reciprocal Formations research group of the Max Weber Center for Advanced Cultural and Social Studies at the University of Erfurt (DFG – FOR 2779).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, Gregor Rohmann, Professor for Regional Cultural History, University of Rostock, talks about his research into Pirates and Privateers – a Linguistic Conundrum of the 15th Century Baltic. Gregor considers how pirates, and the concepts and semantics related to piracy emerged in the Baltic. He links the emergence of specific actors who engaged in armed violence at sea to the need for both merchants and nobility to protect their legitimate interests.  In addition, he notes how the frequent inter-state conflicts within the region gave rise to the use of sea-based privateers and mercenaries commissioned by the states engaged in conflict.  Gregor also describes the number of terms used to describe the actors involved, and these terms vary partly according to how the ‘pirates’ were paid or rewarded and by whom, and party according to the view point of the person using the terms.  However, there are no records of what terminology the ‘pirates’ used to describe themselves.Finally Gregor explains how the semantics influenced the development of the rule-of-law and thus state building, and he notes how these developments were, effectively undertaken by merchants to protect their economic interests and trade within the Baltic region.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, Karen Stark discusses her on-going research into the cult of the Virgin Mary in late medieval Hungary.  Originally an archaeologist, Karen retains a great interest in material culture and place-making, and she uses this lens to analyse the Marian cult.Following King Stephen I dedicating the Hungarian kingdom to the Virgin, Karen notes how later kings venerated, and promoted the veneration of the Virgin Mary.  This public veneration, echoing and linking to King Stephen I, was particularly strong during times of dynastic transition when kingship and the right to rule was liable to be challenged.  Karen also notes how the nobility also promoted the cult of the Virgin Mary, potentially in order to gain favour with the king.Karen also discusses the malleability of the image of the Virgin, enabling many different communities to venerate her, for example, royalty, nuns, mothers, newly converted pagans.  Finally, Karen considers why understanding the cult of the Virgin is relevant today, citing both on-going veneration to political propaganda.This podcast is part of a series of interviews covering central Europe in the medieval period for MECERN and CEU Medieval Studies.The image of the Virgin for this podcast is from Manfred Koller, “Das Schatzkammerbild in Mariazell. Untersuchung und Konservierung,” in Ungarn in Mariazell, Mariazell in Ungarn: Geschichte und Erinnerung, ed. Péter Farbaky and Szabolcs Serfőző (Budapest: Historisches Museum der Stadt Budapest, 2004), 301.