page-header

Dissertation-Projects

Current Dissertation-Projects

Linda Beutel-Thurow

Linda Beutel-Thurow

Department German Studies
Main supervisor Univ. Prof. Mag. Dr. Manfred Kern (Dept. of German Studies)
Secondary supervisor Prof. Dr.Anna Kathrin Bleuler (Augsburg), Mag. Dr. Katharina Zeppezauer-Wachauer (MHDBDB)
Contact linda.beutel-thurow@plus.ac.at
Title Naming poetics in Middle High German epic poetry. An analysis of the use of names, antonomasia and epithets in selected texts from the German-speaking Middle Ages.
Abstract Onomastics has been part of interdisciplinary research for quite some time. In this context, Germanic medieval studies have also been concerned with the use of names in Middle High German texts, especially in recent times. However, beyond the pure category of ‘proper names’, there are other strategies for naming characters that have received little attention to date. Although the names of persons or characters can be regarded as the epitome of identity-forming characteristics, it is above all antonomasia and epithets that enable the recipients to imagine a character identity through the word.
The dissertation will therefore pursue the goal of examining naming strategies in Middle High German epic poetry with regard to their narratological and poetological functions. Although names will also play a role, the main focus will be on antonomasia and epithets. A systematic recording of naming variants within a representative corpus will serve as the basis for analysis. Following a quantitative and statistical processing of the collected data using digital humanities methods, the results will be hermeneutically evaluated with regard to the poetics of naming. In the process, both intergeneric and chronological aspects will be included.

Walter Brandstätter

Walter Brandstätter

Department History
Main supervisor Univ.-Prof. MMag. Dr. Christina Antenhofer (Dept. of History)
Secondary supervisor Mag. Dr. Thomas Kühtreiber (IMAREAL/Dept. of Classical Studies)
Contact walter.brandstaetter@plus.ac.at
Title Item ainen hochen cassten mit vier thüren… Inventories as sources for the reconstruction of early modern living, working and living conditions using the example of Hohensalzburg Fortress
Abstract With almost 1000 years of history, Hohensalzburg Fortress is not only the symbol of the city of Salzburg and one of Austria’s most popular tourist destinations, it is also one of the largest completely preserved castle complexes in Europe. In view of the prominence of this historically outstanding site, the heterogeneous research situation, which in part still shows large gaps, is surprising. Although in recent decades there have been repeated impulses mainly from the field of building and architectural history, cultural and social history studies on the fortress represent a research desideratum, which this dissertation project aims to address.
Based on the more recent approaches inspired by cultural, social and gender history to view castles as multifunctional complexes beyond their political and military functions, this thesis aims to focus on the social dimension of the early modern fortress and to consider Hohensalzburg as a place to live. Specifically, this involves integrating questions about living, working and housing conditions and how these changed over time. In order to realize this project, a broad corpus of previously unprocessed fortress inventories from the 16th and 17th centuries will be used, which, due to their systematic arrangement of rooms and objects, are very well suited to gaining insights into both the material living conditions and historical spatial structures. The reason for limiting the period to the 16th and 17th centuries is that the fortress was at the height of its representative and structural development at the transition from the Middle Ages to the early modern period and also functioned as the residence of the Salzburg archbishops for a time. The inventories from this period are correspondingly informative, as they contain a wealth of information about the furnishings and use of the rooms. The project to depict Hohensalzburg as a complex social structure by means of inventories has led to a series of questions that can be reduced to one central question: How does Hohensalzburg Fortress present itself as a place to live and a social space as reflected in early modern inventories? Following on from this main question, further sub-questions have arisen on a wide range of topics relating to the creation of the inventories of Hohensalzburg, the accessibility, furnishings and use of rooms, the social stratification of social status and the provisioning of the fortress.

Peter Bruckner

Peter Bruckner

Department Classical Studies
Main supervisor Univ.-Prof. Dr. Dorothea Weber (Dept. of Classical Studies)
Secondary supervisor Univ.-Prof. Dr. Susanne Plietzsch (ZJK)
Contact peter.bruckner@stud.plus.ac.at
Title De ridiculis et stultissimis fabulis Iudeorum. Latin Talmudic polemics in Petrus Venerabilis
Abstract Latin Europe’s engagement with traditional rabbinic literature before the burning of the Talmud in Paris (1240) was a sporadic phenomenon. Petrus Venerabilis (Abbot of Cluny, author of pamphlets against Saracens and Jews; † 1156) is considered one of the early connoisseurs of Talmudic literature. The textual basis of the study is his writing adversus Iudeorum inveteratam duritiem, the fifth chapter of which contains several aggadic (=narrative-rabbinic) narratives and smaller narrative elements. Petrus Venerabilis presents these narratives to his readership as “Thalmuth” and controls their reception with the help of comparisons, analyses and (polemical) interpretations. In a first step, the editing process of these narratives is examined, which mostly have their origins in the Babylonian Talmud, but were sometimes altered almost beyond recognition and contaminated with other narrative texts. The aim here is to provide an insight into how Petrus Venerabilis intervened in the texts. Here, comparative analyses with legendary midrashim of the Middle Ages and the Dialogus of Petrus Alfonsi are particularly useful. In a further step, considerations will be made as to the rationale behind the changes.From the outset, the question remains whether the deviations were made by Petrus Venerabilis himself, whether they are deliberate interventions in the text (and not, for example, errors in tradition) or whether they are older. Based on the individual analyses, the “Talmud chapter” by Petrus Venerabilis will be re-evaluated within anti-Judaism research, the after-effects of which are possibly underestimated. The question of which Jewish / rabbinical prejudices Petrus Venerabilis derives from the stories and how he connects them to other anti-Judaic discourses of his time will be investigated. Can one recognize structures / characteristics of a (crusade) sermon? Can this discrediting of the Talmud and the differentiation from Jewish writings be seen as a form of identity creation for the “Latini”? At the end of this treatment, we will connect to a lively research literature that examines the “Latin Talmud” from the Paris Talmud burnings (1240) onwards.

