Pax apostolica. In the context of the earliest debate about the missionary activity of St. Otto of Bamberg on the Baltic Sea (12th century)

of the Medieval Centre Greifswald by Professor Dr. Stanisław Rosik (Uniwersytet Wrocławski, Instytut Historyczny)

The missions of St. Otto of Bamberg to the Baltic Sea in the 1220s were a turning point for the integration of Pomerania into the circle of Christian monarchies in Europe. This was already recognized by his contemporaries, and so in the first generation after his death, a debate arose in the southern German monastic milieus about the phenomenon of his holiness and the significance of his success in converting the pagans. The hagiography of St. Otto, which was written around the middle of the 12th century, clearly demonstrates this. The lecture deals with an important theme in these works: the consideration of the mission with regard to the establishment of a new social order and international politics. In a world of constant violence, the realization of peace meant revolutionary change.

Stanisław Rosik is a medievalist and works at the Institute of History at the University of Wrocław. He is the head of the Research Workshop on the Early History of Central Europe and the author of over 300 publications and the Polish translation of the Latin Vitae (Life) of St. Otto of Bamberg (2020). He has also been a member of the Historical Commission for Silesia in Germany since 2007, Chairman of the Standing Committee of Polish Medievalists since 2017 and a member of the Scientific Council of Excellence at the Ministry of Science and Higher Education in Poland since 2024. His research focuses on: ancient Slavs and their religion, the origins of Poland, Pomerania and Silesia, Central Europe in the Middle Ages, historiography and hagiography (10th-13th centuries). His most important books include: Conversio gentis Pomeranorum. Studium świadectwa o wydarzeniu (XII wiek), 2010; Bolesław Krzywousty, 2013; The Slavic Religion in the Light of 11th- and 12th-Century German Chronicles (Thietmar of Merseburg, Adam of Bremen, Helmold of Bosau). Studies on the Christian Interpretation of pre-Christian Cults and Beliefs in the Middle Ages, 2020; Od Swarożyca do Świętowita. Przemiany religii Słowian nadbałtyckich w X-XII wieku, 2023.

Welcome: Dr. Christian Suhm
Moderation: Dr. des. Robert Friedrich