Medieval East Central Europe in a Comparative Perspective

Medieval East Central Europe in a Comparative Perspective draws together the new perspectives concerning the relevance of East Central Europe for current historiography by placing the region in various comparative contexts. The chapters compare conditions within East Central Europe, as well as between East Central Europe, the rest of the continent, and beyond. Including 15 original chapters from an interdisciplinary team of contributors, this collection begins by posing the question: "What is East Central Europe?" with three specialists offering different interpretations and presenting new conclusions. The book is then grouped into five parts which examine political practice, religion, urban experience, and art and literature. The contributors question and explain the reasons for similarities and differences in governance and strategies for handling allies, enemies or subjects in particular ways. They point out themes and structures from town planning to religious orders that did not function according to political boundaries, and for which the inclusion of East Central European territories was systemic. The volume offers a new interpretation of medieval East Central Europe, beyond its traditional limits in space and time and beyond the established conceptual schemes. It will be essential reading for students and scholars of medieval East Central Europe.

Gerhard Jaritz is Professor of Medieval Studies at the Central European University, Hungary. His previous publications include Angels, Devils: The Supernatural and its Visual Representation (2011) and Images, Ritual and Daily Life. The Medieval Perspective (2012). Katalin Szende is Associate Professor of Medieval Studies at the Central European University, Hungary. Her previous publications include Generations in Towns: Succession and Success in Pre-Industrial Urban Societies (edited with F-E Eliassen, 2009) and Segregation - Integration - Assimilation. Religious and Ethnic Groups in the Medieval Towns of Central and Eastern Europe (edited with D Keene and B Nagy, 2009).

Gerhard Jaritz, Introduction What is East Central Europe? Nora Berend, The Mirage of East Central Europe: Historical Regions in a Comparative Perspective Márta Font, The Emergence of East Central Europe and Approaches to Internal Differentiation Anna Kuznetsova, The Notion of 'Central Europe' in Russian Historical Scholarship Political Practices Stefan Burkhardt, Between Empires: South-Eastern Europe and the Two Roman Empires in the Middle Ages Julia Burkhardt, Negotiating Realms: Political Representation in Late Medieval Poland, Hungary, and the Holy Roman Empire Religious Space József Laszlovszky Local Tradition or European Patterns? The Grave of Queen Gertrude in the Pilis Cistercian Abbey Beatrix F. Romhányi, Mendicant Networks and Population in a European Perspective Johnny Grandjean Gøgsig Jakobsen, Friars Preachers in Frontier Provinces of Medieval Europe Urban Space Olha Kozubska-Andrusiv, Comparable Aspects in Urban Development: Kievan Rus' and the European Middle Ages Katalin Szende, Town Foundations in East Central Europe and the New World: the Use of the Grid Plan in a Comparative Perspective Michaela Antonín Malaníková, Female Engagement in Medieval Urban Economy: Late-Medieval Moravia in a Comparative Perspective Art and Literature Béla Zsolt Szakács, The Place of East Central Europe on the Map of Romanesque Architecture Anna Adamska, Intersections: Medieval East Central Europe from the Perspective of Literacy and Communication Julia Verkholantsev, Etymological Argumentation as a Category of Historiographic Thought in Historical Writings of Bohemia, Poland, and Hungary János M. Bak, What did we learn? What is to be done? Some insights and visions after reading this book