The Discourse of Power in the Early Middle Ages Transylvania (11th – 13th Centuries)
This study performs an analysis of the discourse of power in the Early Middle Ages Transylvania (11th – 13th centuries). The conclusions of our research highlight that the discourse of power in the space and era, subject to investigation, is not a homogeneous one, but it undergoes a major paradigm shift at the middle of the 13th century, caused by the fluctuant relations between the king of Hungary, the nobles and the Pope, as well as by the Mongol invasions. The new discourse of power explores various self-legitimizing strategies, against the background of an accelerated process of separation and emancipation of the state power against the religious power. It also reveals that, paradoxically, the progressive incorporation of Transylvania into the Hungarian Kingdom and into the Catholic world during the 11th – 13th centuries has not led to an increase of central authority in this area, but rather to the strengthening and multiplication of local (“peripheral”) nuclei of power.
Keywords: discourse, power, Early Middle Ages, Transylvania, center vs. periphery.
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