News about the Hussite War in the Political Communication of the Imperial City Nuremberg
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| Year of publication | 2023 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
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| Description | In my presentation, I examine the correspondence from the city council of Nuremberg as part of the information network of the Holy Roman Empire in the time of the Hussite War (1419-1434/36). While many historians describe Nuremberg as a “news center” throughout the late medieval and early modern period, they did not provide case studies about news distribution on a micro level. This left space for misleading generalizations, especially for the 15. century, where historians have to rely on the written political communication of the city council. With examples taken from the city council’s copybooks, I discuss how the council spread the news about the Hussite war and with whom it exchanged information. Based on the definition of news, which stems from newer historical research on communication, I show that the council provided information mainly on demand. That helps to determine topics and phases of interest in a central European conflict. A closer look at the provided examples leads to the main argument, where I outline the city council’s importance as a news provider for the anti-Hussite coalition. |