Flurina Camenisch

Flurina Camenisch

Department History
Main supervisor Prof. Dr. Simon Teuscher (UZH)
Secondary supervisor Univ.-Prof. MMag. Dr. Christina Antenhofer (Dept. of History)
Contact flurina.camenisch@kulturforschung.ch
Title Loans, correspondence, conflicts: cross-border aristocratic relationships and transregional interdependencies in the late medieval Grisons
Abstract Due to the fact that the territory of today’s canton of Graubünden is geographically located on the edge of Switzerland, it is often perceived as a peripheral region. This nation-state view was also projected back to the late Middle Ages by older historical research. In recent years, however, more recent studies on other regions of present-day Switzerland have shown that the Confederate towns and their ruling classes in the late Middle Ages were connected to neighboring political entities in a variety of ways and suggest that something similar applied to the territory of present-day Graubünden.
Although the area of the present-day canton of Graubünden in particular is and was surrounded and shaped by various political and cultural scouts, studies on the history of interrelationships in the late Middle Ages have so far been largely lacking for this area. The nobility in particular, which would be particularly suitable as a subject of study due to its numerous cross-border relationships, has hardly been considered in recent research, which can be attributed to a persistent suppression of the nobility from the Swiss historical picture.
The dissertation project aims to close this gap in research, both in terms of geography and actors. To this end, the cross-border relationships of Count George of Werdenberg-Sargans (1425-1504) are examined as an example. He is a prominent example of a late medieval nobleman who maintained numerous relationships with foreign rulers such as the Dukes of Milan or the Duke of Tyrol and at the same time was able to maintain his local position of power in what is now Graubünden for a comparatively long time.
The aim of the project is, on the one hand, to analyze the structure of Count George’s cross-border relationships and their significance for his retention of power. Which actors did Count George seek relationships with in which situations? What mutual interests and power relations were characteristic of the respective relationships? In which situations did the cross-border relationships lead to a concrete advantage for Count George and in which situations did they lead to conflicts and for what reasons?
The aim of the project is also to analyze the significance of Count George’s cross-border relationships for the population in his areas of influence in Graubünden.
The project is based on the premise that Count George acted as a kind of cross-border broker and thus had an influence on local society and its integration into transregional interdependencies.
The three key words “loans, correspondence, conflicts” in the title of the dissertation project refer on the one hand to possible consequences of Graf’s cross-border relationships (“conflicts”), and on the other hand they refer to the method of the project (“loans”, “correspondence”). The aim is to reconstruct the nature of Graf Georg’s cross-border relationships and their significance for the local population on the basis of various practices such as the granting of loans, the content and frequency of correspondence, etc.

Peter Färberböck

Peter Färberböck

Department History
Main supervisor Univ.-Prof. MMag. Dr. Christina Antenhofer (Dept. of History)
Secondary supervisor PD Dr. Tobias Winnerling (Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf)
Contact peter.faerberboeck@plus.ac.at
Title Press X to Cast the Spell: The historical development of (blood) magic in digital games (working title)
Abstract The subject of this dissertation project is the question of how blood magic has been thematized in digital games since the late 1970s and which medieval images are produced about it. As these are digital sources and a corresponding (digital) set of methods is used, the project can be seen as a contribution to the digital humanities. The focus is particularly on the question of “medievalisms”, i.e. the history of the reception of the Middle Ages in these games. By “medieval” games, we do not necessarily mean digital games set in the historical period, but games with medievalisms, i.e. those that represent a medieval reception.
“Medievalisms” and performance serve as approaches to interpretation. Participant observation of test subjects is carried out, a “close reading” approach using atmospheres for digital games is applied and interviews are conducted with designers and developers.
Due to the size of the field of magic, the focus is placed on the concept of blood magic. Essential to this is the question of what is considered accepted and unaccepted forms of magic in the history of knowledge of magic and in the history of its reception: “white” and “black magic” for socially tolerated or “deviant” forms.Blood magic here refers to a trope or motif that appears in many digital games. It is a type of magic that is associated with “black magic” or is at least portrayed as amoral. Blood, as a symbol of life force, is used here as a resource to work magic. However, it is not only visible in fiction or fantasy, but also appears as such in sources with blood as an element of magic.
The overarching question is how the lines of discourse from the history of knowledge and the history of reception flow into the digital games and which ones become visible. The project will mainly focus on the analysis of digital games. The medieval, European-inspired world will serve to narrow down the cultural framework. Particularly successful, widely received works and also smaller, at first glance mostly different titles will be examined from two perspectives. For the time being, these include titles such as Dragon Age: Inquisition, Divinity: Original Sin II and A Plague Tale: Innocence.
Methodologically, three levels are considered: the history of knowledge of magic, the history of reception as well as medievalisms and the analysis of digital games. The first two are to be seen as preliminary work and contextualization, both of which are then applied to the main level of digital games.

Livia Heilingbrunner

Livia Heilingbrunner

Department History
Main supervisor Univ. Prof. DDr. Gerhard Ammerer (Dept. of History)
Secondary supervisor Assoz. Prof. Priv.-Doz. Mag. Dr. Jan Cemper-Kiesslich (IFFB Forensic medicine and forensic neuropsychiatry)
Contact livia.heilingbrunner@plus.ac.at
Title Heterodox impulses and methods from archaeometry for historical science
Abstract The dissertation raises, examines and discusses the necessity of integrating non-disciplinary methods from archaeometry for answering historical questions and deals with whether, how and for what purpose they can be used. It is, on the one hand, a critical examination of these methods and, on the other, a presentation and description of available archaeometric analyses and their individual informative potential. The term heterodox methods and impulses refers to those methods that deviate from the classical methods of historical research. In this sense, this paper is intended on the one hand as an interdisciplinary project, which generally addresses the subject-specific influence and inclusion of non-subject-specific methods from the natural sciences in historical research, and on the other hand as an interdisciplinary link, which aims to function specifically between the methods of archaeometry and historical research. The primary focus is on the output for historiography and the primary target group is therefore historians.While neighboring disciplines such as prehistory, early history and archaeology have been using archaeometric methods to answer historical questions for a long time, a rather slow and restrained trend has emerged in historical research. This trend is also due to the fact that the first-mentioned disciplines are increasingly turning to these methods due to the scarcity or non-existence of written sources in their epochs. The content of the
of the dissertation should of course not be limited to a conceptual-theoretical level. Rather, the focus is on practical application, implementation and interdisciplinary communication in order to provide a kind of guideline on how to successfully integrate the selected interdisciplinary methods in historical research. Selected case studies accompany the path to practical implementation.

