Interview with Christian Raffensperger, Professor and Chair of the Department of History, Kenneth E. Wray Chair in the Humanities, Wittenberg University, USA

In this interview, Professor Christian Raffensperger discusses his current research and forthcoming book Rulers and Rulership in the Arc of Medieval Europe, 1000-1200. The ‘arc’ refers to a vast area from Iberia through Scandinavia, central Europe and Rus to Byzantium. In this work, he challenges the traditional construction of medieval Europe and its focus on England and France, while viewing other parts of Europe as ‘peripheral and other’. Christian also challenges the approach of medieval European research delineated by modern nation states, titles, and academic constructs. 

This interview is part of a series in which scholars associated with the Medieval Central European Research Network (MECERN) discuss their research.  MECERN is an intitative of the CEU Department of Medieval Studies.