Medieval Studies of Central Europe

Strona główna
Polska
Lublin
Medieval Studies of Central Europe

Managed by the Centre for Medieval Studies in Lublin (Poland)

Creating space for collaboration | Sharing research | Providing access to digital technologies

20/08/2026

Are you a graduate student interested in late medieval philosophy? Then the conference "CUSANUS CONTRA BOHEMOS" Revisiting Nicholas of Cusa, held in Prague on November 19 and 20, 2026, organized by the Charles University is for you!

To apply for the conference, please submit an anonymous costract of no more than 300 words for review to [email protected] along with a short personal bia. The submission deadline is 6 September 2026.
Appicants wil be notfied of their acceptance by 10 September 2026. More details on the attached poster.

07/08/2026

Scholars from the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the University of Vienna organize a Winter School devoted to the challenges and chances of using digital tools in medieval studies.

The use of AI for reading historical sources (known as Automated or Handwritten Text Recognition) is becoming an expected and necessary part of many DH projects. Nevertheless, there are still many challenges, from choosing between a growing number of options for HTR, to learning how to prepare ground truth and train models, and to navigating new methodological issues.

The Winter School: HTR of Historical Sources, 2026 (further as HTR Winter School) started in 2022 and has evolved along with technological developments and the current state of research. Most importantly: Its participants learn not only the basics of HTR, but contribute to growing datasets for particular languages and scripts.

This year, there will be working groups for the following languages/scripts:
Carolingian Latin
Late Medieval Latin
Early Modern German
Byzantine Greek
Syriac
Church Slavonic
Old Icelandic

There are five virtual sessions (with the exception of the Old Icelandic group, which is taught in situ), always on Friday from 2PM to 5PM, Central European Time:

2nd October
16th October
30th October
13th November
27th November

Call for application is open until 11th September 2026.
[details via the link in the comments]

04/08/2026

There are new materials in the Teutonic database!

At the end of July, our team editing the correspondence between the Teutonic Knights and Poland uploaded new data. Many letters have had their Polish regesta revised (we owe a lot in this respect to Professor Michał Rzepiela, a medieval Latinist from the Institute of Polish Language of the Polish Academy of Sciences). Furthermore, 29 new letters have been added to the database, bringing the total number of letters to 163.

These include:
- A 1403 letter from the rector of the school in Szamotuły to a Neumark official, which is a kind of spy report about rumours concerning the political intentions of the Polish king and nobility.
- A 1411 complaint from the Płock bishop Jakub of Kurdwanów to the Great Master Heinrich von Plauen about the loss of herrings, olive oil, almonds, rice and figs bought in Gdańsk due to the actions of the Teutonic commander of Brodnica.
- A 1418 protest by Jarosław of Iwno against the alleged incursions of the Tuchola Teutonic Knights, addressed to the commander of Toruń, Ludwig von Landsee.
- A 1421 letter from the bishop of Poznań, Andrzej Łaskarzyc, to the archbishop of Lviv, Jan Rzeszowski, requesting that the king, Władysław Jagiełło, be made aware of the dangers of negotiating with the Hussites.

These are just a few examples of what you can learn from the Teutonic letters.

[Illustration: Prof. Sobiesław Szybkowski (team leader) and Prof. Adam Szweda during a conference at the Malbork Castle Museum.]

03/08/2026

We haven't lost sight of South-Eastern Europe here. This newly published collective survey of the late medieval history of the Balkans is sure to become a fundamental reference work for anyone interested in the region.

The Balkans in the Late Middle Ages, 1300-1500. Edited By Panos Sophoulis, Florin Curta (Routledge: Copyright 2027)

31/07/2026

The dust has barely settled on International Medieval Congress - University of Leeds, but it's already high time to start thinking about the IMC 2027. Professor Emilia Jamroziak is seeking contributors for sessions on monasticism and community.

International Medieval Congress 2027 - Call for Papers in Sessions

Making Monastic Community: Identity, Memory, and Belonging
The theme of the International Medieval Congress 2027, "Community", https://www.imc.leeds.ac.uk/imc-2027/ offers an excellent opportunity to explore important dimensions of medieval monastic life.
This session(s) invites papers examining the formation, maintenance, and transformation of monastic communities throughout the medieval period. Particular attention may be given, but not limited to, the following questions:
How did monastic communities maintain cohesion and negotiate internal tensions?
How were communal identities constructed, expressed, and preserved?
What relationships existed between the community of the living and the community of the dead within monastic settings?
How was the memory of a monastic community created, transmitted, altered, or contested?
How were monastic communities, including lived experience, affected by reform movements, institutional change, and broader social, political, or religious developments?
Proposals are welcome from scholars working on the full chronological range of medieval monastic history - from late antique to late medieval and everything in between. Contributions addressing monastic traditions both within and beyond the Latin Church are particularly encouraged, including a focus on monastic communities in medieval Africa, the Eastern Churches, and Orthodox traditions.
By bringing together diverse traditions and geographical and chronological perspectives, the session seeks to foster a broader discussion of how medieval monastic communities were imagined, experienced, and remembered.
Please send paper proposals of 250 words and a brief academic CV (one page) to [email protected] by 22 August 2026.

