Podcast Summary

Podcast: New Books Network
Host: Erica Monahan
Guest: Christian Raffensperger
Episode: "Authorship, Worldview, and Identity in Medieval Europe" (Routledge, 2022)
Date: January 24, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode features an in-depth conversation between host Erica Monahan and historian Christian Raffensperger about the newly edited volume Authorship, Worldview, and Identity in Medieval Europe. The discussion unpacks how the collection interrogates established boundaries in the field of medieval studies, challenging traditional Western-centric narratives and bringing a geographically and methodologically broader perspective to the study of medieval Europe. The episode highlights the importance of primary sources, the construction of worldviews in the Middle Ages, and the vitality of looking at the “edges” of Europe. The conversation is rich with personal insights from Raffensperger’s scholarly journey and explores how this volume reflects and advances key debates in medieval history.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Christian Raffensperger's Path to Medieval History

[04:19 – 05:19]

• Raffensperger describes his childhood fascination with knights, castles, and the Middle Ages.
• Taking Russian during the fall of the Soviet Union “merged” his interests in Russian matters and Medieval Europe.
• A pivotal college seminar on Vikings in Eastern Europe “brought these paths together,” leading to his academic pursuit of medieval history.
• Quote:

  “I just was fascinated by the Middle Ages... there was this synchronicity between my interests.”
  — Christian Raffensperger [04:30]

2. The Genesis and Goals of the Edited Volume

[05:23 – 11:48]

• The book seeks to challenge the prevailing construct of "medieval Europe" by returning to and re-interpreting primary sources from across the continent.

• There is an “obvious lacuna” in how Eastern Europe is omitted from both leading journals (like AHR) and key textbooks, which show Western Europe as densely populated and eastern Europe as empty space.

• Raffensperger critiques the “mapping” of medieval Europe in textbooks, using the example of The Medieval Worldview, which excludes or marginalizes the eastern regions.

• The volume’s guiding question: How did medieval people themselves conceptualize their world?

• Quote:

  “...the eastern half of Europe is empty. It’s terra incognita... there is this impression given that medieval Eastern Europe... is empty.”
  — Christian Raffensperger [08:35]

• The edited collection gathers contributions that each examine a different primary source, asking: “How did that author conceptualize their world?”

3. Methodology: Returning to Sources, But Not Rankian History

[11:48 – 15:06]

• The book does not aim to simply accumulate facts from sources ("Rankian" history), but instead applies modern, post-modern methodologies to understand authors’ intentions and worldviews.
• Emphasis on reading sources as products of their authors’ conceptualizations rather than as objective, fact-holding texts.
• Example: Lisa Wolverton’s work on Cosmas of Prague, focusing on authorial intent rather than mining for facts.
• Quote:

  “If we can understand the authors and their authorial intent... that will help us understand this worldview construction that the book is trying to get at.”
  — Christian Raffensperger [14:35]

4. Broad Geographic Scope: Beyond Eastern Europe

[15:06 – 16:21]

• The volume intentionally covers all of Medieval Europe: Scandinavia, Iberia, the Baltics, Balkans, the Mediterranean, and Western Europe.
• Purpose: To start conversations across subfields and invite scholars of traditionally Western-focused areas to engage with broader Europe.

5. Article Highlights: Key Case Studies

a. Gregory of Tours and the Horizons of Medieval Western Europe

[16:21 – 18:48]

• Article by Aaron Thomas Daly examines how Gregory of Tours’s History of the Franks reflects a much wider world than usually credited.
• Gregory discusses saints, both living and dead, in the Middle East, India, and beyond, showing his conception of a global Christendom.
• Quote:

  “Gregory lives in a much bigger world than Frankia... the world he lives in is Christendom... an awareness... of a much wider world.”
  — Christian Raffensperger [17:37]

b. Raffensperger’s Own Scholarship and Its Context

[20:19 – 24:40]

• Raffensperger discusses how his prior work, Reimagining Kievan Rus and the Medieval World and Conflict, Bargaining and Kinship Networks in Medieval Eastern Europe, bridges disciplinary “silos” dividing Slavic, Byzantine, and Western medieval studies.
• He critiques the “Byzantine Commonwealth” concept and emphasizes interconnections through dynastic marriages and religious ties.
• Notable moment:

  “My work exists in a really weird intersection that is neither a Slavic silo, a Byzantine silo, or a medieval silo, but is intentionally trying to bridge many of those different things.”
  — Christian Raffensperger [21:08]

c. Marco Polo’s Worldview

[28:09 – 30:36]

• Teresa Shawcross’s article on Marco Polo analyzes commercial and mercantile themes in the Divisamento du monde.
• Challenges the view of Polo’s text as simply focusing on the exotic "other", instead emphasizing interconnected mercantile communities involving Byzantium, the Mongol world, and Italian city-states.
• Quote:

  “So many of these things in this volume worked out very nicely... what was the authorial intent?”
  — Christian Raffensperger [29:33]

d. Imagined Geographies in Early Rus

[30:54 – 36:03]

• Innes García de la Puente’s article dissects geographic concepts in the Primary Chronicle: the text’s “symbolic interpretation” over “objective representation.”

