Medieval Heresy and Dissent Research Network at IMC2015

L-R: Dr Claire Taylor (Nottingham), Harry Barmby (Nottingham), Carl Dixon (Nottingham) and Stamatia Noutsou (Brno)

The Medieval Heresy and Dissent Research Network (MHDRN) co-sponsored its first postgraduate panel at the International Medieval Congress in Leeds this July, along with colleagues at the Department for the Study of Religions, Masaryk University, Brno, Slovakia.

Entitled ‘At the Chalk Face: Confronting Popular Heresy in Practice’, it brought together work on the confrontation of popular heresy by secular and monastic authorities who encountered real-world examples.

Peter of Sicily's ninth-century tract concerning Paulicians was examined by Carl Dixon (Nottingham) for its dating in the context of diplomatic activity involving the sect. Stamatia Noutsou (Brno) explored Cistercian discourses on the use of violence against religious dissidents, as changing phenomena and as the work of monks involved in anti-heretical missions.

The deposition of the converted ‘perfectus’ William Raffard was discussed by Harry Barmby (Nottingham) for the insights it gave 13th-century inquisitors into specific familial and social networks. Together, the papers addressed medieval approaches to religious dissent as they emerged in practical contexts.