medieval worlds ‒ comparative and interdisciplinary studies, No. 13/2021

“medieval worlds” provides a forum for comparative, interdisciplinary and transcultural studies of the Middle Ages. Its aim is to overcome disciplinary boundaries, regional limits and national research traditions in Medieval Studies, to open up new spaces for discussion, and to help developing global perspectives. We focus on the period from c. 400 to 1500 CE but do not stick to rigid periodization. medieval worlds is open to submissions of broadly comparative studies and matters of global interest, whether in single articles, companion papers, smaller clusters, or special issues on a subject of global/comparative history. We particularly invite studies of wide-ranging connectivity or comparison between different world regions. Apart from research articles, medieval worlds publishes ongoing debates and project and conference reports on comparative medieval research.

The present volume contains three stand-alone articles, which provide interdisciplinary and comparative insights into topics ranging from a text edition of a 9th century Cambodian religious stela (D. Goodall and Ch. Hun); to Byzantine and Chinese gardens in comparison (C. Virag and F. Spingou); and to a world map of a Christian Iberian manuscript (P.S. Marschner). J. Tolan presents an interim report on the activities of the multi-institutional team in the ERC SyG project EuQu, exploring the various roles of the Qur’ān in European cultural history. All further articles are assembled in two thematic sections: Movement and Mobility in the Medieval Mediterranean: Changing Perspectives from Late Antiquity to the Long-Twelfth Century was organised by guest editors C. Heath, C. Gantner and E. Manarini and, with the further contribution by F. Veronese and G. Zornetta, explores how evidence of movement and mobility can be used to trace the exchange of cultures, of ideas and products. The section Ideologies of Translation, III – Multilingual Sermons under guest editor J. Odstrčilík was introduced in volume 12, 2020 and is now augmented by studies of N. Stam, G. Knight, J. Odstrčilík and H. Halmari employing philological, linguistic, palaeographic and historical methods on different types of evidence for multilingual preaching.