The Czech Academy of Sciences and the Saxon Academy of Sciences and Humanities invite PhD students to apply for a five-day September School in Medieval Studies that will explore the phenomenon of good and bad reputation in the Middle Ages in a Central European context from the perspectives of political use, legal definitions and protections as well as religious polemic.

Subject

In premodern societies, reputation was a key factor in shaping social standing. Its importance was twofold: a good reputation had to be cultivated and protected, while rumours, slander and insults could be used deliberately to damage an individual’s standing, undermine credibility, or even help to establish guilt in judicial contexts. Reputation could also serve to reinforce political and religious authority. Devoted to the topic “Famous and Infamous. Rumours, Slander and Reputation in the Middle Ages”, the September School will examine how reputation was constructed, communicated and contested within the medieval “public sphere”. It will explore the role of different communicative situations in the making of reputation, the importance of reputation for preserving the social order and the mechanisms through which negative reputations spread and positive ones were defended. The geographical focus will be on Central Europe, while also taking into account other regions of medieval Europe during the High and Late Middle Ages.

Description of the School

This intensive five-day course for PhD students in medieval studies will introduce the participants to the topic through working with sources and discussing the relevant historiography from all three mentioned fields of political, juridical and religious conflicts. The participants will study existing discourse of fame, rhetorical strategies, and communication related to the spread of rumors and slander – particularly in relation to the media through which fama could be disseminated (written, oral and pictorial) as well as the lexical dimensions of these phenomena. Based on their own reading and interpretation of the sources, followed by joint discussion, they will gain a deeper understanding of the methodological possibilities of investigating communication during the High and Late Middle Ages.

Programme

The 5-day programme includes introductory lectures from the organizers, collaborative work with primary sources, discussions based on reading of research literature, a medieval walking tour in Prague and a one-day field trip to Görlitz.

Eligibility

The participants should be PhD students working on the Middle Ages from various disciplinary perspectives. The language of the school is English (knowledge of Latin, German or Czech is welcome but not required). Applicants should send an abstract of their thesis and a short CV before 15 May 2026 to: zurek@flu.cas.cz (selection and response in early June 2026)

Costs

The school is free of charge. The organising institutions will cover accommodation in Prague and Leipzig and the transfer in between.