This is a roundtable organised by MFO in association with the Oxford Renaissance Seminar. This event is open to the public.

Various meanings have been attributed to the term ‘nation’. Its meaning in the medieval period differs considerably from its meaning in the construction of the nation-state before and after the French Revolution. Falling between these two historical periods, the Renaissance was the age when the national churches were established in Rome, these having the ability to represent diverse national interests. In the context of early modern state-building and the confessional struggles, the notion of a Roma communis patria will be considered as a specific field of investigation in its political, diplomatic and religious aspects. Rome, used as a case study, offers a good standpoint from which to assess the many conflicts raised by the emergence of proto-national interests in the redefinition of early modern political and religious borders.