Vol. 62 (2022): Frederieke Maria Schnack: Zwischen geistlichen Aufgaben und weltlichen Herausforderungen. Die Handlungsspielräume der Mindener Bischöfe von 1250 bis 1500

Late medieval bishops were church dignitaries as well as princes of the Holy Roman Empire and thus rulers of prince-bishoprics. They therefore faced various clerical and secular challenges. Until now, the state of research concerning the great number of bishops ruling quite small prince-bishoprics is rather inadequate. Those clerics have so far been seen as less powerful and dependent on other actors. Focusing on the late medieval bishops of Minden, this study examines episcopal agency. The closer look at the possibilities and limitations of episcopal actions is a novelty: The methodology has been developed studying secular princes of the empire and is now applied to bishops for the first time. Hence,
their rooms for manoeuvre are analysed with a view to both clerical and secular questions.