Introduction

This selection of articles, published for the 50th anniversary of the author’s doctorate at Göttingen, opens with studies on his teacher, Percy Ernst Schramm, and his contribution to the study of the medieval state and continues with examples of state symbology from Central Europe.

Topics Covered

Questions of legitimization and representation of kings and queens through texts and Herrschaftszeichen as well as the development of coronation studies are addressed in a comparative framework.

Second Part

The second part contains articles on social and political history mainly of the kingdom of Hungary in the fifteenth century, also attempting to place the issues into a wider context.

Final Pieces

Finally, two pieces present and discuss the use or abuse of the Middle Ages in the political discourse and display of our times.