Everyone knows what you mean when you refer to something as ‘mediaeval’: archaic, primitive, inhuman. In the popular imagination, after all, everyone in the Middle Ages stank, they were ruled by fear and superstition, women were silenced, and people were sent to the gallows for the slightest misdemeanour. Where do these clichés come from, and why are they so stubborn? In this lecture, Dr Jonas Roelens (Ghent University) reveals the surprising results of recent research that puts paid to outdated stereotypes. An astonishing story of empowered citizens, critical minds, emancipated women and cosmopolitan travellers who organised their society with as much consideration as we do.
The speaker will deliver the lecture in Dutch.