Das Mittelalter und die Moderne in den Meistererzählungen der historischen Wissenschaften
F. Rexroth. Zeitschrift für Literaturwissenschaft und Linguistik, 38 (3):
12--31(Sep 1, 2008)
DOI: 10.1007/BF03379792
Abstract
The success of the >Middle Ages< as a concept is a child of the Enlightenment. During the second half of the eighteenth century, a new way of thinking about >history< led to the notion that there had been a time in European history that was much more holistic, was static in terms of social coherence, and was based on strong religious beliefs: the Middle Ages. This concept served the need to demonstrate how reason and progress, which had allegedly been suppressed by religious intolerance and the >feudal< system of the distant past, had become dominant at the beginning of the early modern era (in German, die frühe Neuzeit or simply Neuzeit; whereas the German term die Moderne refers to modernity in a stricter sense of the word, i.e. the era from the late Enlightenment until today). The critique of the Enlightenment in the context of >Romantic< movements brought about a new concept of the >Middle Ages<, now seen in a positive light as a period of wholeness, harmony and a stable social and moral system. The main purpose of the article is to ask what both the >Enlightened< and >Romantic< concepts of the Middle Ages meant for the emergence of medieval studies in many fields of research. The argument is focused on the development of historiographical meta-narratives during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries that put emphasis not on the quintessential otherness of the Middle Ages but on continuities.
Description
Das Mittelalter und die Moderne in den Meistererzählungen der historischen Wissenschaften | SpringerLink
%0 Journal Article
%1 Rexroth2008
%A Rexroth, Frank
%D 2008
%J Zeitschrift für Literaturwissenschaft und Linguistik
%K from:kevin.konnerth Blogeintrag
%N 3
%P 12--31
%R 10.1007/BF03379792
%T Das Mittelalter und die Moderne in den Meistererzählungen der historischen Wissenschaften
%U https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03379792
%V 38
%X The success of the >Middle Ages< as a concept is a child of the Enlightenment. During the second half of the eighteenth century, a new way of thinking about >history< led to the notion that there had been a time in European history that was much more holistic, was static in terms of social coherence, and was based on strong religious beliefs: the Middle Ages. This concept served the need to demonstrate how reason and progress, which had allegedly been suppressed by religious intolerance and the >feudal< system of the distant past, had become dominant at the beginning of the early modern era (in German, die frühe Neuzeit or simply Neuzeit; whereas the German term die Moderne refers to modernity in a stricter sense of the word, i.e. the era from the late Enlightenment until today). The critique of the Enlightenment in the context of >Romantic< movements brought about a new concept of the >Middle Ages<, now seen in a positive light as a period of wholeness, harmony and a stable social and moral system. The main purpose of the article is to ask what both the >Enlightened< and >Romantic< concepts of the Middle Ages meant for the emergence of medieval studies in many fields of research. The argument is focused on the development of historiographical meta-narratives during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries that put emphasis not on the quintessential otherness of the Middle Ages but on continuities.
@article{Rexroth2008,
abstract = {The success of the >Middle Ages< as a concept is a child of the Enlightenment. During the second half of the eighteenth century, a new way of thinking about >history< led to the notion that there had been a time in European history that was much more holistic, was static in terms of social coherence, and was based on strong religious beliefs: the Middle Ages. This concept served the need to demonstrate how reason and progress, which had allegedly been suppressed by religious intolerance and the >feudal< system of the distant past, had become dominant at the beginning of the early modern era (in German, die fr{\"u}he Neuzeit or simply Neuzeit; whereas the German term die Moderne refers to modernity in a stricter sense of the word, i.e. the era from the late Enlightenment until today). The critique of the Enlightenment in the context of >Romantic< movements brought about a new concept of the >Middle Ages<, now seen in a positive light as a period of wholeness, harmony and a stable social and moral system. The main purpose of the article is to ask what both the >Enlightened< and >Romantic< concepts of the Middle Ages meant for the emergence of medieval studies in many fields of research. The argument is focused on the development of historiographical meta-narratives during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries that put emphasis not on the quintessential otherness of the Middle Ages but on continuities.},
added-at = {2019-05-28T11:49:26.000+0200},
author = {Rexroth, Frank},
biburl = {https://puma.ub.uni-stuttgart.de/bibtex/225b5c65d19bc529c84ca135d3ef787fc/blogeintrag},
day = 01,
description = {Das Mittelalter und die Moderne in den Meistererzählungen der historischen Wissenschaften | SpringerLink},
doi = {10.1007/BF03379792},
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issn = {2365-953X},
journal = {Zeitschrift f{\"u}r Literaturwissenschaft und Linguistik},
keywords = {from:kevin.konnerth Blogeintrag},
month = sep,
number = 3,
pages = {12--31},
timestamp = {2019-05-28T09:49:26.000+0200},
title = {Das Mittelalter und die Moderne in den Meistererz{\"a}hlungen der historischen Wissenschaften},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03379792},
volume = 38,
year = 2008
}