The Sacral and the Secular: Early Medieval Political Theology

Churchill College, Cambridge, UK

28 June 2018

The study of early medieval political theology has seen a resurgence in recent years, with scholars overturning the assumptions of previous generations about sacral kingship and turning to new sources such as biblical exegesis. This one-day conference will explore the latest thinking on the subject, with particular attention to the idea of the secular during the early Middle Ages.

Robert Markus influentially argued that the beginning of the Middle Ages in Europe witnessed a progressive ‘de-secularization’ but recent work has questioned this analysis. As confidence in the progressive secularization of the contemporary world has faltered in the past generation, now seems an appropriate time to explore how concepts of the secular and de-secularization can shed light on the early Middle Ages.

This conference brings together scholars working on different aspects of early medieval political theology to examine the question of the secular in law, administration, historiography and gender, among other areas. The aim is to stimulate further research and collaboration in a fruitful field of early medieval history.

For more information, including the programme and registration details, visit: https://earlymedievalpoliticaltheology.wordpress.com.