Krise und Aufbruch: ‚Deutschland‘ und ‚Italien‘ jenseits des Investiturstreits (ca. 1050 – ca. 1130)

This volume, the product of a binational research group, examines a series of deep and far-reaching social, institutional, and cultural transformations that took place in the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries in the Holy Roman Empire. Particular attention is given to the causal link between these changes and the Investiture Contest, which is critically reassessed. Four key thematic areas are explored through regional case studies focusing on German and Italian territories: techniques and practices of political discourse; structures and forms of power; networks and relational dynamics; media communication. Looking beyond the Investiture Controversy does not in any way imply a relativisation of the significance of principle-related conflicts that affected the upper echelons of the social and political hierarchy in the Roman-German Empire from around 1075 onwards. Rather, the investigation seeks to illuminate the complex interdependencies between the micro and macro levels in various aspects of social, religious, and political life, and to establish the groundwork for renewed dialogue between different research traditions.