University of Gothenburg
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Agnes Slott-Møllers gigantiska målning av Valdemar Sejr från 1927, ”Jaktmiddagen”,
Photo: Agnes Slott-Møller ”Jaktmiddagen”,
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Valdemar II of Denmark

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“This talk will explore how Valdemar II used court culture and hospitality to forge an empire from the disparate realms he had inherited and conquered.” The Medieval Committee at the University of Gothenburg is organising a seminar with Lars Kjær, Associate Professor of History at Northeastern University, London.

Seminar
Date
23 Nov 2023
Time
15:00 - 17:00
Location
Sal J309, Humanisten, Renströmsgatan 6
Good to know
Also on Zoom. Contact, if you want the zoom-link.: Auður Magnúsdóttir (audur.magnusdottir@history.gu.se)
The lecture will be held in english.
Organizer
Medeltidskommittén vid Göteborgs universitet

Valdemar II of Denmark (1202-41), Rugen, Nordalbingia, Pommerania, Estonia and Viken: Hospitality, Empire and Anxiety.

The lecture ties in with Lars Kjær's forthcoming biography of Valdemar II Sejr and the VR project "Ambiguities of Hospitality: Intercultural Integration and Conflict in Host-Guest Relations on the European Borderlands, c. 1000-1350" at the Department of Historical Studies, University of Gothenburg.

Kjær's latest book "Valdemar the Great: Children of the Civil War" was published in 2022. See "Valdemar den Store: Borgerkrigens barn"  https://gad.dk/valdemar-den-store

Abstract: Between 1168 and 1228 the kings of Denmark found themselves in control of a vast, multi-ethnic, multi-linguistic empire covering a bewildering array of different societies, from pagan Estonia to the bustling merchant city Lübeck.

The flexibility and creativity employed by Danish kings in controlling this new realm have not, however, been central to the study of the so-called Valdemarian golden age. This talk will explore how Valdemar II used court culture and hospitality to forge an empire from the disparate realms he had inherited and conquered.        

Governing the empire required a careful balancing act between different elite groups with conflicting identities and regnal loyalties. The talk explores how the frustrations and anxieties among these elites found expression in discussions of Valdemar II's court and it's grand hospitality.

Welcome!

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