Germany Archive
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Environs and hinterland: Cologne and Nuremberg in the later middle ages
Posted on May 20, 2012 | No CommentsPursuing the question of economic development and its spatial articulation with reference to the two most important German cities and their hinterlands during the transition from the middle ages to the early modern period is a double-edged venture. -
The Runic System as a Reinterpretation of Classical Influences and as an Expression of Scandinavian Cultural Affiliation
Posted on April 22, 2012 | No CommentsAccompanying discussions of the runic system’s graphical origins are arguments concerning its geographical origins. Von Friesen’s theory that runes derived from Greek characters looked east to the Gothic territories, while scholars arguing for North Italic origins have pointed towards the Alps. Moltke, who looked to a largely Latin source for the runic characters, suggested a runic origin in Denmark. -
A medieval Arabic analysis of motion at an instant : the Avicennan sources to the forma fluens/fluxus formae debate
Posted on April 22, 2012 | No CommentsThe first and foremost topic of classical and medieval physics is the concept of motion (Grk. kine ̄sis, Arb. h ̇ araka, Lat. motio). Within the complex of issues and problems associated with motion, the question ‘in which category does motion itself belong?’ occupied a position of considerable importance in scholastic natural philosophy. -
Oda: An Extraordinary Example of a Medieval Woman’s Religious Authority and Economic Power
Posted on April 22, 2012 | No Commentshristianity posed as a shackle for many women in the early Middle Ages. Though sexism and female subordination were prevalent prior to the emergence of this monotheistic religion, Christianity established its own justifications for continuing in the male domination. -
Rebuilding the Middle Ages after the Second World War: the cultural politics of reconstruction in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany
Posted on April 17, 2012 | No CommentsMany visitors do not realize that nearly half of Rothenburg’s medieval architectural heritage was destroyed in 1945. -
Bones4Culture project to examine a thousand medieval skeletons from northern Europe
Posted on April 16, 2012 | No CommentsA new project is underway to analyze population, life, health and culture of the people that lived in the German-Danish border land during the Middle Ages (AD 1050 – 1536). -
Medieval Monastic Library of Lorsch recreated online
Posted on April 10, 2012 | No CommentsThe unique holdings of the medieval monastic library of Lorsch, currently scattered over 68 libraries worldwide, are being re-compiled into a virtual library. -
The mandrake plant and its legend: a new perspective
Posted on April 8, 2012 | No CommentsAs a specialist in German mediaeval studies, until the time Peter Bierbaumer introduced me to Old English plant names and approached me with the idea of republishing and updating his Der botanische Wortschatz des AltenglischenI had no idea how fascinating Old English could be. -
Depositions of rulers in the later middle ages: on the theory of the “useless ruler” and its practical utilization
Posted on April 8, 2012 | No CommentsThe fact that in late medieval times more or less changes of rulers by force increased in nearly all European kingdoms, may indeed be read as a symptom of change in kingship as well as in the basic order of lordship. -
VAGANTES: The Case of a Married Female Saint: Rutebeuf’s Saint Elizabeth of Hungary
Posted on April 6, 2012 | No CommentsRutebeuf suggests that Elizabeth converts her husband, in contrast with the documented reality of a pious crusading man. I will argue that Rutebeuf portrays and exaggerates marital tension in this text, both to create an interesting narrative and to enhance Elizabeth’s model as a saint. This work thus illustrates a fascinating intersection of faith and literature in thirteenth century France. -
Birds’ Head Haggadah – scholar gives new insights into Jewish medieval text
Posted on April 3, 2012 | No CommentsThe Birds' Head Haggadah, a manuscript dating from around the year 1300, is considered one of the most interesting and mysterious pieces of Jewish art from the Middle Ages. -
VAGANTES: Between Tradition and Change: Monastic Reform in Three fifteenth-century German Redactions of the Life of Saint Mary of Egypt
Posted on March 30, 2012 | No CommentsUsing the life of St. Mary of Egypt, this paper will consider three different Middle High German versions produced by reform communities and will analyze how the reform ideologies and goals manifest in the texts. -
VAGANTES: “What has Beowulf to do with a Christian King?” Heroic Legend as Poetic Speculum Principis
Posted on March 30, 2012 | No CommentsThrough a rhetorical analysis based in grounded theory that analyzes fifteen speeches and their contexts made by Hroðgar, Beowulf, and Wiglaf, I will show how the poet appropriated the Beowulf legend to present a dramatized speculum principis using the rhetorical devices common to oral-traditional narratives to articulate the three traits of kingship most highly valued by both secular and sacred authorities: generosity, faith, and protectiveness. -
The Danube Floods and Their Human Response and Perception (14th to 17th C)
Posted on March 19, 2012 | No CommentsThis study will examine in particular the reactions of the people living close to the Danube River and its catchment area in “Austria” between the 14th and 17th centuries. -
Maccabees on the Baltic: the Biblical apologia of the Teutonic Order
Posted on March 18, 2012 | No CommentsThe Teutonic Order, came into being as the third and last of the great medieval crusading orders. The Order began its existence as a temporary hospital for German speaking crusaders during the siege of Acre in 1190.
