Medieval History: one doctoral position (4 years) within the FWO Senior Research

Project 'The Quest for Otherness. Uncovering Narratives of Religious Distinction in the
'Long Tenth Century'

Deadline: 26 February 2020

Ghent University (Belgium) – Department of History

Job Description
One doctoral position (PhD studentship, doctoraatsbursaal) is available starting 1 May
2020 (with the possibility of a delayed start until 30 December) on an FWO-funded
research project that pursues a new interpretation of religious distinction narratives in
the period around the year 1000.

The eleventh century is commonly seen as the time when Western Christianity first drew
strict moral and behavioral boundaries between the servants of the Church and the laity.
Recent scholarship has indicated, though, that many ideas and solutions propagated then
built on a legacy from up to two hundred years earlier. Crucially, the contribution of the
'long tenth century' (c. 880–1020/30) – a critical transition phase – remains for the most
part unknown. While case studies have shown that commentators of this period were
deeply preoccupied with the moral identity and conduct of ecclesiastical personnel in
particular, a systematic investigation of surviving testimonies remains a major gap in
religious and historical scholarship. In order to resolve this gap, the project will offer a
detailed reconstruction of a large, regionally defined sample of narratives of religious
distinction.

Supervised at the Ghent University by prof. dr. Steven Vanderputten, in a first part of the
project the PhD researcher will work on a well-defined set of mostly narrative sources to
establish how exactly tenth-century commentators described the separate moral and
social status of clerics, monks, and women religious. The researcher will look at precisely
which properties –in terms of physical appearance, social conduct, and morality
generally– they attributed to the ideal member of each of these cohorts, and which ones
they considered a cause for scandal. In addition, they will reconstruct the precise settings
in which these authors situated their descriptions: did they give a literal account of the
'stage play' of the distinct morality of ecclesiastical personnel (for instance, by portraying
appropriate behaviour as it was supposed to be displayed during liturgical and other
ceremonies, secular feasts, public meetings, ceremonies, individual interactions with the
laity, and interactions within religious communities), or did they instead speak mostly in
abstract terms? Finally, the researcher will also seek to establish the specific purpose of
these accounts of distinction, which was the intended audience, and if they were
transmitted outside of their original context of origin. In case of the latter, were they

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adapted in any way?

In a second part, the PhD researcher will try to establish if specific narratives on religious
distinction can be matched with specific political, institutional, intellectual, and personal
networks. Similarities in the argument of a number of key texts suggest that this is the
case. However, due to the limited attempts at comparative analysis and the slim body of
studied evidence we currently have very little to validate – or invalidate – this impression.
Nor has there been a systematic effort to consider either cross-pollination of ideas and
narratives between different networks, or the internal differences of views within specific
networks. A key point is the adaptation of religious distinction narratives when they were
transferred from major institutional and intellectual centers to small communities of
clerics, monks, or women religious. In other words, are there indications that local
expectations (by the religious themselves and by their social environment) and traditions
influenced the way in which these narratives were received by, and communicated to, the
religious in these places?

The project's innovative quality lies in the fact that it transcends the focus of former
scholarship on specific commentators and their work. Not only will it undertake an
unprecedented comparative study of known commentaries, it will also considerably
expand the body of primary evidence by including a range of narrative texts that have so
far remained beyond the specialists' focus. As such, this project will award to the long
tenth century the key place it deserves in the study of religious reflection and debate in
the medieval West.

Ghent University was founded in 1817 and has approximately 40,000 students. It is
consistently listed in the top 100 of the universities of Europe (see
http://www.ugent.be/en). The University’s Department of History and Henri Pirenne
Institute for Medieval Studies together form a dynamic and diverse research community
covering a broad range of research interests and disciplines.

Qualifications
The successful candidate preferably has:
- A master’s degree (in hand or in progress) in Medieval History or in a related discipline
(for individuals whose master’s degree is in progress, the doctoral position may only be
taken up if that degree is successfully completed before the start of the project).
- Demonstrated experience with Latin sources.
- Demonstrated experience with qualitative research methods and a willingness to work
towards acquiring new research skills.
- Demonstrated capacity for creative and independent research.
- Reading-knowledge of English and French and a willingness to acquire the necessary
passive language skills to read German and Italian publications.
- The ability and willingness to work as a member of an international research community
at Ghent University, including contributions to a shared database as well as joint
publication.
- The ability and willingness to develop a publication track record of high academic
standards.

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Ghent University is a multi-lingual environment. Most official communication is done in
Dutch and English: PhD researchers are welcome to publish and do conference
presentations in any West European language, and may submit their dissertation in
English, French, German, or Dutch. Candidates are not required to be able to read and/or
speak Dutch prior to or during their appointment at Ghent University, but are encouraged
to acquire basic language skills to facilitate social integration.

Offer
A doctoral position of 1 FTE for four years (i.e. a full-time position, subject to intermediary
evaluations), beginning at the earliest on 1 July 2020 and at the latest on 30 December of
the same year. The fellowship provides a monthly salary of ca. 1900 euros on a full-time
basis, in concordance with the requirements of the Flemish Government. It is fiscally
exempted and Ghent University offers a holiday allowance, gratis public transport
between home and work place, access to university sports facilities and university
restaurants, and end-of-year bonus. For more information, see www.ugent.be/en/work.

How to apply
Applications are to be sent as a pdf-file to Professor Steven Vanderputten (email:
steven.Vanderputten@ugent.be) and must include the following elements:

- Motivation letter
- Curriculum Vitae, including an overview of language skills (active and passive);
experience with Latin-sources; and PC-skills.
- A pdf-copy of the master dissertation or undergraduate dissertation (for those with a
masters in progress).
- Certified copies of relevant diplomas.
- Contact details of two referees (name, institutional affiliation, and email address) and/or
two letters of reference.

In the second stage of the application procedure, the selected candidates will be
interviewed in person or via Skype.

Additional information
- A full project description is available here.
For more information, please contact Professor Steven Vanderputten (email:
steven.vanderputten@ugent.be).