Event Description
Abû Zayd pleads before the qadi of Maʿarra, c. 1334. Austrian National Library.
Petition Letters will be the central theme of this three-day Online Colloquium organised by the Historische Kolleg and Petra Sijpesteijn.
This digital workshop compares how relationships of social dependency and obligation are invoked and reinforced in letters and speeches of request and supplication in medieval Eurasian societies. What are the value structures and power systems appealed to, what are the reciprocating rights and obligations these are seen to embody, what are their limits, and how are they upheld? The aim is to compare traditions across medieval Eurasian societies and distinguish commonalities and generic concerns from historically specific constructs and conditions. The workshop will consist of discussions of pre-circulated primary material in English translation under the direction of presenters.
Language of the workshop: English
Anyone interested in participating should express a willingness to study the pre-circulated material. Registration is required before July 19 via: elisabeth.huels@historischeskolleg.de.
From the EMCO-team Petra will present her paper “From cocksure confidence to rueful regret: Three letters from ninth-century Egypt” and Emco members Cecilia and Eline will present “Asking for a friend. Travel requests and social relationships in Umayyad Egypt”. Former team-member Ed will give a talk on ” Entreating the Imams: Between Petition and Fatwa”. The full programm, can be found here and the abstracts are also available.
This three day Online Colloquium organised by the Historische Kolleg and Petra Sijpesteijn. For the event announcement on the website of the Historische Kolleg, click here
