Institute for Medieval Studies

Session	209
Title	Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Reassessing Politics and Culture in the 10th Century
Date/Time	Monday 12 July 2010: 14.15-15.45
Organiser	Simon Williams, School of History, University of Liverpool
Moderator/Chair	Brigitte Resl, Faculty of Arts, Cultures & Education, University of Hull
Paper 209-a	Once upon an Iron Age: Telling the Story of the Long 10th Century between Carolingians and Ecclesiastical Reform? (Language: English) Theo Riches, Exzellenzcluster 'Religion & Politik', Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster Index Terms: Historiography - Medieval; Historiography - Modern Scholarship; Politics and Diplomacy
Paper 209-b	The Duchy of Alemannia in the Early 10th Century: An 'Ethnic' Community (Language: English) Steven Robbie, St Andrews Institute of Mediaeval Studies, University of St Andrews Index Terms: Charters and Diplomatics; Historiography - Modern Scholarship; Political Thought
Paper 209-c	Playing to the Gallery: Reinterpreting Liudprand of Cremona's Antapodosis in its Contemporary Context (Language: English) Simon Williams, School of History, University of Liverpool Index Terms: Historiography - Medieval; Historiography - Modern Scholarship; Language and Literature - Latin; Manuscripts and Palaeography
Abstract	Modern scholarship's portrayal of the 10th century has often been influenced by its relationship with the periods which came both before and after it. It has either been seen as the Carolingian period's epilogue or the High Middle Age's prologue. These preconceptions have had a pronounced impact on the interpretation of this period's politics and culture. This session features three attempts intended to disentangle the 10th century from this historiographical knot. Each paper will look at a different aspect of this reassessment with an emphasis on the need to engage with this period on its own terms.