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The subject “Medieval History” in Eichstätt

The term “Middle Ages” is usually used to describe the millennium of European history between 500 and 1500. This historical epoch owes its original Latin name, medium aevum, and its existence to Italian humanists who, around 1400, successfully and sustainably presented themselves as rediscoverers of a supposedly forgotten antiquity and described the preceding period as the “middle ages” in the sense of an “intermediate period.” The European Enlightenment gratefully adopted this pejorative distinction from a period portrayed as uneducated and superstitious, helping not only the term itself but also its negative connotation to gain widespread acceptance. We have long known that ancient tradition was of great importance to medieval history and that the intellectual heritage of the Middle Ages continues to shape Europe's identity to this day. As questionable as this designation of the era may be, one cannot deny that this rough summary of the period under a common term is justified to a certain extent in view of its connecting features. Without a doubt, the Middle Ages were a time of mostly weak and predominantly monarchical states with a poorly developed written language due to their long attachment to Latin and a social order with little social mobility. Agriculture was always the most important industry in medieval Europe, and time and again, Europe was plagued by dramatic famines and threatening epidemics due to low yield rates compared to today, against which the learned medicine of the ancient tradition offered no help. On closer inspection, however, it is not easy to draw a clear line between the beginning and end of the era, because antiquity lived on long after the deposition of the last Western Roman emperor in 476 in its language, its educational system, many institutions, and also in Christianity as an increasingly influential force in everyday life. It is similarly difficult to draw a line between antiquity and modernity: the consolidation of power, the beginnings of a comprehensive administration, and growing financial needs, caused primarily by the replacement of feudal levies by mercenary armies, already reveal early forms of modern statehood, while far-reaching economic interdependencies foreshadowed global economic interconnections. an explosion in writing, combined with the spread of paper from the 14th century onwards, heralded the age of records, the spread of universities throughout Latin Europe paved the way for an educated society, and urban life began to introduce new forms of political autonomy into social organization as early as the 12th century. It is precisely in view of these lines, some of which still connect modern people to the Middle Ages, that the Middle Ages appear as a time that confronts us with a characteristic dialectic of strangeness and familiarity. The appeal and relevance of academic research into the Middle Ages derive in part from this fact. And the reasons why the Middle Ages are by far the most popular historical era in terms of visitor numbers to major historical exhibitions could also be related to this.

In Eichstätt, the curriculum covers all periods of European medieval history. In addition to developing historical orientation knowledge, the focus is also on acquiring methodological skills. An intersection of both areas is the examination of different forms of public engagement with medieval history. This field of historical study, which is becoming increasingly important in view of the job market for historians, also has a firm place in the teaching program. The research conducted at the chair currently focuses on the history of the medieval church and the papacy, with a particular emphasis on the resolution of the Great Western Schism by the Council of Constance (1414-1418), on communication and mobility, and on aspects of the penetration of medieval society by norms of learned law. Further research projects are devoted to the practice of medieval rule as reflected in changes of power, the recruitment of crusaders, the history of the Hanseatic League, the practical enforcement of ecclesiastical marriage laws, and the political significance of the office of bishop in the High Middle Ages.