Stephen Mossman's Inaugural Lecture – ‘Spirituality and a Military Order: God’s House in Medieval Strasbourg’
| Dates: | 6 May 2026 |
|---|
| Times: | 16:30 - 18:30 |
|---|
| What is it: | Lecture |
|---|
| Organiser: | School of Arts, Languages and Cultures |
|---|
| Who is it for: | University staff, External researchers, Adults, Alumni, Current University students, General public |
|---|
|
One focus of Stephen Mossman's research for more than a decade has been the commandery of the Knights Hospitaller in medieval Strasbourg, founded by the financier and mystical writer Rulman Merswin in the 1360s to enable a form of pious retreat for the devout laity of the late medieval city.
The great library that it accumulated came to form the core of the Strasbourg city library that burned so tragically during the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. Its enormous archive, meanwhile, remained intact, and allows the Hospitallers to be put on the map of the intellectual and religious history of late medieval Europe – a history in which they have been thought hitherto to be essentially uninvolved – for the first time.
These archival resources, and Rulman Merswin’s literary oeuvre, allow further remarkable insights into the spirituality of the late medieval laity, in search of a reconciliation between their lives in the world and the demands of their profoundly-felt Christian faith.
Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. mult. Hans-Jochen Schiewer is Professor Emeritus of Medieval German Studies at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, where he was Rektor (Vice-Chancellor) in 2008-20.
Travel and Contact Information
Find event
A7
Samuel Alexander Building
Manchester
