Power. Ideology. Ritual (Western Europe during Х–ХІ centuries)

Author: Krasimira Gagova

Power and the mechanisms of its exercise are among the most pressing issues of our time, the understanding of which requires a thorough study of their manifestations in the past. The scholarly interest of prof. Krasimira Gagova’s research focuses on the question of power with its concomitant ideology and rituals, which formulated, motivated and legitimated it in Western Europe in the period of the X-XI centuries.

This was a time of major political changes, of changing dynasties that imposed a new kind of regulation of relations in society, including power mechanisms.

Their presentation through the authentic Latin terminology of the time (the lingua franca of medieval Europe) will enable the reader to become familiar with the ideological language of the era. The research is based on numerous historical, literary, documentary and artistic sources, the study of which makes it possible to trace the individual moments in the development of ideology and the corresponding rituals. The two translated texts from the second half of the XI century also contribute to better illustrate the genuine spirit of the times: one is an authentic document of Pope Gregory VII, the second is a product of the new wave in political ideology, which had a serious impact on medieval political thought.

ISBN 978-954-8624-45-9

Published: 2015 

Page Count: 180 pp.