The minutes of the first meeting of the British Academy International Research Network: Political Culture in Norman and Angevin England, 1066 – 1272, held at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, 22-24 April 2003.
Present: Haki Antonsson (Cambridge) (HA), Christoph Egger (Vienna) (CE), Deborah Gerish (Emporia State) (DG), Sarah Hamilton (Exeter) (SH), Len Scales (Durham) (LS), Björn Weiler (Aberystwyth) (BW).
1. Structure of the network
a) Meetings: It was agreed that the network should meet once a year, usually around Easter.
b) Approach: It was agreed that the meetings for the first four years should be based on informal discussion, rather than the formal presentation of papers, and should adopt the following format:
i) Each meeting will focus on three themes, the focus of which will vary from year to year, but which will reflect the working parties outlined below.
ii) Network members should each choose 2 working parties, and select 2 documents, either in Latin or in English translation, from their field of interest which are of relevance to at least one of the working parties to be circulated 2-3 weeks in advance of the meeting to all members of the network. These documents will provide the focus for discussion.
iii) This could also include published articles (the Aber meeting discussed Geoffrey Koziol’s ‘The problem of sacrality in England and France’).
iv) These meetings complement other working parties (listed below), which can meet informally, and communicate via e-mail
v) An integral part of meetings will be for members to present research proposals and work in progress to the network.
c) Website
2. Location and date of the next meeting
Those present suggested that, if it was agreeable to other members not present at the meeting, the network should meet in Bamberg in the week beginning 5th April 2004. Unfortunately, the network's funding would only cover travel costs, and would not be able to support the costs of accommodation and board in Bamberg.
3. Dissemination
a) Dissemination is an important aspect of the network's remit; British Academy funding is only guaranteed for 3 years in the first instance, although the project is due to run for 5 years. It is therefore important to demonstrate to the Academy that the network is disseminating its work within the first 3 years.
b) Although the network's work will conclude with a large conference in 2008, whose proceedings would be published; the network will also seek to involve non-members in its work, and to publicise its work to non-members in the intervening period.
c) To this end it was agreed that non-members might, on occasion, be asked to attend the annual meeting of the network.
d) i) It was also agreed that the network should also organise sessions at various other conferences e.g. Leeds, Kalamazoo, the Medieval Academy, and the Haskins Society.
ii) Participants in these sessions should also include people who are not members of the network
iii) It was agreed that that those members of the network who were attending Leeds in July 2003 should meet to plan several sessions for Leeds 2004 (deadline September 2003), and that the network should try to organise sessions for Kalamazoo 2005 (deadline May 2004). Unfortunately the British Academy’s funding guidelines specify that the network's funding cannot extend to financing members' attendance at conferences, and members would therefore need to finance attendance themselves.
d) Possible sessions for Leeds 2004 were suggested including one on medieval prosopography.
e) Network members should also promote exchange within the network e.g. by inviting fellow members to their institutions to give papers.
f) BW asked network members to keep him informed of any work they had done which was relevant to the network: papers given, work published etc, which he could include in his reports to the British Academy.
g) The network should collect and publish (perhaps on the website) the documents discussed at the network's meetings as a resource for scholars and teachers of the subject.
4. Finances and grants
a) As the network's funding was strictly limited to financing (most) of the costs of attendance of members' attendance at an annual meeting, it was necessary to think about sources of funding for other aspects of the network's work
e.g. British Academy support for attendance by members at sessions at Kalamazoo
5. What is political culture?
a) After extensive discussion those present agreed the following as a working definition of political culture:
'Political culture is understood to be the sum of ideas and assumptions, procedures (formal and informal), and processes, short term actions and long term objectives by which relations between communities, groupings and individuals were conducted and evaluated.'
b) It was agreed that this definition should be revisited in 4 years' time.
6. Working groups
a) It was agreed that the following working groups should meet next year in Bamberg:
i) sacrality and religion
ii) representation (status, favour and honour)
iii) justice
b) Working groups in future years would consider: assemblies, decision finding, rebellion, resistance and peacemaking.
c) It was agreed that all the working groups should consider the following themes/approaches (where appropriate):
i) gender
ii) communication
iii) prosopography
d) The first task of the working groups when they met next year will be to discuss and establish common themes, questions and methodologies.
7. Research proposals and discussion
The follow research proposals were put forward and discussed:
a) BW: thirteenth-century honour and knighthood
b) CE: prosopography of English-papal relations under Henry III
c) SH: excommunication before Gratian
d) HA: sacral kingship in c. 12th Scandinavia