Courses summer term 2026
Table of contents
Main seminar
Mirko Breitenstein, Katrin Rösler
Advanced Seminar: Pilgrimage in the Middle Ages: Practices, Motives and Cultures of Pilgrimage
Place:
Time: Thursday, 2 DS (9:20 - 10:50 am)
OPAL course
Pilgrimages provide a fascinating insight into the spiritual, social and cultural worlds of the Middle Ages. From major destinations such as Jerusalem, Rome and Santiago de Compostela to regional sites in Saxony and Central Europe, pilgrimages had a lasting impact on the lives of believers. The seminar will analyze sources such as pilgrimage reports, maps, pictures and devotional objects in order to shed light on motives such as penance, healing or adventure as well as the risks and everyday realities of the routes.
Sources and literature for introduction:
A. Angenendt: Saints and relics. Die Geschichte ihres Kultes vom frühen Christentum bis zur Gegenwart, 2nd ed. Munich 1997.
Ders: The presence of saints and relics, Münster 2010.
Pilgern - Heil - Heilung, ed. by K. Herbers / P. Rückert (Jakobus-Studien 25), Munich 2023.
Offered for the following modules:
Teaching degree old study regulations
Grammar school: PHF- SEGY-Hist-VV
Secondary school: PHF-SEMS-Hist-VE
Teaching degree new study regulations
Grammar school: PHF-SEGY-HIST-PFVM
Grammar school: PHF-SEGY-HIST-GVAMG
Secondary school: PHF-SEOS-HIST-GVAMG
Secondary school: PHF-SEOS-HIST-PFE
Bachelor History (2007)
Hist AM 1
Hist GM 2
Bachelor GKS new study regulations (2023)
PHF-BA-HIST-GVAMG
Bachelor SLK new study regulations (2020)
Hist Erg GM 2
Specialized courses MA
Reading course
Mirko Breitenstein
Earthly toil and heavenly reward. Miraculous stories in the Cistercian order
Location: BZW/A152/U
Time: Thursday, 3 DS (11:10 - 12:40)
OPAL course
In the monasteries of the Cistercian order, numerous collections of miraculous stories - short, vivid examples (exemplars) that tell of divine retribution, heavenly rewards and the hardships of monastic life - have circulated since the 12th century. These stories were not merely for entertainment, but were a central means of spiritual instruction and self-assurance within the order.
The course is dedicated to the origin, transmission and function of Cistercian collections of examples. Selected texts will be used to analyze themes such as work and prayer, humility and reward, sin and conversion as well as the depiction of the miraculous. The aim is to make the narrative dimension of Cistercian piety visible and to understand its significance for the monastic culture of the High Middle Ages.
Sources and literature for the introduction:
Caesarius von Heisterbach: Dialogus miraculorum - Dialogue on Miracles, 5 vols. (Fontes Christiani 86), Turnhout 2009.
Caesarius von Heisterbach: Libri VIII miraculorum - The "Eight Books of Miracles". Evaluation, edition, translation and commentary, Heidelberg 2025.
Exordium Magnum Cisterciense or Report on the Beginning of the Cistercian Order. By Conradus, monk in Clairvaux, later in Eberbach and abbot there, 2 vols. (Quellen und Studien zur Zisterzienserliteratur 3, 5), Langwaden 2000-2002.
Offered for the following modules:
Teaching degree old study regulations
Grammar school: PHF-SEGY-Hist-MA
Secondary school: PHF-SEMS-Hist-MA
Teaching degree new study regulations
Grammar school: PHF-SEGY-HIST-EWAMG
Grammar school: PHF-SEGY-HIST-GVAMG
Secondary school: PHF-SEOS-HIST-GVAMG
Secondary school: PHF-SEOS-HIST-EWAMG
Bachelor History (2007)
Hist AM 1
Hist GM 2
Bachelor GKS new study regulations (2023)
PHF-BA-HIST-EWAMG
Bachelor SLK new study regulations (2020)
Hist Erg GM 2
Hist Erg AM 1
Specialized courses MA
Colloquium
Mirko Breitenstein
Colloquium : Research colloquium for exam and final theses FOVOG
Location: Research Center for Comparative History of the Religious Orders (FOVOG), Budapester Str. 34b
Time: Wednesday, 6 DS (16:40 - 18:10) (hybrid participation possible)
OPAL course
Mirko Breitenstein
Colloquium : Research Colloquium New Research on the Comparative History of Religious Orders
Location: Research Center for Comparative History of the Religious Orders (FOVOG), Budapester Str. 34b
Time: Wednesday, 6 DS (16:40 - 18:10)
Participation via Zoom is possible after registration at fovog@tu-dresden.de.
OPAL course
Offered for the following modules:
Teaching degree new SO (from WS 23/24)
PHF-SEGY-HIST-PFVM, PHF-SEOS-HIST-PFE
Teaching degree old SO (until WS 23/24)
PHF-SEMS-Hist-VE, PHF-SEGY-Hist-VV, PHF-SEBS-Hist-VV
MA degree programs
PhF-Hist-MA-SM1, PhF-Hist-MA-FMEW, PhF-Hist-MA-FMSW