Ruth Isser

Ruth Isser

Department History
Main supervisor Univ.-Prof. MMag. Dr. Christina Antenhofer (Dept. of History)
Secondary supervisor Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Manfred Kern (FB Germanistik)
Contact ruth.isser@plus.ac.at
Title Eleanor of Scotland between agency and knowledge. A princess in the mirror of her time.
Abstract Gottfried von Strasbourg’s Höfische Roman Tristan, written around 1210, already tells of the Irish king’s daughter Isolde’s upbringing in relative detail. Similarly, depictions of reading women figures can be found in heroic epics such as Hartmann von Aue’s Iwein or Wolfram von Eschenbach’s Parzival. In this context, Joachim Bumke emphasizes that the Höfische epic poets primarily addressed a female audience by addressing listeners or readers. In texts of the early 13th century, two levels of educated and reading women are thus already indicated: the womenfigures as part of the literature and the recipients or patrons as part of the literary system. However, women also appeared as writers or translators themselves. Examples include the highly regarded texts of the trobairitz, i.e. the songs of female troubadours, the works of Christine de Pisan or the texts of female mystics as well as translations of Elisabeth of Nassau-Saarbrücken or Eleonore of Austria. In the course of the dissertation project, the picture drawn here is to be supplemented and expanded by a close examination of the education, training, knowledge and upbringing of female noblemen of the late Middle Ages from the House of Württemberg and Habsburg.For this purpose, the study draws on surviving possessions, above all books, archival sources, educational treatises and princely mirrors, literary sources and also pictorial representations. Against this background, the work is based on the categories of educational and practical knowledge developed for the Middle Ages by Martin Kintzinger. Furthermore, Susanne Schul’s reflections on gender as a category of knowledge and Oren Margolis’ reflections on super- and hyper-literates are applied. In addition, Achim Landwehr’s Historical Discourse Analysis and Joan Scott’s Gender: A Useful Category of Historical Analysis will be used to gain insight into interpretations and perceptions of the education and knowledge of female historical figures. For the analysis of pictorial sources, the digital tool ONAMA will be used, which makes it possible to identify narratological patterns in the literature and images of the Middle Ages. The project thus explores the question of how the education of aristocratic women appears and is discursively portrayed in various sources and how the resulting overall picture can be linked back to the realities of life in selected case studies. In addition, attention will be paid to whether a specific canon of books owned by the women at the center of this project can be reconstructed and how women are portrayed in them.

Sigrid Klonner

Sigrid Klonner

Department German Studies
Main supervisor Prof. Dr. Anna Kathrin Bleuler (Augsburg)
Secondary supervisor Univ.-Prof. Dr. Manfred Kern (Dept. of German Studies)
Contact sigrid.klonner@stud.plus.ac.at
Title The supplementary corpora in the Codex Manesse. A contribution to the collection structure of the manuscript.
Abstract

Simon Kuhn

Simon Kuhn

Department History
Main supervisor Assoz. Prof. Dr. Michael Brauer (Dept. of History)
Secondary supervisor MMag. Dr. Elisabeth Gruber (IMAREAL/IZMF)
Contact simon.kuhn@stud.plus.ac.at
Title The monastic long-distance possessions of Spital am Pyhrn in Wachau
Abstract The dissertation project is dedicated to the question of the different forms of monastic control. This is discussed on the basis of two Salzburg Benedictine monasteries – St. Peter and Michaelbeuern – and their property in the Wachau. These were therefore long-distance estates consisting of vineyards, farmsteads and townhouses. In the area of the historic municipality of Tal Wachau (Weißenkirchen, Joching, Wösendorf and St. Michael), 28 foreign monasteries owned vineyards and, as a rule, farmsteads. The two Salzburg Benedictine monasteries are no exception, but stand out due to the enormous length of ownership (first half of the 14th century to the 1930s).
The dissertation therefore asks what control measures the monasteries had to take in order to be able to use their properties as economically as possible. However, control is not understood in the context of the dissertation as a purely administrative practice, but rather as a process or mechanism that can enforce certain behaviors in a group of people as part of a society. Part of the research interest is therefore also those aspects that can favor or hinder effective control. It is precisely because control is to be understood as a social process that the study of monastic networks is essential for this. The control of the monasteries worked in and through the networks from Salzburg to the Wachau and vice versa. Following Althoff’s research on the power of rituals, the authoritative power of the monasteries will be included in the considerations and the networks will be understood as networks of practices and arrangements according to Schatzki. This takes into account the influence of material arrangements (vineyard, building and river) on the associated practices (grape harvesting, pressing and transportation) and the people involved.
In order to answer the central question, a qualitative approach was chosen; the two long-distance estates of St. Peters and Michaelbeuern are also compared with the vineyard estate of Göttweig Abbey, thus comparing three Benedictine abbeys. The central source material consists of around 50 letters of lease covering the period from 1279 to the 1950s.

Florian Mayr

Florian Mayr

Department Religious Studies
Main supervisor Univ. Prof. Dr. Alexander Zerfaß (Dept. of Practical Theology)
Secondary supervisor Univ.-Prof. Dr. Dorothea Weber (Dept. of Classical Studies)
Contact florian.mayr2@stud.plus.ac.at
Title The daily prayers of Advent in the Missale Romanum 1970
Abstract The Catholic Missale Romanum, published in 1970, contains countless orations (daily, offertory and concluding prayers) that originally came from late antique-early medieval, Romano-Franconian sacramentaries and were incorporated into the renewed missal during the liturgical reform initiated by the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). The focus of the dissertation project is on the daily prayers (Collectae) of the Advent season written in Latin: On the basis of these short texts, which are nevertheless rich in content and linguistic-stylistic content, a liturgical-theological profile of the Advent season is to be created on the one hand, and on the other hand characteristics and quality features of (Roman) Latin sacred language are to be analyzed. This is intended to contribute to research into the history of the Advent liturgy, which – although Advent still enjoys some popularity in society – has been comparatively little researched in liturgical studies to date. The broad field of sacred language seems particularly relevant against the background of a new translation of the Latin missal into German planned for the next few years, as this also raises the question of an appropriate liturgical language of prayer and ritual in German. In addition, by taking into account the records of the post-Vatican liturgical reform, the aim is to trace the content and linguistic criteria used to determine the prayers of the day during the reform.

