Agenda

04 Mar 2026 14:30

Subversion, unorthodoxy and cultural brokerage in Early Medieval Christianity: religious men on the

Online

Lilian R. G. Diniz
Department of Humanities
Ca’ Foscari University of Venice

Subversion, unorthodoxy and cultural brokerage in Early Medieval Christianity: religious men on the edge
Wednesday 4th March 2026, 14.30pm - 15.30pm CET

Online - For online participation please register at this Zoom lin

Abstract
This paper examines the role of clerics and other religious men in shaping local religious practices in the early medieval Iberian Peninsula that were deemed unorthodox by ecclesiastical authorities. Drawing on Iberian sermons, letters, conciliar acts, and other written sources, the study explores how these figures participated in and mediated practices that blended traditional ritual elements with Christianity. Such hybrid forms of devotion—often described in the sources as remnants of paganism—are here interpreted as expressions of religious crafting, a creative and adaptive process that ecclesiastical authors frequently framed as subversive or illicit. Within this framework, I conceptualize certain clerics and charismatic leaders as cultural brokers: intermediaries who negotiated between institutional Christianity and popular religiosity, simultaneously challenging the “official” order while responding to the devotional needs and expectations of lay communities.

For information please contact the Center for the Study of Lived Religion cslr@unive.it

Organizzatore

Department of Asian and North African Studies; Center for the Study of Lived Religion

Allegati

Poster 530 KB

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