Remembering the Jagiellonians

A Book at Lunchtime seminar with Natalia Nowakowska, Somerville
College, University of Oxford, Professor Julia Mannherz (Oriel,
Oxford) Professor Hannah Skoda (St John’s, Oxford) Chaired by
Professor Katherine Lebow (Christ Church, Oxford). Alongside the
Renaissance dynasties of the Tudors, Valois, Habsburgs, and Medici
once stood the Jagiellonians. Largely forgotten in Britain, their
memory remains a powerful element within modern Europe. Remembering
the Jagiellonians is the first study of international memories of
the Jagiellonians (1386–1596), one of the most powerful but lesser
known royal dynasties of Renaissance Europe. It explores how the
Jagiellon family has been remembered across Central, Eastern and
Northern Europe since the early modern period. The book considers
their ongoing role in modern-day culture and politics and their
impact on the development of competing modern national identities
Offering a wide-ranging panoramic analysis of Jagiellonian memory
over five hundred years, this book includes coverage of numerous
present-day European countries, ranging from Bavaria to Kiev, and
from Stockholm to the Adriatic. It explores how one family are
still remembered in over a dozen neighbouring countries.
Contributors use memory theory, social science and medieval and
early modern European history to engage in an international and
interdisciplinary exploration of the relationship between memory
and dynasty through time. Edited by Natalia Nowakowska, Fellow and
Associate Professor in History at Somerville College, University of
Oxford, and Principal Investigator of the European Research Council
(ERC) funded project 'Jagiellonians: Dynasty, Memory and Identity
in Central Europe'. Her previous publications include King
Sigismund and Martin Luther: The Reformation before
Confessionalization (2018) and Church, State and Dynasty in
Renaissance Poland: The Career of Cardinal Fryderyk Jagiellon
(1468-1503) (2007). Contributors: Natalia Nowakowska, Giedre
Mickunaite, Stanislava Kuzmova, Ilya Afanasyev, Dusan Zupka,
Susanna Niiranen, Simon M. Lewis, Tetiana Hoshko, Olga
Kozubska-Andrusiv