Mina Miyamoto

Mina Miyamoto

Department History
Main supervisor Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Renate Prochno-Schinkel (Dept. of art, music and dance studies)
Secondary supervisor Univ. Prof. Dr. Alexander Zerfaß (Dept. of Pracitcal Theology)
Contact mina.miyamoto@stud.plus.ac.at
Title Precious textiles as curtains in medieval manuscripts
Abstract

The dissertation project is dedicated to the textile curtains in medieval manuscripts, which are attached to the parchments and serve to cover miniatures and initials. In research, the function of the curtains has so far been assumed to be protection. Recently, however, the focus has been on the importance of concealing and revealing the images in sacred manuscripts – both liturgically and outside the liturgy. However, there is a lack of fundamental research into in which period, in which regions and in which book genres the images are shielded by textiles. The dissertation project will analyze the textile curtains in medieval manuscripts on the basis of the following three aspects.

First, a systematic classification and textile analysis will be carried out. As many examples as possible will be systematically listed. The results are entered chronologically in a table in order to determine temporal and regional phenomena. Textile analyses are also carried out. The precious patterned silk fabrics used as curtains are compared both with painted textile ornaments in manuscripts and with textiles in church interiors, for example in the form of paraments or reliquaries.

Other functions of curtains are then identified in addition to their protective function. Curtains over pictures are not only known from manuscripts, but also from other genres of the visual arts from antiquity to the present day. For example, Pliny passes on Parrhasius’ artistry through the curtain and picture curtains are frequently found in medieval and early modern painting, especially in 17th century Dutch painting. The analysis is carried out across epochs by comparing the curtains between antiquity, the Middle Ages and the early modern period as well as between sacred and profane depictions or between real and painted curtains.

Subsequently, the curtains in sacred manuscripts, their religious meaning and their action, primarily in the context of concealment and unveiling (hiding and showing / closing and opening), are examined. The uses in the liturgical space and in private devotional practices are considered separately.

The dissertation project will clarify the meaning, function and effect of the curtains on medieval manuscripts. Although the subject of the research is a rare genre, the investigation is not limited to manuscript research or art historical research, but will provide new insights into medieval book culture. This dissertation project is part of a cross-epochal international research project on medieval book culture.

Marius Müller

Marius Müller

Department History
Main supervisor Univ.-Prof. Dr. Tanja Bührer (Dept. of History)
Secondary supervisor
Contact marius.mueller@plus.ac.at
Title Maritime networks: The French East India Company between trade contacts, knowledge generation and intercultural diplomacy (1664-1788)
Abstract From the middle of the 16th century onwards, the expansion of European powers overseas was accompanied by diplomatic and economic contacts, political-military conflicts and knowledge networks for the procurement of information, which gradually led to the establishment of colonial power and administrative structures. With the Compagnie des indes orientales (CIO), founded in 1664 under Louis XIV (1638-1715), France also began to monopolize trade activities to India and Asia, which had previously been conducted by private Norman and Breton merchants, and to bring access to the coveted spice trade under state control. Despite competition from the successful Dutch Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie and the British East India Company, the CIO succeeded in gaining possession of large areas over the course of the 17th and 18th centuries – including the islands of Madagascar (Île Dauphine), La Réunion (Île Bourbon) and Mauritius (Île de France) in the Indian Ocean. France established important bases and factories on the Indian subcontinent, such as in Surat, Chandannagar and Pondichéry. While older French research from a national-historical perspective primarily investigated the conditions for France’s failure in Asia, the dissertation project focuses on polycentric networks and their social structural patterns, thus linking local conditions with overarching political-colonial orders at the interface of micro- and macro-history. The aim of the work is to reconstruct the diverse economic, social and cultural interdependencies of the French East India Company in the Indian Ocean ‘from below’, i.e. through an analysis informed by cultural history, praxeology and the history of science, by focusing on the transportation and circulation of goods as well as natural history procedures and practices that the actors involved generated and passed on in cross-cultural, economic and diplomatic contact situations. Instead of looking at the colonial project solely from a European perspective, the study offers a dedicated analysis of the transregional exchange relationships between European and South (East) Asian actors. In this way, a contribution is to be made to demonstrating the local and global entanglements of large-scale colonial projects using the example of the French East India Company and to understanding the local preconditions and consequences of historical change as well as the possibilities and limits of multiple colonial rule.

Tobias Pamer

Tobias Pamer

Department History
Main supervisor Univ.-Prof. MMag. Dr. Christina Antenhofer (Dept. of History)
Secondary supervisor Univ.-Prof. Dr. Jörg Schwarz (Innsbruck); ao. Univ. Prof. Dr. Julia Hörmann-Thurn und Taxis (Innsbruck)
Contact tobias.pamer@stud.plus.ac.at
Title Interwoven ties, aristocratic rule and princely power. The networks of Knighthood between region and empire using the example of the Starkenberg family.
13th-15th century
Abstract

The relationships of the lower nobility and their significance for the expansion of rule and the political rise of ministerial and knightly noble families are still often overshadowed by research focusing on the imperial princely houses. Yet this social class also formed far-reaching networks – in the sense of diverse relationships – with fellow nobles as well as with ecclesiastical representatives, commoners and imperial princes. Kinship ties, bonds of friendship or shared political interests between actors formed the proverbial bridgehead to expand their own scope for action, as well as to extend their influence and position of power and thus rise in the structure of the social elite.

