Manu propria: Vom eigenhandigen Schreiben der Machtigen (13.-15. Jahrhundert)

This volume brings together twelve contributions that were presented at a conference entitled Manu propria. From the handwritten writing of the mighty was presented and discussed for the first time in September 2014. From different perspectives and with a wide variety of methodological approaches, an international group of historians examines the form, function and meaning of the autograph writing of powerful men and women of the later Middle Ages. The topic is popes, cardinals, monarchs, princes and princesses and their handwritten letters, with Western, Southern and Central Europe being chosen as the geographical-political reference area for the contributions. The focus of the epoch and the chronological framework is the late Middle Ages, which marked a paradigm shift in many areas of European written culture.