The Church and War. Between the Early and Late Middle Ages, to be held at Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz, Poland, Institute of the History and International Relations, Bydgoszcz: June 26th-27th, 2015.

Aims of the conference:
The proposed theme of the conference – the Church and the war – has long been the subject of scientific debate, especially among scholars concerned about the crusade movement and military orders. They notice the role of the Church and Christianity in the shaping of specific religious climate, which led, in the eleventh century, to unprecedented military effort directed against Muslims, and later on also against the pagan peoples living in East-Central and Northern Europe. However, there is no lack of specific research issues in this field, which have not been sufficiently highlighted by the scholars and analyzed in a wider problematic context. The geographical distribution of the intensity of studies also presents unevenly. Western part of the continent, with the widespread crusade ideology, pro-peace activities of the Church, pax and tregua Dei, as well as developed military competencies of bishops and abbots is much more strongly represented in the medieval studies than the region east of the Elbe. On the other hand, focus on the papal crusade prerogatives makes undervalued the role of the local churches in shaping of regional theaters of war or religious attitudes of chivalry. Still many aspects of military rituals and religious imagery associated with the war seems to be poorly recognized, whereas the military activity of clergy is too often analyzed unilaterally and separately from religious functions. The purpose of this conference is to provide a forum to discuss these issues in relation to the period ca. 850-ca. 1350.

Language of the conference – mostly Polish, papers in English are welcome
Registration deadline: We expect abstracts about 250 words in length before March 1, 2015.
Conference fee: 200 EUR
(the fee included three nights in the hotel***, two dinners, one gala dinner and publication of paper)

For detailed information (in Polish), see the conference website:
http://kosciolawojna.jimdo.com

Additional informations:
Number of presentations: about 20 in two days
Time of the presentation: 20 minutes

Contact with the organizers:
kosciolawojna@gmail.com

Preferred topics of papers are:

– direct and indirect participation of the clergy in warfare
– Church armed clientele and fortified settlement in the light of written sources
– the use of weapons and armies by the clergy
– military service of the bishops to the rulers in the context of the servitium regis model
– bishops as defenders of the fatherland (defensio patriae) and the Church (defensio ecclesiae)
– clergy as war counselors and experts in military affairs
– military chaplains and their duties
– religious military rites or rituals
– imploring the favor of God by the clergy during battles
– saints as helpers in battles (Schlachtenhelfers) and other miraculous phenomena during battles
– crosses, relics and ecclesiastical banners as arma victricia / signa victoriae
– military liturgical equipment: portable altars, tents-capellae, carroccios
– war / battle as judicium Dei
– rituals of purification of the soul before and after battles
– the ritual of benediction of knights, soldiers and military equipment
– the Church and the Christian ethics of war
– the Church as an originator or enhancer of armed conflicts
– ecclesiastical idea of the social order as a concept legitimizing the use of violence
– crusade against the « evil Christians »
– categories of wars in the notion of the Church (bellum justum, bellum sacrum, bellum civile)
– references to the war and military campaigns in liturgical sources
– theological concepts of war and peace
– the preaching of the Crusades
– military aspect of the mission to the pagans
– war in canon law
– portray of war in medieval hagiography and ecclesiastical historiography
– religious motifs on the armor
– military connotations of clerical ministry and monastic identity (Deo Militare, arma spiritualis, etc.)
– war seen through the biblical history