In the hands of God’s servants’ The Power of the Bishop in Western Europe (1000-1300) conference
Thursday, 23 May 2013 at 09:00 - Friday, 24 May 2013 at 18:00 (BST)
Cardiff University is pleased to host this major international
conference on the power of the bishop in Western Europe
during the High Middle Ages.
Bishops occupied a prominent place in the hierarchy of the
medieval church, but they were also able to exercise power in
a secular context as judges, warriors, advisors to princes and
as lords who exploited a broad range of rights over land and
people. Although the careers of the most famous of their
number have attracted much interest in modern
historiography, the nature, extent and significance of
episcopal power at a local level, which formed the basis for
the bishop’s pre-eminence in medieval society, has not been
fully considered. The aim of this conference is to gain a
clearer understanding of the construction, enhancement and
expression of episcopal power at a local level in Western
Europe. Since a bishop’s local power was intimately
connected to the episcopal office and the duties it entailed,
the conference will be focused in particular on these
activities, such as a bishop’s pastoral responsibilities and his
role in the liturgy, and their role in the formation and
development of episcopal power. However, the effect on
episcopal power of other aspects of a bishop’s role in local
society will also be considered, such as his relationship with
We welcome contributions dealing with any aspect of the
bishop’s activities and interactions at a local level. Potential
topics include representations of power in architecture and
literature, episcopal power and local saints’ cults, episcopal
jurisdiction, the episcopal household and the relationship
between a bishop and his cathedral chapter.
Please note at early planning stage we hope this event will be free.
However we can only confirm this in February 2013, although in this case fees will be as low as possible. We will email everyone who registers in February to confirm the situation. We hope this allows enough time to book travel and accomodation.