When the Empires expanded and nations were born during the modern period, various groups and societies in the Middle Ages found historical figures – rulers, saints and heroes – as role models important for the formation of their identities. These medieval men and women became realms of memory (lieux de mémoire), symbolic reference figures in which fundamentally important images of local, ethnocultural and later national discourse were embodied, thanks to which the emergence of an „imagined community“ became possible. After the Second World War, many of the integrated figures of 19th century national romanticism lost their significance or became re-invented by religious or ethnic minorities, as symbols for rebellious groups or sub-cultures. In the framework of this conference, we are interested in relevance (irrelevance) of medieval historical figures (saints, heroes, rulers etc.) and events (battles, political acts) for the 19th and early 20th century European societies and what impact the medieval individuals and events had on the formation of modern group identities.

The conference is organised by the project „Saints and Heroes from Christianization to Nationalism: Symbol, Image, Memory (Nord-West Russia, Baltic and Nordic countries)“ of University of Greifswald and St. Petersburg State University.

The project is financed by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) and the Russian Science Foundation (RSF).

Register until 15 October by sending an email to Dr. Gustavs Strenga: gustavs.strengauni-greifswaldde

Das volle Programm finden Sie hier.