 

The significance of the social network will therefore be examined in the course of this study using the example of the noble Starkenberg family from the County of Tyrol. These originally unfree ministerials managed to establish themselves as one of the most powerful noble families in the central Alpine region in the 14th century. When Tyrol was handed over to the House of Habsburg in 1363, one of the Starkenbergs sealed the famous deed of transfer to Duchess Margaret as a princely councillor. Sigmund von Starkenberg, a family representative, became Burgrave of Tyrol Castle in 1396. On March 1, 1417, Sigmund’s second son, Wilhelm von Starkenberg, entered the service of the Roman-German King Sigismund of Luxembourg. The landed aristocratic family reached its absolute zenith on July 16, 1423, when the king took the county of Tyrol from Duke Frederick IV of Austria and granted the Starkenbergs their fiefs, including the courts of Imst and Pfunds, as an imperial fief

The Starkenbergs owed their rise not least to their excellent social network of friends and relatives. Using the methodological approach of social network analysis, including the possibilities of digital humanities and Heider’s balance principle, the relationships of kinship and friendship of the lower noble family are reconstructed and analyzed in the course of the study. The aim is to show that the association of relatives and friends contributed fundamentally to the expansion of their own influence and to the consolidation of the community’s power base. The approach to the prince, in the sense of bridging the difficult “path to the ruler’s ear”, was also overcome via this extensive network of relationships. Questions about the possibilities of these relationships, their significance for contemporaries and the change in these principles over the envisaged period of around three centuries will also be addressed here. The aim of the dissertation is not only to provide new insights into the lower nobility of the German southwest, but also to investigate the significance of networking for the expansion of power and the influence on political processes.

Anna Petuschnig

Anna Petutschnig

Department History
Main supervisor Univ.-Prof. Dr. Jan Keupp (University of Münster)
Secondary supervisor Univ.-Prof. MMag. Dr. Christina Antenhofer (Dept. of History)
Contact anna.petutschnig@uni-muenster.de
Title Ideas of fatherhood in the late medieval aristocracy
Abstract Today, fatherhood is associated with a wide variety of social role attributions and in the Middle Ages, men were also assigned a specific place in society through the role of father and their masculinity was constructed based on the fatherhood they experienced and lived. The idea of the father of the house, who had to look after his entire family, was paramount. In German-language sources, the other roles that fathers also assumed have so far been dealt with mainly for the bourgeoisie. High aristocratic fathers have not yet been sufficiently considered in studies, although letters have been preserved, especially from the 15th century, from which the relationship of fathers to their children and also the self-image of fathers can be researched. The correspondence of the Margraves of Brandenburg-Ansbach, of which countless letters from the 15th century have been preserved, is particularly fruitful in this respect. The dissertation examines how fathers communicated with their children in letters. For this purpose, the salutations, closing formulas and emotional words used are recorded and examined with regard to their content about fatherhood in general and in the specific relationship between the individual actors. A content analysis will also be used to find out which roles fathers took on and which roles they believed a father had to take on due to social expectations. The project will be rounded off with a comparison of the ideas conveyed within late medieval theory regarding fatherhood. Tracts on child rearing will be used for this purpose.

Melanie Salvenmoser

Melanie Salvenmoser

Department History
Main supervisor Univ. Prof. Dr. Manfred Kern (Dept. of German Studies)
Secondary supervisor Dr. Thomas Kühtreiber (IMAREAL/Dept. of Classical Studies)
Contact melanie.salvenmoser@plus.ac.at
Title The depiction of sieges in Ottokar von der Gaal’s “Styrian rhyming chronicle”.
Abstract The dissertation project deals with the representation and literary design of the sieges depicted in the Steirische Reimchronik. The text of the StR is particularly suitable for this purpose, as it deals extensively with a relatively short period of time. As a result, this chronicle also differs significantly from most other world and universal chronicles written at this time. Not only are many sieges described, but some of them are also described in great detail. In a first step, I will examine the general literary design of the various sieges described, before going on to analyze individual aspects of sieges and their depiction in the StR. These aspects include, for example, the depiction of women and children as well as people not primarily involved in the fighting, but also topics such as hunger and deprivation, the supply of food and weapons as well as siege technology. The analyses of the StR are also contextualized with a series of comparative texts that either precede the text and thus may have influenced it, were written in a temporal and spatial proximity or describe the same events as the StR. The aim is explicitly not to examine or verify historical accuracy or plausibility, which would be the task of medieval archaeology and other disciplines in a further step.

Benjamin Maria Stockmaier

Benjamin Maria Stockmaier

Department Classical History
Main supervisor Univ.-Prof. Dr. Monika Frass (Dept. of Classical Studies)
Secondary supervisor
Contact benjamin.stockmaier@stud.plus.ac.at
Title Basileis: Kingmakers and kings. Investigations into kingship in Hellenism
Abstract The dissertation project with the working title “Basileis: Königmacher und Könige.
Untersuchungen zu den Königwerdungen im Hellenismus” deals with the study of kingship in Hellenism. Hellenistic kingship is regarded as a specific form of monarchical rule, whereby the uniqueness whereby the uniqueness of each Hellenistic kingship must be emphasized. The term “kingship” is preferred for this project, as conventional terms such as terms such as coronation or enthronement may not be applicable to Hellenism.
The aim of the project is not only to examine the central event of the kingmaking, but also to analyze the complex structures, strategies and actors involved. On the basis of a multidisciplinary approach, the central research project aims to analyze the processes and events of the various royal births during the Hellenistic period and the conclusions that can be drawn from them. It will answer various working questions, including the significance of coronation and enthronement, the elements of kingship, the role of lineage and legitimization, the process of kingship, and the influence on people and space.

