Displaced Kings: Migrant Rulers in the Middle Ages, session at 27th International Medieval Congress, University of Leeds, July 6–9, 2020
Kings crossed borders all the time: whether in war or peace, deliberately or unwittingly, successfully or disastrously. Kings were defenders and protectors of borders, or invaders and conquerors. However, throughout the Middle Ages, we have a small number of rulers who were removed from their lands of origin, by either circumstance or choice, making them newcomers and foreigners in the lands that they ruled. The papers in these sessions invite us to think about these rulers as migrants, and consider their experiences, their policies and choices, and their strategies through the lens of their status as migrants.
In these sessions, we invite papers that explore and think about what being a migrant in the land one ruled might have meant for a migrant king – in terms of relationships, power, policy, cultural impact, memory. What alliances did they forge to secure their status? What aspects of the local culture did they adopt? Did they maintain their ‘otherness’ or assimilate fully into the culture of their new lands? What was the nature of their relationship (if any) with their land of origin? Did they adopt specific strategies to mitigate their ‘foreignness’? What impact did they have on the culture of their kingdoms? How are migrant kings remembered in nationalistic histories; do they ‘fit’ and how might they be made to ‘fit’?
Paper topics might include, but are not limited to:
- Portrayals of rulers in migration narratives
- Changing perceptions of migrant rulers across time
- Materiality of migrant rulers
- Diplomatic and or marriage alliances across borders
- Power dynamics between ‘insiders’ and ‘newcomers’
- Cross-Cultural exchanges and influences
Session organizers
Pragya Vohra, University of York
Danielle Park, University of York