The episcopal
office is a shared feature of Christianities around the globe. This of course
also holds true for medieval times. Although the office originates from a
common set of sources, the duties and the tasks of the bishop vary greatly in
scope. The reasons for such variation include the actual political situation,
the social and cultural interactions, and the regional as well as religious
background. What power did bishops wield as political agents, as judges, or as
counsellors? How and with whom did they interact, and for which purposes? What
was expected of a newly elected bishop and which were the categories by which
individuals were deemed good candidates for the episcopacy? How did that change
the actual form of the office? For whom was the episcopal office desirable at
all, and why? Were there other offices that took over episcopal duties by force
or necessity? In times of political unrest, bishops assumed political
leadership in their residential cities, such as in early medieval Gaul and in
the Middle East after the Muslim conquest. They even participated in military
activities. As physicians, scholars, and diplomats, they became influential
agents in the courts of rulers. In certain regions they acted as judges within
their own parish even in secular cases. But in other instances their importance
was overshadowed by that of mighty abbots or powerful rulers so that bishops
found themselves reduced to liturgical functions. At times the title of bishop was
even taken up by other institutions and stripped of all religious meanings.
The
workshop in Frankfurt from February 24–25, 2022 will focus on the many faces
the episcopal office could assume in the course of the Middle Ages (ca.
700–1400) beyond the traditional theological and canonical interpretation of
the transmitted sources. It seeks to cover a broad geographical area, ranging from
al-Andalus to Iraq and from the Caucasus to Ethiopia.
