History of the Early and High Middle Ages and Auxiliary Sciences of History

Sections

Section 1: Articulations of Heroisation in Latin Hagiographic Writing in Early Medieval Scandinavia


Section 2: Transmission, Distribution and Interdependencies of Models of the Heroic and the Holy

 

Section 3: Digital Hagiography

 

Section 1: Articulations of Heroisation in Latin Hagiographic Writing in Early Medieval Scandinavia

In the first phase of the project we will analyse to what extent Scandinavian royal saints occupy a special position regarding sanctity and heroism and how their characters are constructed in hagiographic writing. Comparing two 12th Century Latin hagiographic works, we will examine the strategies and rhetoric employed in the construction of royal saints. We explore the question in what way and to what extent facets of the heroic and of sanctity are interwoven to shape and influence discourses on model conceptions and images of exceptional figures.

After investigating the royal saints, the perspective will be widened to include missionaly saints (i.e. St Ansgar, Theodgar of Vestervig, David of Munktorp, Botvid), bishop saints (i.e. Gunnar of Viborg, William of Aebelholt) as well as female saints (i.e. Margareta of Roskilde).

 

Section 2: Transmission, Distribution and Interdependencies of Models of the Heroic and the Holy

This research group analyses the transmission, distribution and interpendencies of models of the heroic and the holy in Flanders, Anglo-Saxon England and Scandinavia.

Members of the Research Group: Prof. Dr. Andreas Bihrer, Stephan Bruhn, Eva Ferro, Fiona Fritz, Jérémy Winandy

 

Section 3: Digital Hagiography

This section is concerned with making the historical research on Scandinavian hagiographies visible and building a digital research surrounding. Alongside the digitisation of editions, we are providing an open access platform for hagiographic research. The Online Hagiography Sourcebook provides an annotated collection of scientific material on hagiographic research from the entire Middle Ages available on the internet and is thus a centralised contact point for researchers world-wide. We compiled digitally available primary sources, secondary literature and other relevant digital publications, i.e. blogs. It will be online soon.

Members: Philipp Frey, Fiona Fritz