Anton Strobl

Anton Strobl

Department History
Main supervisor Univ.-Prof. MMag. Dr. Christina Antenhofer (Dept. of History)
Secondary supervisor PD Dr. Andreas Zajic (ÖAW)
Contact anton.strobl@plus.ac.at
Title Parallel vitae? – (Auto-) Biographical writing about Emperor Maximilian I.
Abstract The project is dedicated to a group of eight texts written around 1500 in the context of Emperor Maximilian I and his major literary, artistic and patronage project, the “gedechtnus” or “Ruhmeswerk”. These texts can be categorized according to content – but not form! – criteria to the group of (auto-) biographical writings: All were written either with Maximilian I’s participation or in his immediate circle and the emperor’s biography or parts of it form the core of the content. Formally, they differ greatly – the genres range from annalistic to verse epic; almost all of them remained unfinished. Three of the texts are written in early New High German(Freydal, Theuerdank, Weißkunig) and report on the emperor under a false name, five are written in Latin (the autobiographical fragments or HS J, the redaction of the fragments or HS L, the Commentaria, the Gesta Maximiliani Romanorum Regis and the Historia Friderici III. et Maximiliani I.) and report on Maximilian’s life under his real name.
Within this group, the Latin texts have received particularly little attention from researchers: Two texts(Commentaria and Gesta) have neither been studied nor edited, two have been edited in a questionable manner(fragments and redaction) and hardly studied, one(Historia) has almost exclusively attracted the interest of art historians due to its illustrations. The theory persists among scholars that these texts were early products of Emperor Maximilian’ s gedechtnus endeavors, but that he lost Latin and open biographies while working on the vernacular works. For this reason, they should not be included in the “Ruhmeswerk”.
The present project has two aims: On the one hand, it aims to examine the Latin (auto-) biographical writings, which have been poorly researched to date, to compare them with the vernacular texts and thus to make them scientifically accessible, whereby a transcription with Transkribus will also provide preliminary work for a future edition. On the other hand, an attempt will be made to understand the function and significance of the (auto)biographical writings for Emperor Maximilian’s “work of fame” by locating the texts in their cultural-historical context, which lies in the gray area between humanist panegyric, historiography, (auto)biography, imperial self-fashioning and imperial staging. This dissertation project thus aims to reassess sources that have long been neglected by scholars and have not yet been comprehensively studied.

Elisabeth Tangerner

Elisabeth Tangerner

Department History
Main supervisor Univ.-Prof. MMag. Dr. Christina Antenhofer (Dept. of History)
Secondary supervisor Prof. Dr. Romedio Schmitz-Esser (Heidelberg)
Contact elisabeth.tangerner@plus.ac.at
Title Sensory community. The Benedictine Abbey of Lambach in the Middle Ages from the perspective of sensory history.
Abstract From a historiographical, specifically cultural-historical perspective, the history of the senses or the history of sensory perception deals with a complex of topics that is fundamental to human existence, which is omnipresent for all individuals – whether in the Middle Ages or in the present day – and has a decisive influence on everyday life and our understanding of the world. Based on a concept of the body shaped by cultural studies, which assumes that the body is not an anthropological constant, this dissertation project asks whether groups that differ from one another in their living conditions or situations (for example monasteries, secular nobility, etc.) have different concepts of sensory perception. Based on the related discipline of the history of emotions, this thesis proposes the thesis that a medieval Benedictine monastery was a specific sensual community based on certain ideas of sensual perception, which can be found in many places or in different types of sources.
The Benedictine Abbey of Lambach in Upper Austria will be used as the specific object of study for this dissertation project, whose history, which began in 1056 with its foundation by Adalbero of Würzburg, will be examined from a new perspective. This selection results on the one hand from the fact that this monastery has a well-edited archive containing numerous medieval manuscripts; on the other hand, the history of this Benedictine abbey, which was founded in the 11th century, is characterized by changes and reforms that were documented in detail on a case-by-case basis. The focus of this investigation into the history of the senses will be on the knowledge of sensory perception, the examination of the five senses, the meanings attributed to the senses, the creation of conditions for achieving certain sensory experiences, the suppression of sensory perception and the role of sensory perception in the context of monastic life in the Benedictine abbey under investigation.

Angelika Umfahrer-Schatzmann

Angelika Umfahrer-Schatzmann

Department German Studies
Main supervisor Univ.-Prof. Dr. Manfred Kern (Dept. of German Studies)
Secondary supervisor
Contact
Title The goldsmith and his craft as reflected in German-language literature of the Middle Ages.
Abstract

Katrin Unterberger

Katrin Unterberger

Department German Studies
Main supervisor Univ.-Prof. Dr. Manfred Kern (Dept. of German Studies)
Secondary supervisor Univ.-Ass. Dr. Martina Feichtenschalger (Dept. of German Studies)
Contact katrin.unterberger@stud.plus.ac.at
Title ‘Diz was dem zwîvelaere ein nâhe gêndiu swaere.’ The tolerance of ambiguity in medieval texts.
Abstract The initial question of this dissertation is to what extent the modern theory of tolerance of ambiguity, which originated in psychology, is reflected in medieval texts. This term should not be confused with tolerance per se. Medieval texts and tolerant behavior have been the subject of much research. Tolerance of ambiguity, however, refers to the ability to remain tolerant of a situation that offers two or more often equally valid options.
Ambiguity-tolerant but also ambiguity-intolerant behavior, which can manifest itself in the text passages through character behavior or statements by narrative instances, is examined in the course of this work. After a definition of the term, characteristics of ambiguity tolerance in the medieval text are recorded, analyzed and interpreted in order to finally define a system in its literary application.

