Zeichen. Untersuchungen zur Genese hochmittelalterlicher Mentalitäten (Signs. Studies on the genesis of high medieval mentalities)

Research project by Prof. Dr Manfred Groten

In the course of the 11th century, the early medieval world underwent a profound transformation, from which the modern era ultimately emerged. European culture received its decisive imprint in this transformation process.

The period from the middle of the 11th to the end of the 12th century has been characterised by historians as an epoch of fundamental change. In German history, the Investiture Controversy has long been regarded as the triggering moment for change in many areas of life. Robert Ian Moore has characterised the period from about 970 to 1215 as the epoch of the "first European revolution". Peter Dinzelbacher has assessed the caesura of the 12th century as the "most significant break in the history of mentality before the Enlightenment".

The change in mentality has so far been perceived essentially as an elite phenomenon, which can be observed most clearly in the development of the scholastic sciences. The question of the extent to which the change has affected society as a whole has not yet been asked. However, if the change in mentality should have caused the caesura assumed by Dinzelbacher, it must have appeared in all areas of life - albeit with varying intensity. The central concern of the project is to fathom the dimensions of the change in mentality in the 12th century.

Brakteat Heinrich d. Löwe, Objektnummer 18204993, Münzkabinett Berlin.png
© Münzkabinett der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin

However, the source basis for such an endeavour must be uncovered first. The written sources produced by spiritual authors can only provide second-hand evidence for this. There is, however, one type of source that has never been the subject of research in its entirety, even if it offers an abundance of meaningful material for our question. These are signs of various kinds. The fact that new signs and sign systems appeared in the 12th century is not in itself a new finding. The best-known system of signs is undoubtedly that of coats of arms, heraldry, which has so far mainly been considered in isolation. The coat of arms, however, is only one example of a multitude of signs that appear in the High Middle Ages. The phenomenon as a whole has not yet been researched and placed in its cultural context.

Picture credits: Münzkabinett der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin, object number 18204993, URL: https://ikmk.smb.museum/object?lang=de&id=18204993.

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