Given at the University of Notre Dame on September 12, 2024
Abstract: Patriotism is integral to the European political tradition, and the Middle Ages rehabilitated and transformed amor patriae of the ancient origins. However, the history of patriotism is complicated and notoriously elusive. This lecture proposes an analytical framework of what I call ‘three prototypes of patriotism’: military, civil, and endemic. The lecture will survey medieval variations of military patriotism (pro patria mori) and civil patriotism (the exercise of civic virtues for the common good) before turning to an examination of endemic patriotism in the late Middle Ages, which eulogised the native land and naturalised the love of country. An exploration into the medieval legacy will highlight a central theoretical issue of contemporary relevance: what constitutes the patria?
Takashi Shogimen is Professor of History at the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Prof. Shogimen discussing endemic patriotism in Alain Chartier's Le Quadrilogue Invectif (1422) pic.twitter.com/TUgBHIwcxo
— Medieval Institute (University of Notre Dame) (@MedievalND) September 12, 2024
Top Image: Bibliothèque nationale de France MS Français 24440 fol. 1r
Medieval Contributions to Patriotism
Lecture by Takashi Shogimen
Given at the University of Notre Dame on September 12, 2024
Abstract: Patriotism is integral to the European political tradition, and the Middle Ages rehabilitated and transformed amor patriae of the ancient origins. However, the history of patriotism is complicated and notoriously elusive. This lecture proposes an analytical framework of what I call ‘three prototypes of patriotism’: military, civil, and endemic. The lecture will survey medieval variations of military patriotism (pro patria mori) and civil patriotism (the exercise of civic virtues for the common good) before turning to an examination of endemic patriotism in the late Middle Ages, which eulogised the native land and naturalised the love of country. An exploration into the medieval legacy will highlight a central theoretical issue of contemporary relevance: what constitutes the patria?
Takashi Shogimen is Professor of History at the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Top Image: Bibliothèque nationale de France MS Français 24440 fol. 1r
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