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The use of the term “freedom” in diplomatic discourse of the Renaissance Dubrovnik

A public lecture by Valentina Zovko, Australian Government Endeavour Fellow, based at the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions, UWA

Valentina ZovkoThis lecture analysed the appearance and usage of the term “freedom” in speeches given by the Dubrovnik’s Renaissance ambassadors. Its meaning can be analysed over a longer period of time, depending on the person it addressed, the purpose it had to serve, and situations in which it appeared. Freedom speeches represent a permanent feature of the period. They were used to send messages of the community’s self-perception from the town leaders’ point of view. The government created an image of the city and used it for political purposes, always adapting it to specific social and cultural contexts. Written documents that witness Dubrovnik’s history confirm that the term “freedom” in its diplomatic discourse represented far more than a mere figure of speech. The chapters of this great city`s history began and ended with freedom.

Valentina Zovko completed a PhD in 2012 at the University of Zagreb, Croatia, with a thesis entitled 'The role of the ambassadors of the Republic of Dubrovnik in expansion the borders onto the hinterland (at the turn of 14th in the 15th century)', work which signaled the start of her main scientific interest in the political and socio-cultural issues visible throw the sphere of Dubrovnik`s late medieval diplomacy. She is currently an Assistant Professor and Head of the Department for Medieval History, University of Zadar. Her research focuses on issues of medieval and early modern diplomacy, medieval centres of power, identity, prosopography, emotions and perceptions in the Middle Ages. She has been guest professor at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia and Institute of history in Warsaw, Poland.

This lecture was part of the 'What's new in the Medieval?' Lecture Series, presented by the Institute of Advanced Studies and the ARC Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions.

What’s New in the Medieval?

Join us for an exciting exploration of cutting-edge research about the medieval period by leading researchers associated with the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence of the History of Emotions. These special lectures will explore the compelling histories of warfare, tolerance, freedom and gender – topics as charged and contentious then as they remain today.

Series chair: Professor Susan Broomhall, Australian Research Council Future Fellow and Honorary Chief Investigator, Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions, UWA

Other lectures in the series:

18 April: Medieval War in Modern Memory - Andrew Lynch, Director, Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions, UWA

11 May: The Limits of Tolerance: arguments for and against religious violence in the high Middle Ages - Michael Barbezat, Postdoctoral Fellow, Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions, UWA

11 Oct: Histories of gender, families and children: what do we still want to know? - Stephanie Tarbin, School of Humanities and Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions, UWA