Fellowships HAB-Info

Critic or Advisor:
The role of the court preacher at European courts between the 16th and 18th centuries

Herzog August Bibliothek, 15th -28th August 2010
Convener: Prof. Dr. Luise Schorn-Schütte (Frankfurt a. M.)
Funded by Niedersächsisches Vorab

(Basilus Sattler, court preacher in Wolfenbüttel 1586-1624;
Mortzfeld: Katalog der graphischen Porträts in der Herzog
August Bibliothek. vol. A 21. München, 1992. Nr. A 18746)

Topic and Programme

Theologians in the early modern period are suspected to have been in particularly close contact to secular authority. The intermeshing of religion and politics on a practical level is usually perceived primarily as a function of the Catholic clergy who mediated between both spheres. But the Protestant clergy's subservience to state authority is seen as an instrument by which the clear separation of both spheres effected during the Reformation was brought to an end. This predominant interpretation of the role of the clergy in Europe in the early modern period has experienced some revisions over the past few years: criticism of the ruler and a duty to admonish state authority have been seen as essential elements of the selfimage of the clergy. The case of the court preachers at European courts of the early modern period provides particularly rich material for testing this revised conception. The immediate proximity to politics, to secular authority, was a publicly acknowledged component of the roles of preachers both at Catholic and Protestant courts. The Summer Course at the Herzog August Bibliothek will examine this group and their specific conception of their roles in the context of early modern court society in Europe.

If it is the case that criticism of the ruler and a duty to admonish were inherent to the office of the court preacher, what were the underlying theological patterns of justification? Were there differences between the confessions in this point? Or are the obvious differences between the concept of the office and its actual practice attributable to regional specifics?

The aim of the Summer Course is to provide an introduction to the Europe-wide debate on this topic. This will involve the discussion of questions basic to historical research - court preachers belonged to an educated elite of theologians who seem to have had a formative influence on the relationship between court aristocracy and the burgher classes of civic society. Other questions touch on matters central to the history of theology and church history because in all confessions ecclesiastical perceptions of "office" were pivotal in the definition of the relationship between the secular and the sacred, between religion and politics.

Participants will receive an introduction to current research debates and be able to discuss them on the basis of exemplary sources from the Wolfenbüttel holdings. They will also have the opportunity to present their own research to the group. There will also be scope within the programme to allow them to conduct their own research in the library.

Professor Dr. Luise Schorn-Schütte will head the course and she will be joined by Dr. Markus Friedrich (Frankfurt a. M.) and other scholars. Among those who will be teaching and conducting discussions are:

- Prof. Dr. Joachim Bahlcke (Stuttgart), focus: court preachers in Central and Eastern Europe;
- Prof. Dr. Dominik Burkard (Würzburg), focus: the concept of "office" among Catholic court preachers;
- Prof. Dr. Birgit Emich (Freiburg), focus: the court and the concept of networking ("Verflechtung") - the example of the court preachers;
- Prof. Dr. Ronnie Po Chia Hsia (Penn State), focus: Jesuits as court preachers;
- Prof. Dr. Olaf Mörke (Kiel), focus: Protestant court preachers in the Netherlands;
- Prof. Dr. Martin Mulsow (Erfurt/Gotha), focus: court preachers at German Protestant courts - especially in Gotha;
- Prof. José Paiva (Coimbra/Portugal), focus: court preachers at the courts of Portugal and Spain after the Council of Trent;
- PD Dr. Nicole Reinhardt (Durham/UK), focus: court preachers and confessors in France;
- Prof. Dr. Walter Sparn (Uttenreuth), focus: the concept of "office" among Protestant court preachers.

Applications
The Summer Course consists of seminars, group work and discussion. Participants should be prepared to present on their own research. Students from Germany or abroad who are completing the final stages of their studies or writing dissertations may apply. The languages of the course are German and English.
The Herzog August Bibliothek will offer up to 20 places for participants and cover costs for accommodation and breakfast. Participants will also be eligible for a travel subsidy (€ 100 for travel from within Germany, € 250 for travel within Europe and € 500 for travel from all other areas). Each participant with also receive a living allowance of € 350.
Letters of applications should be accompanied by a curriculum vitae detailing the candidate's educational background and a letter of recommendation from an academic teacher or supervisor. The deadline is 28th February 2010. All documents should be sent by email to:

Summer course 2010