070272 SE Seminar (2026S)

The formation of new kingdoms and cultures during the Early Middle Ages in Western and Central Europe is among the most fascinating processes in European history. How did it come that migrating gentile groups, after settling down, coalesced into individual kingdoms (regna), forming elite realms that encompassed others? What principles of communal action lie behind such phenomena? Interestingly, linguistic similarities, climatic conditions, and similar legal customs played a significant role. Furthermore, within the structured upper classes, there is a tendency to establish and solidify a system of retinues that persisted across generations, both in a military and a cooperative sense, as well as the emergence of a ruling family that was accepted and supported by the nobility, and interactions between them. These forms of communication enabled a larger territorial area, in the form of a regnum, to be ruled and administered over an extended period by a stabilien acting collectively. This model of rule persisted for centuries. Even during political crises, it remained unchallenged, so the political community form of the regnum was constantly reconceived and reinvented to achieve stability and maintain peace.

- The seminar will attempt to describe the parameters of this successful concept in more detail using examples from the Early and High Middle Ages, but will also explore the question of why empires collapse.