Growth of Power and the Shaping of Society: Round Table Held at Kliofest 2026

As part of this year’s Kliofest 2026, a round table titled “Growth of Power, Shaping Society: Administrative Language and the Formation of the Territorial State in the Late Middle Ages” was held on 5 May 2026 at the National and University Library in Zagreb.
 

The event stemmed from the activities of a research project funded by the Croatian Science Foundation, “The Formation of the Territorial State in Late Medieval Croatia, Dalmatia and Slavonia: Socio-Political and Administrative Transformations,” led by the Catholic University of Croatia. The discussion, moderated by Ivan Majnarić and featuring Zdenka Janeković Römer, brought together project team members Antun Nekić, Zrinka Pešorda Vardić, and Luka Špoljarić.
 

The focus of the discussion was on the growth of the state’s infrastructural power in the late Middle Ages and its profound impact on local societies in the Croatian lands. Participants highlighted how the introduction and expansion of administrative systems transformed the written word into a key instrument for ensuring long-term state stability.

A significant portion of the discussion addressed the nature of complex, composite states, examining the relationship between centres of power—both physical and symbolic—and their peripheries. The speakers emphasised that Croatian historical lands were not merely passive subjects during this period; rather, local elites actively participated in shaping emerging state structures and identities through processes of negotiation and resistance.

In conclusion, it was noted that such state formations proved functional precisely because they succeeded in mentally integrating peripheral regions, allowing them a considerable degree of autonomy while maintaining loyalty to the centre and adopting shared symbolic frameworks.