Nora Berend (University of Cambridge), Klaus Oschema (GHI Paris) and Jörg Peltzer (Heidelberg University)
Chaired by Miri Rubin (Queen Mary, University of London)
Modern statehood is often seen as the ‘natural’ result of a march towards centralization. From this perspective, the complex territorial patchwork and opaque political entanglements of the Holy Roman Empire appear as strikingly different, if not outright dysfunctional. This round-table brings together medievalists from the UK, Germany, and France to discuss popular and academic views on the Holy Roman Empire as well as the question of (de-)centralization in the Middle Ages and its implications in the present. While contemporary opponents of European integration take the fragmentation of the Holy Roman Empire as a warning against federalism, others identify the ‘openness’ of the Holy Roman Empire as something for the European Union, for example, to aspire to.
Bio-Notes on the speakers (PDF file)
This panel will take place as a hybrid event at the GHIL and online via Zoom. In order to attend this event, please register via Eventbrite to take part in person or online.