Finished Dissertation-Projects

Barbara Denicolò

Barbara Denicolò

Department History
Main supervisor Univ.-Prof. MMag. Dr. Christina Antenhofer (Dept. of History)
Secondary supervisor Univ.-Prof. Dr. Thomas Ertl (FU Berlin)
Contact barbara.denicolo@plus.ac.at
Title “Von Speis zu kochen”. Cookbooks and recipe collections as sources for the cultural history of the late Middle Ages and the early modern period. Analysis – comparison.
Abstract Eating and drinking are not only basic human needs, but are also linked to social, cultural, religious or health-related ideas. The questions of what, how, why and with whom we eat are strongly influenced by the respective zeitgeist and are an important feature of personal and social identity. For this reason, historical cookbooks and recipe collections are meaningful sources for various questions of cultural and linguistic history. The dissertation examines a total of seventy predominantly handwritten recipe collections from the Upper German-speaking region from the second half of the 14th to the first half of the 17th century. All mentions of ingredients, utensils, preparation methods and designations of origin are first digitally recorded in order to enable both synchronous comparisons between the individual manuscripts and diachronic comparisons within the period mentioned. This is because the manuscripts were produced over a period of two centuries and therefore differ in structure, language, script and content. The work is based on the premise that cooking recipes can be described as “seismographs” of the medieval world and reveal more about the past than just the use of certain foods and spices in specific contexts. They are multi-layered sources for many aspects of medieval culture, from which various historical disciplines can benefit, such as the history of economics, trade and technology, everyday and cultural history, realienkunde or the history of medicine, the body and gender. I am therefore examining the recipes and collections for their relevance to various areas of cultural history, such as nature and the environment, body and gender or identity and alterity. Through the broad corpus of the study and the cultural-historical research questions, I would like to close a research gap with this work, because so far there has been no larger, overview-like study from the field of historical studies that takes into account and compares the German cookbooks that have and have not been edited so far and discusses questions such as who commissioned them, who used them, how they were structured, etc.

Nora Grundtner

Nora Grundtner

Department German Studies
Main supervisor Univ.-Prof. Dr. Manfred Kern (Dept. of German Studies)
Secondary supervisor Univ. Ass. Dr. Martina Feichtenschlager  (Dept. of German Studies)
Contact nora.grundtner@plus.ac.at
Title Animal Skins – Human Carriers. Human-animal-analogies about material culture in Middle High German literature.
Abstract Animal skins in the form of hides and furs can occupy a prominent place in the courtly literature of the German-speaking Middle Ages. Coats with fur trimmings are presented as gifts, fur-lined blankets keep the protagonists warm and even shields are decorated with fur ornaments. To what extent can the proximity of animal material to the human body be read as a similarity between humans and animals? The characteristics attributed to the animal can be transferred to the wearer, for example when the fur of a wild animal is applied as a sign of strength. In the case of precious furs, on the other hand, a more comprehensive animal attribution can be traced, as can be seen in the interplay between animal fur and human skin. A beautiful lady is kicking off her fur blanket in her sleep so that the dark brown sable fur only covers her from the waist down. The fur covers up, but at the same time the proximity of the material of skin and fur gives an idea of what is hidden under the blanket; the fur on the naked skin can thus conceal and reveal at the same time. Based on Wolfram von Eschenbach’s oeuvre, the dissertation examines animal materials in the text and integrates them into a larger cultural-historical and scientific context. For the human-animal discourse on the donning of animal skins is – one could argue – already prefigured in Genesis. The first items of clothing that Adam and Eve receive from God are made from animal skins. The wearing of animal materials is a consequence of the Fall of Man and goes hand in hand with the slaughter and processing of living creatures. The trigger for fratricide – Cain slays Abel – is an animal sacrifice. The first deception – Jacob imitates his hairy brother Esau by wrapping goatskins around his hands – takes place with the help of an animal. The fundamental debate between nature and culture is already expressed in the depiction of Jacob and Esau. As natural animal products that are preserved through cultivated processes, animal skins are also border crossers between nature and culture. According to the research thesis, the fluid transition between animal and human is hinted at on several levels in Middle High German literature. For example, there is a material similarity between human and animal skin and the Middle High German nouns vel and hût refer to both human and animal skin. Furthermore, in courtly literature, fur can be a sign of preciousness and being chosen, nakedness, origin, bravery and erotic allusion at the same time. The subject of my dissertation project is to work out this diverse and playful use of animal material in relation to the human wearers in the text.

David Hobelleitner

David Hobelleitner

Department Art History
Main supervisor Univ.-Prof. Dr. Renate Prochno-Schinkel (Dept. of art, music and dance studies)
Secondary supervisor Univ.-Prof. Dr. Dietmar Winkler
Contact david.hobelleitner@plus.ac.at
Title „indubitanter efficitur sanctus.“ Holy popes in Roman pictorial programs of the eleventh and twelfth centuries
Abstract In his Dictatus papae of 1075, Pope Gregory VII (1073-1085) postulated the immediate sanctity of the pope, provided he was elected and ordained according to canon law. On this basis, this study examines how papal sanctity was reflected in Roman image programs. The focus is on the developments and changes in iconographic motifs in the period between the middle of the eleventh and the middle of the twelfth century, a phase that was characterized by the radical upheavals of church reform. Pictorial programs of this era dealt not least with virulent concerns of the reform movement. Geographically, the work focuses on the Roman city area as the seat and direct sphere of influence of the papacy. In view of the high rate of loss of works of art in Rome itself, the study also includes monuments in Lazio and the immediately adjacent regions. The aim of the work is to illustrate the diverse construction mechanisms of papal sanctity using four case studies. The individual studies are devoted to the Prince of the Apostles Peter, his successor Clement I and Pope Silvester I (314-335), and finally focus on two programs from around 1130/1140 that portrayed recent holders of the Roman sedes apostolica as saints. For the first time, a broader panorama of depictions of papal sanctitas in the period under investigation is offered. Last but not least, it is also intended to contribute to a better understanding of the ecclesiastical-political dimension of images and their function in a time of upheaval and renewal.

