The workshop brings together medievalists, Byzantinists, and philologists interested in aspects of medieval learning in the c.800 to 1200 period in order to discuss recent trends in, and comparative approaches to, researching networks of learning in the Byzantine east and Latin west.
This question presents a unique opportunity for meaningful comparative work, as cultures of learning in the Byzantine and Latin Middle Ages share important defining factors. Most obviously, both were firmly rooted in Roman and Christian late antiquity. They show (seemingly) similar typologies of ecclesiastic and monastic learning on the one hand, and profane and courtly types on the other, as well as similar patterns of reform and revival. Yet there are equally striking differences, the most obvious being that in the Byzantine east sub-structures of secular learning survived the transition from late antiquity into the Middle Ages outside the church. In the West, ecclesiastical and monastic institutions adopted ancient knowledge, and various disciplines of learning acquired a distinct religious outlook. One may surmise that scholarly authority and prestige may have been connected to religion in different ways in east and west.

It is thus an interesting, yet largely open question how far similarities and dissimilarities between East and West extend, and how much modern scholars of Byzantine and western medieval cultures might be able to learn from each other. As the study of medieval learning has recently broadened its methodological repertoire considerably, the workshop aims to provide an opportunity for interdisciplinary cooperation and methodical discussion: current philological and historical approaches focus on questions of individual and collective identity, authorship, communication, performativity and (social) space, while manuscript studies continue to be of fundamental importance. Combining these various methodological approaches from a comparative perspective, the workshop focuses on the related issues of learned authority as well as of the networks supporting it in east and west.

Imposing a rigorously interdisciplinary framework we expect to explore several important branches of learning (rhetorical, theological, monastic, philosophical) in this workshop. This first meeting will provide the basis for further comparative discussions, which will then be realized in the broader context of comparative and transcultural medieval and Mediterranean studies and include Islamic and Jewish cultures of learning.

For further information about the workshop, please contact

Dr. Niels Gaul, Department of Medieval Studies (Byzantine Studies), Central European University, gauln@ceu.hu

Dr. des. Sita Steckel, Exc 212 “Religion and Politics”, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, sita.steckel@gmx.net