• Shows how Rus is situated within a Christian—and not exclusively European—cosmology.

• Quote:

  “We see the writer try and conceive of how does Rus fit into a Christian world?... It’s connected to the Byzantine world, of course, it’s connected to the Middle East, but it’s also connected to the Slavic world.”
  — Christian Raffensperger [34:05]

• Discussion on how history is used (or misused) by modern leaders like Vladimir Putin.

• Quote regarding contemporary relevance:

  “If we view the past differently... such that Rus and modern day Ukraine is part of Europe, that changes how we conceptualize what Europe is.”
  — Christian Raffensperger [36:50]

e. Medieval Welsh Ethnic Nicknames

[38:40 – 41:57]

• Frederick Suppe’s article explores vernacular ethnic labels in medieval Welsh administrative documents (e.g., “Sais” for English, “Gwyddel” for Irish).
• Sheds light on how nicknames marked otherness and constructed notions of identity at the local level.
• Quote:

  “We see these labels as ways to identify the ethnicity of somebody that is creating them as other than native in our sources... I just thought that was so fascinating.”
  — Christian Raffensperger [40:42]

6. Editorial Structure and Conceptual Takeaways

[41:57 – 42:13]

• The volume is divided: Part 1 examines “wider world” sources, Part 2 focuses on “neighbors and neighborhoods”—outward vs. inward perspectives.
• Overarching theme: Identity is constructed at multiple scales and is observable through narrative, legal, and administrative documents.

7. Looking Forward: Upcoming Work

[42:54 – 44:28]

• Raffensperger’s next book: Rulers and Rulership in the Arc of Medieval Europe, which challenges Anglocentric perspectives by examining rulership from Iberia through Ireland and Scandinavia to Byzantium.
• He is also working on a collective biography of the Queens of Rus, using a life-cycle approach to reconstruct women’s roles in medieval Eastern Europe.
• Quote:

  “What I’m writing right now is a collective biography of the Queen of Rus... it’s going to follow a lifecycle… their marriages, their faith, their death, their political activities, all of these sorts of things.”
  — Christian Raffensperger [44:08]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On methodological rigor:

  “We’re utilizing very modern methodologies... trying to utilize the sources to go forward into the future.”
  — Christian Raffensperger [13:30]

• On cross-disciplinary conversation:

  “I don’t really fit into... imperial or Soviet [studies]... my work exists in a really weird intersection... intentionally trying to bridge many of those different things.”
  — Christian Raffensperger [21:08]

• On the stakes for modern history and politics:

  “If we view the past differently... Rus and modern day Ukraine is part of Europe, that changes how we conceptualize what Europe is...”
  — Christian Raffensperger [36:50]

• On the collaborative nature of edited volumes:

  “I can’t take credit for that. The authors did all the work, but they worked out so nicely in resonating one with another...”
  — Christian Raffensperger [29:17]

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Topic / Segment | |------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 04:19–05:19| Raffensperger’s path into history & scholarly journey | | 05:23–11:48| Motivation for the volume & critique of medieval textbook conventions | | 11:48–15:06| Methodology: Using sources without reverting to Rankian approaches | | 16:21–18:48| Gregory of Tours and medieval “horizons” | | 20:19–24:40| Raffensperger’s prior scholarship & the problem of academic silos | | 28:09–30:36| Marco Polo’s worldview: commerce & connectivity | | 30:54–36:03| Imagined geographies in the Primary Chronicle & implications for Rus’s place in Europe| | 38:40–41:57| Vernacular nicknames and ethnic identity in medieval Wales | | 42:54–44:28| Upcoming works: Rulership and queens in medieval Europe |

Conclusion

This episode presents both a sweeping and granular reevaluation of medieval European identity and worldview by elevating marginalized geographies and voices, employing modern historical methodologies, and encouraging a conversation across disciplinary and geographic “silos.” Monahan and Raffensperger’s discussion is rich in examples, accessible to those less familiar with the field, and a valuable guide for listeners interested in both the substance and methods of contemporary medieval scholarship.