"Media and practices of 'counter-royal' rule in the German Empire of the High Middle Ages" - this is the title of the lecture to be given by medievalist Dr Michaela Muylkens on Wednesday, 6 May at 7 p.m. in The Smart House Oldenburg (Schlossplatz 16).
For a long time, historians considered "counter-kings" to be the less legitimate rivals to the throne of an already reigning king. This lack of legitimacy could be attributed to various facets, such as the place of election, the electorate or the reign of the counter-king. In her lecture, Muylkens opens up a different perspective on counter-royal rule: using selected examples from the German High Middle Ages from the 11th to 13th centuries, she examines the media and practices that characterised such rule. In doing so, she shows that counter-kings were regarded by contemporaries as fully-fledged alternatives to the incumbent holder of the throne.
The lecture is part of the series "Pomp & Circumstance. Media and Practices of Rule in History", jointly organised by the Institute of History at the University of Oldenburg and the Federal Institute for Culture and History of the Germans in Eastern Europe (BKGE).