Latin church in special form? Communication system and knowledge formation between Latin Europe and the Far East in the 13th and 14th Centuries

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Jochen Johrendt, since 11/2021
• Subject Area: Medieval History
• Term: since 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 438821762

The project investigates early contacts between Latin Europe and the Far East in the 13th and 14th centuries, which was initiated after the Mongol invasion owing to the interaction between the Apostolic See and the Mendicant Orders. The normative aspects of these legations and the claims of the European center have been extensively researched. Those researches generally draw conclusions from European sources. However, the potential of East Asian sources has not yet been exhausted for this research subject, as in the examination of the actual implementation of claims in a local context and the perception of the envoys by the local rulers and their population. This is precisely the aim of the current project. The project "The Latin Church in special form", queries both the nature of church organizations in the Far East, as well as the interaction of envoys with the papacy and with East Asian rulers and their population in the 13th and 14th centuries, which deviated from the norms and precedents of the legation and mission in Europe. The categories “center-periphery”, “communication system” and “cultural transfer” are ideal for illuminating these processes. East Asian sources are juxtaposed with the reports from European envoys, in particular, to contextualize the European reports. The project may ultimately serve as a methodological and contextual impetus for recent research into the globalized communication of the papacy and the Mendicant Orders in the Middle Ages.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Ehemalige Antragstellerin: Dr. Wendan Li, until 11/2021