Christina Antenhofer…
… is reading Imperfect Alchemist by Naomi
Miller,… spends her evenings with good conversati
ons … and makes walks and mountain hikes to get her head free.
Christina Antenhofer is Professor of Medieval History and also the head of the IZMF. Today we would like to introduce her a little more:
You are the director of the Medieval Centre. Where does your enthusiasm for mediavitics come from?
We are everywhere surrounded by buildings and cities dating back to the Middle Ages. I am interested in what people lived here, what they experienced and what we can learn from them for our own time. I am fascinated that sources that are hundreds of years old can be deciphered and detective work can be done in the past. Moreover, looking into the past often also casts current questions in a different light. Last but not least, the current pandemic has aroused interest in historical pandemics such as the plague. But the Middle Ages, as a time before the nation-state, also teaches us to look at the current conflicts differently and to question current boundaries.
What qualities do you most appreciate about colleagues in research?
Curiosity, competence, interest in people, openness and, as with all people, an appreciative social interaction, humour and tolerance.
What’s the greatest true story you’ve ever heard?
That Friedrich II. carried out the only peaceful and at the same time successful crusade in 1228/29 by pure negotiation.
