La prudence et l'amitié. Politique et imaginaire urbains au miroir de la correspondance erfortoise.
Résumé
The letters sent by the city of Erfurt to other city councils, at the end of the 15th century and the very beginning of the 16th century, used codified forms of address which showed off the ideal qualities that a city was meant to have and expressed the common friendship that existed between German cities. Forming a city’s essence, this friendship implied qualities such as wisdom and caution, qualities which ensured good governance. However this urban world was heterogeneous : variations in the forms of address rendered explicit the organization of the network as a hierarchical system as well as positioned Erfurt within it. These forms of address distinguished several groups of partners to which Erfurt presented itself, in turn recognizing Erfurt, as one of the major cities in the Holy Roman Empire. Language was a way of building an efficient political network, and of compensating for the distance between cities. The process of writing the letters, as well as the letters themselves, helped to promote Erfurt’s political position, a position constructed as much through written representations as through actual power.
Domaines
Histoire
Origine : Fichiers produits par l'(les) auteur(s)
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