[illustration - Investiture of a Benedictine Monk, from the manuscript De Universo or "De rerum naturis", Monte Cassino MS Casin 132 cc]

30/07/2026

During the holiday season, medievalists should broaden their horizons by asking J. Le Goff's question: Faut-il vraiment découper l'histoire en tranches? If you're not dividing the Central European history into small compartments and want some reading crop rotation, you might enjoy the latest issue of "Historical Studies on Central Europe", with many intriguing contributions on our region. Available in open access via the link in the comments.

29/07/2026

In the Memoirs of Fellows and Corresponding Fellows of the Medieval Academy of America section of the latest issue of Speculum, you can find an obituary devoted for František Šmahel written by Paweł Kras, Martin Nodl, James Palmitessa. The authors conclude that: „Over ninety years of life, in which seventy years were lled every day with scholarly work, Šmahel developed his talent, his critical thought, and his ability to play with language andbring words to metaphors. In his works he elucidated big concepts and brought to us a unied view of history.” This is certainly true of the great Czech scholar, his academic achievements and extraordinary life.
A link to the section can be found in the comments [behind the paywall].

28/07/2026

The upcoming 2027 MECERN Congress will take place in Budapest. Professor Emilia Jamroziak is looking for participants for the planned sessions on the intersection of monasticism and spatiality.

Monastic spaces in Central Europe - call for papers in sessions at the MECERN 2027

1. Transformations of Monastic Spaces in the Middle Ages
How and why were monastic spaces rebuilt, altered, expanded, or reorganised? What roles did liturgical developments, devotional practices, commemorative needs, institutional reforms, patronage, or changing concepts of monastic identity play in these transformations?
Possible topics may include:
Architectural modifications and spatial reconfiguration of monasteries.
Liturgical and devotional uses of monastic space.
Spaces of intercession, memoria, and burial.
Reform movements and their impact on monastic environments.
Patronage and the social meaning of rebuilding projects.
Interactions between monastic communities and lay audiences through spatial design.
2. Destruction of Monastic Spaces and Its Consequences in the Middle Ages
Monastic spaces could be damaged, abandoned, dismantled, or intentionally destroyed through warfare, political conflict, environmental catastrophes, religious reform, or catastrophic economic decline. Such events often reshaped landscapes, communities, and memory.
Possible topics may include:
Causes and contexts of monastic destruction.
Material and social consequences of abandonment.
Reuse and recycling of monastic buildings and materials.
Archaeological evidence of destruction and recovery.
The impact of political and religious change on monastic sites.
3. Post-Medieval Alterations and Monastic Medievalism
Many monasteries experienced secularisation, revival, restoration, reinvention, or musealisation beyond the Middle Ages. Medieval monastic heritage has also been repeatedly reinterpreted in modern historical narratives and heritage practices.
We welcome papers on:
Early modern and modern transformations of former monastic sites.
Secularisation and changing functions of monastic buildings.
Revival and restoration of monastic institutions.
Heritage-making and musealisation.
Romantic, nationalist, and religious appropriations of monastic pasts.
Contemporary engagements with medieval monastic heritage.

Deadline: 30 September 2026. Please send a 250-word abstract to: [email protected]

[Illustration - Tyniec abbey by Kriksos - licence, CC]

27/07/2026

One hundred years ago, a large and important exhibition was held on Silesian Gothic art: Schlesische Malerei und Plastik des Mittelalters (Silesian Painting and Sculpture of the Middle Ages). A new exhibition at the Four Domes Pavilion (The National Museum) in Wrocław, entitled The Centenary. The anniversary exhibition of Silesian medieval art, will soon offer a chance to look back at a century of research into this heritage. It opens on 31 July and runs until 30 December. This exhibition is part of the 'Gothic in Poland' series, which will consist of two more exhibitions in Poznań and on Wawel Hill in Krakow later on.
Find out more about the Wrocław exhibition via the link in the comments.

21/07/2026

Our Centre has signed a collaboration agreement with the University of Passau. This is our 34th such agreement (and our 13th with an international partner). The agreement establishes a framework for cooperation in research projects, teaching and staff exchanges. At Universität Passau, the agreement is coordinated by Prof. Thomas Wünsch, a former student of Prof. Alexander Patschovsky, who holds the Chair of the History of Eastern Europe and is a member of the International Board of our journal "Acta Mediaevalia. Series Nova”.
We look forward to collaborating with Passau!

Adres

ICBN 2. 06 Konstantynów 1J
Lublin
20-708

Strona Internetowa

https://csm.kul.pl/en/centre-for-medieval-studies/

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