Project description
The nation in the late Middle Ages
Formation of a nation is considered inseparable from industrialisation and the rise of capitalism in the 18th century. The EU-funded NATIONAL-SUBJECTS project will challenge this assumption. It will show how the nation had become a source of legitimacy in the late medieval power struggles (between sovereign and political society as well as between the different factions in that society). However, since a nation needs individuals to identify with it, a sense of community plays a key role. This is why the project will consider individual and collective factors in the making of a nation. Taking a transnational approach, it will compare the Kingdom of Bohemia and the Duchy of Brabant between 1300 and 1450. The project will base its research on chronicles, didactic and courtly literature, songs and hagiography, all reflecting the different positionings within society leading to the making of national subjects.
Objective
This research project will challenge classical assumptions of the formation of the nation, traditionally seen as inseparable from industrialisation and the rise of capitalism in the 18th century. This project will show that the nation had already become a source of legitimacy in the late medieval power struggles between sovereign and political society on the one hand, and between different factions in that society on the other. Thus, the medieval nation was a ‘fundamental political factor’ and cannot be reduced to a simple cultural or ethnic notion. But, in order to exist, a nation needs individuals to identify with it. The national project depended on popular involvement based on the ideology on the ‘common good’ and of a sense of community. This project intends therefore to consider both individual and collective factors in the making of the nation. It will use a transnational approach, comparing the Kingdom of Bohemia and the Duchy of Brabant between 1300 and 1450. Both entities shared, for a while, the same ruling family and belonged to the Holy Roman Empire. Both were characterised by a strong social group competing with the sovereign and by complex linguistic arrangements with social and political implications. They both developed a significant sense of the nation, albeit differently due to distinct socio-political balances and experiences. While the Czech nation, as a product of the Czech nobility, was associated with feudal and conservative values, that of Brabant was linked to the urban ideals of political representation and liberty. Instead of starting from a fixed definition of the nation, the project will stress its contingent nature through an ‘archaeology’ that retraces the different contexts that gave rise to it and its different uses. The enquiry will be based on a large corpus (chronicles, didactic and courtly literature, songs, hagiography, etc.) that reflects the different positionings within society leading to the making of national subjects.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- humanities languages and literature literature studies literary genres
- humanities history and archaeology archaeology
- social sciences sociology ideologies
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2019
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
1000 Bruxelles / Brussel
Belgium
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.