Institute for Medieval Studies

Session	1525
Title	Construction and Continuity of Episcopal Identities in the Alpine and Rhineland Regions, c. 400-800
Date/Time	Thursday 12 July 2012: 09.00-10.30
Sponsor	Department of History, University of Sheffield
Organiser	Helena F. Carr, Department of History, University of Sheffield
Moderator/Chair	Ian N. Wood, Independent Scholar, Leeds
Paper 1525-a	The Authority of Bishops and the Cults of the Saints in Late Antique Trier and Cologne (Language: English) Christine Davison, Department of History, University of Sheffield Index Terms: Archaeology - General; Ecclesiastical History; Hagiography; Politics and Diplomacy
Paper 1525-b	Bishops and the Cult of Saints in Alpine Switzerland: The Cases of St Peter (Geneva) and St Lucius (Chur), c. 300-800 (Language: English) Chantal Bielmann, School of Archaeology & Ancient History, University of Leicester Index Terms: Archaeology - Sites; Architecture - Religious; Historiography - Medieval; Religious Life
Paper 1525-c	A Briton Abroad?: St Lucius of Chur and the Moulding of a Diocesan Patron (Language: English) Helena F. Carr, Department of History, University of Sheffield Index Terms: Archaeology - General; Ecclesiastical History; Hagiography; Politics and Diplomacy
Abstract	This session discusses the development of episcopal identity and authority in the Alpine and Rhineland regions from Late Antiquity into the Early Middle Ages, focusing particularly upon the creation and promotion of regional saints' cults. Many bishoprics in the central European regions of the Roman Empire disappeared, only to be revived in the Carolingian period. It is therefore especially interesting to look at those which apparently survived the upheavals of fifth to seventh centuries with some level of continuity. How did these bishops establish and maintain their diocese's legitimacy? What challenges did they face and how were these confronted?