Julia Exarchos / Florian Hartmann (Eds.) Konrad II. (1024–1039). The Beginnings of Salian Kingship in European Perspective

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Florian Hartmann
• Subject Area: Medieval History ; Modern and Contemporary History
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 562567767

In recent years, the upheavals in European history around the year 1100 have been analyzed from many perspectives. The focus has expanded from the Investiture Controversy to the various developments that have been interpreted as reform, upheaval, or revolution - indeed even as "total revolution". All of this has significantly sharpened our understanding of the processes and underlying structures. However, it is striking that these studies are limited to the fully developed symptoms of this transformative period from the mid-11th century onwards. Largely overlooked is the first half of the 11th century. This deficit is all the more noteworthy since during this phase some foundational elements, prerequisites, and conditions for later developments can be sought. Many influential actors in the second half of the century were socialized during Konrad II's time; they received intellectual formation in monasteries and cathedral schools at that time and faced the rules and rituals of politics. From this insight alone arises our conviction that it is necessary to finally examine Konrad II's era from a broad European perspective. It was explicitly emphasized to analyze developments not only within the empire but also comparatively across Eu-rope while considering European interconnections alongside political processes and cultural practices. The volume with ist significant contributions published here for the first time provides not only remarkable individual findings but also further-reaching results regarding general developments and their prerequisites that would follow. For instance, notable findings regarding Queen Gisela's influence may shed new light on her successor Agnes's role. Konrad's so-called feudal law will be reinterpreted with far-reaching consequences for structures in dynamic northern Italian regions. The European perspective offered by several contributions allows for clearer visibility into interconnections thus redefining princes' agency, claims to power, and consequently their readiness for conflict even within this timeframe already. The scandal surrounding the deposition of Adelbero of Carinthia, when Konrad was isolated by a coalition of powerful princes from his own son, is likely already a symptom of these shifts. The crises long recognized under Heinrich III then appear in a new light as well. Additionally, the intellectual prerequisites for debating within what is known as the Investiture Controversy become more apparent here than previously seen. The 21 in-depth studies create a comprehensive yet comparative picture that includes regional variations, European entanglements, and intellectual developments as beginnings of far-reaching process. Overall, therefore, this volume holds significant scientific importance not only concerning Konrad II's era but also for understanding subsequent developments.

• DFG Programme: Publication Grants