The Merton Priory History Conference 2021
The Chapter House at Merton Priory was a conference venue from the 12th century to its demolition in the 16th. Now that it’s able to host conferences once more, we’re delighted to announce the Merton Priory History Conference.
The Merton Priory History Conference hopes to bring historians of different periods and fields together to discuss topics of common interest. The theme of our first conference, to be held 20th-21st July 2021, is pluralism.
Pluralism can refer to various things, but this conference focuses on the practice, medieval and modern, of holding more than one office. For example, medieval monarchs relied on ecclesiastical pluralism for their ‘civil service’, and pluralism in the Church of England was still an issue well into the 19th century. We welcome submissions from all sorts of historians – social, economic, political, ecclesiastical, arts and literature – as well as theologians and any other relevant discipline, with interests in Britain, Europe or elsewhere.
The conference theme covers a broad chronology:
- Medieval• Reformation
- Enlightenment
- Nineteenth Century
- 20th and 21st Centuries
Themes include:
- Pluralists – individuals and/ or institutions
- Absenteeism
- Socio-economic impacts of pluralism
- Political impacts of pluralism
- Reaction to/ reception of pluralism and/ or pluralists
- Change in attitudes and realities over time
- Theological and ethical interpretations and implications
Papers should: