Proof and reproof: the judicial component of episcopal confrontation

Nicetius of Trier was one of the most temperamental bishops to have a place in the writings of Gregory of Tours. In the tradition of St Martin, Nicetius represented one extreme of the relationship between ecclesiastical and secular authority in sixth-century Gaul. He stands out as an example of conflict between those two spheres, in both contemporary and modern portraits. This article attempts to place Nicetius within a tradition of episcopal behaviour that undermines the element of conflict. By focusing on the judicial functions that Nicetius fulfilled in the context of penance and oath swearing, it argues that Nicetius was less an extreme example of spiritual audacity than he was an exceptional model for commonplace virtues of the ideal bishop. This article is, therefore, a case-study for a larger project.     

Proof and reproof: the judicial component of episcopal confrontation

Nicetius of Trier was one of the most temperamental bishops to have a place in the writings of Gregory of Tours. In the tradition of St Martin, Nicetius represented one extreme of the relationship between ecclesiastical and secular authority in sixth-century Gaul. He stands out as an example of conflict between those two spheres, in both contemporary and modern portraits. This article attempts to place Nicetius within a tradition of episcopal behaviour that undermines the element of conflict. By focusing on the judicial functions that Nicetius fulfilled in the context of penance and oath swearing, it argues that Nicetius was less an extreme example of spiritual audacity than he was an exceptional model for commonplace virtues of the ideal bishop. This article is, therefore, a case-study for a larger project.     

Preaching,politics and episcopal reform in Wulfstan's early writings

Putting Wulfstan's earliest legal texts – the Canons of Edgar and the so‐called Peace of Edward and Guthrum – in dialogue with his homilies on the role of the bishop, this article argues that, from his earliest writings, Wulfstan adapted approaches from Kings Alfred and Edgar as well as from the Benedictine reform to make ambitious claims concerning the role of the bishop in the secular sphere. These claims went beyond the contemporary understanding of the relationship between bishop and king both in England and on the Continent, to frame the bishop as the primary authority in the nation because he is the teacher of teachers.     

Patronage revisited: The dynamics of information and reputation

Recent revelations of corruption in Italy have encouraged speculation about its social foundations. This article addresses the specific issue of the relations between patronage and corruption, drawing attention to their common basis in control over the circulation of information. Examination of patronage from this perspective suggests some weaknesses in the conventional accounts of its distribution, organization and consequences. Since bureaucracies are the principal modern agencies for the collection and storage of information, changes in the relations between and within bureaucracies, political and administrative, can be expected to provoke changes in the structure and stability of patronage networks. That dynamic of patronage, shifting its basis from status to contract, is illustrated in the context of Italian politics in the 1980s.     

The significance of the Sirmian and apostolic tradition in shaping Moravian episcopal organization

Based on an analysis of papal documents as well as the Vita Methodii , this work examines shifts in Methodius's status. The text analyses the significance of his titulature by a comparison with other eighth- and ninth-century missionaries, and examines the way his new diocese was legitimized through legal and historical fictions dealing with the restoration of a long-lost see and its apostolic origins. Finally, the article draws a comparison between the situation in Moravia and the importance of apostolic tradition in Rome, Constantinople, Metz, Compostela and Venice.     

The Queen and the City: Royal Female Intervention and Patronage in Hellenistic Civic Communities

In 196 bce , Queen Laodike III issued a decree (I.Iasos 4, I) to Iasos in Caria, Asia Minor, announcing that she was giving the Iasians a ten‐year supply of grain to alleviate their penury after her husband's conquest of their city, and she specified that the grain ought to be sold and the income used to provide dowries for the daughters of poor citizens. This and other donations were part of rebuilding efforts in the wake of military violence by Laodike's husband Antiochos III. For her beneficence, Laodike was honoured by cities with foundations of festivals, priestesses and sacred areas dedicated to preserving her cult. This reciprocity of goodwill was gendered, not only in the establishment of priestesses, but in the nature of the honours given; for example Iasos celebrated Laodike III's birthday with a procession of a maiden priestess and couples who were about to wed (I.Iasos 4, II), and the people of Teos dedicated a fountain in their city centre to Laodike and required that all brides should draw from it the water for their baths (SEG 41, 1003). Laodike's patronage and the cities’ responses to her bring to light the role of female citizens within the structures, perpetuation and ceremonial of the civic body. At the heart of honours given Laodike and her own self‐promotion was the identity of sister and mother, roles shaping her own queenship and the civic participation and power of the women she assisted.     

The Shifting Fortunes of War: Patronage of the Wurttemberg Hofkapelle during the Thirty Years War

German courts have long been renowned for their support of music.How long could this support continue in times of war? This articleconsiders the fate of the Württemberg Hofkapelle duringthe Thirty Years War (1618-48), a conflict that forced manydistinguished Hofkapellen to close their doors for much of thewar's duration. The Hofkapelle (literally ‘court chapel’or music ensemble) was the focus of much music patronage atearly modern German courts, and typically consisted of an orchestraof strings, horns, and percussion, as well as adult male singersand a boys’ choir. Based on an analysis of church councilaccounts that list all expenditure for court music throughoutthe war, the article asserts that demand for music during religiousservices under both Protestant and Catholic control of the duchyremained relatively constant. This demand enabled the Hofkapelleto continue musical performances, despite the enormous constraintsthe war placed on court expenditure. Music patronage was significant in several ways. Payment forperformers and composers could be highly competitive among Germancourts, with the best musicians earning salaries often far exceedingthose of other officials. Foreign musicians were much in demandin Württemberg as elsewhere, such as English lutenist JohnPrice, who founded a group of English lutenists at the Württembergcourt in 1618 that lasted until the death of Duke Johann Friedricha decade later. While the hardship of wartime effectively endedthe payment of large salaries, forcing many top performers toleave, members of the court still called for music at church,even if they had to pay for performances themselves. A studyof music patronage during the Thirty Years War thus revealsnot only the extent to which the court sought to support thearts, but also how that support reflected the shifting fortunesof war.