Klara Lindnerova

Klara Lindnerova

Department Art History
Main supervisor Univ.-Prof. Dr. Renate Prochno-Schinkel (Dept. of art, music and dance studies)
Secondary supervisor Dr.phil.habil. Nadia J. Koch, M.A. (Dept. of Classical Studies)
Contact klara.lindnerova@plus.ac.at
Title Jan van Eyck and antiquity
Abstract The aim of the dissertation project is to systematically investigate the influences of ancient art and culture on the artistic production of Jan van Eyck (c. 1390-1441). As preliminary work, it is necessary to take a closer look at the newfound interest in antique culture in connection with the rise of early humanism and the associated imitation of antique models in the Flemish painter’s socio-cultural environment. Starting from Franco-Flemish scholars who, following the example of the Italian humanists, elevated antiquity to a normative standard, the focus is directed to the court culture of Philip the Good. The Burgundian duke, who appointed Jan van Eyck to his service as chamberlain and court painter in 1425, drew on antique models for the portrayal of himself as a ruler. However, it was not only in the elite circles of the Burgundian court that the Flemish painter came into contact with ancient culture, but in all probability also through his non-courtly patrons. Some of them had manifold connections to Italy, were humanistically educated or were in contact with leading humanists. Jan van Eyck’s work can be reinterpreted against this intellectual and cultural backdrop. The great interest in ancient culture was not only important for the artist’s production, but also for the reception of his work. Both the artist and the (scholarly) recipients were familiar with the literary tradition of ancient themes and were interested in a pictorial and formal language that deviated from the contemporary stylistic vocabulary. There is evidence of parallel developments in Italy at the same time. In order to analyze Jan van Eyck’s reception of antiquity, his works are juxtaposed with ancient, medieval and early modern texts on the one hand and ancient objects, or objects that were considered to be ancient products, on the other. According to my thesis, they were models for the painter’s self-staging, the groundbreaking mimesis of his paintings, as well as for moral pictorial content or depictions of antique architecture. This is the first comprehensive examination of Jan van Eyck’s reception of antiquity, which not only creates a new perspective on the work of this exceptional artist, but also makes an important contribution to the much-discussed significance of antiquity in early modern culture north of the Alps.

Julia Schön

Julia Schön

Department IMAREAL/History
Main supervisor Univ.-Prof. Dr. Christine Janotta (Dept. of History)
Secondary supervisor MMag. Dr. Elisabeth Gruber (IMAREAL/IZMF)
Contact juliaanna.schoen@plus.ac.at
Title Holiness administered. How the monastery of Klosterneuburg and the Habsburgs dealt with the canonization of the Babenberg Leopold III.
Abstract The dissertation project with the working title “Administering sanctity. Der Umgang des Stiftes Klosterneuburg und der Habsburger mit der Heiligsprechung des Babenberger Markgrafen Leopold III.” deals with the canonization process of Leopold III in the 15th century, which was discontinued in the middle of the 14th century after its first recording and very short duration and finally successfully carried out from 1465 to 1485. The success of this procedure stands out, as at this time no rulers had been officially canonized for almost 200 years and new saints mainly came from the circle of the mendicant orders. So how did the Austrian margrave, whose family had already died out in the male line in 1246, come to be canonized? What was the motivation behind the canonization and for what reasons was it able to come to a positive conclusion? In addition to the process itself, the dissertation focuses on the people, groups of people and institutions involved in the procedure and what interests they had in a canonization.The focus of the investigation is on the two main petitioners in the proceedings and the political, economic and social connections they used to assert their interests in Leopold’s canonization. These are, on the one hand, the Habsburg Emperor Frederick III, who had a certain dynastic-political interest in Leopold III, and Klosterneuburg Abbey, a foundation of Leopold’s and the center of his cult. The chronological focus of the dissertation lies between the reintroduction of the canonization process in 1465 and the translation, the raising of Leopold’s remains, in 1506.

Manuel Schwembacher

Manuel Schwembacher

Department German Studies
Main supervisor Univ.-Prof. Dr. Manfred Kern (Dept. of German Studies)
Secondary supervisor Prof. Dr. Ingrid Bennewitz (Bamberg)
Contact manuel.schwembacher@plus.ac.at
Title Horti praeclari. Reflections and evocations of Eden in selected literary garden spaces of the Middle Ages.
Abstract Giovanni da Paolo’s panel painting from around 1445, which originally formed part of the predella of the altar in the Guelfi Chapel of San Domenico in Siena, depicts not only God’s creation of the cosmos – with spheres of the elements, planets and signs of the zodiac arranged in concentric circles surrounding the earth in the center – but also the trauma of the expulsion of the first humans from the earthly paradise. This since then lost realm, which was identified with the Garden of Eden and whose existence and physical reality was de facto undisputed in the Middle Ages, was regarded as a place enriched by the proximity of God, full of wonder, beauty and eternal harmony. Based on its description in the second chapter of Genesis, the Garden of Eden unfolded a topical power that was taken up and thematized many times and accordingly has a long tradition of narrative, theological and artistic debate. This work deals with a selection of medieval literary and pictorial evocations of Eden.

Martin Seidler

Martin Seidler

Department Liturgical Studies
Main supervisor Univ. Prof. Dr. Alexander Zerfaß (FB Praktische Theologie)
Secondary supervisor Dr. Jasmine Dum-Tragut
Contact martin.seidler@stud.plus.ac.at
Title Roman liturgies in Armenian religious orders. On the eucharistic celebration of the Bartholomites and Fratres Unitores: Presentation of the oldest sources and liturgical historical classification
Abstract In the 14th century, communities of Armenian monks emerged who joined the Latin Church and celebrated the liturgy according to the Roman rite in Armenian. This is how the community of fratres unitores emerged from the encounter between the Armenian monk John of K’ṙna and the Latin Dominican bishop Bartholomew de Podio from 1328. The work of the Unitors led to a considerable cultural influence of Western ideas on Armenian Christianity. Even in the early years, in addition to a large number of scholastic works, the Latin liturgy was translated into Armenian, including a Dominican missal in 1337. In addition to the Ordo Fratrum Unitorum S. Gregorii Illuminatoris, which was founded in Greater Armenia, it was Armenian Basilian monasteries in Italy that celebrated liturgy in Armenian in the Roman rite. The so-called Bartholomites used a translation by the Franciscan Pontius, which he produced in Avignon in 1344/1345 based on a model which – as the colophon attests – came from the papal chapel. The dissertation project is dedicated to the Eucharistic celebration of the fratres unitores and the Bartholomites. In addition to recording the sources, the work focuses on the ordo missae, which is presented in an edition based both on the 1337 edition in K’ṙna and on Pontius’ translation of 1344/1345. The liturgical-historical classification of the unchanging parts of the Mass and the commemorations of the saints turns to the Latin-language original of the translations and determines their closer liturgical tradition as well as their historical stage of development. Finally, a look is taken at the sources from the point of view of inculturation by presenting and analyzing the relationship between Armenian and Roman tradition in the missal translations. The focus is on Armenian saints and feast day names as well as the use of the Armenian translation of the Bible.