New FOSTER project: Regeln und Realitäten [Rules and realities]

In January 2025, the new research project, funded by TU Dresden‘s Funds for Student Research (FOSTER) program, "Regeln und Realitäten. Eine vergleichende Untersuchung von Idealen, Lebensweisen und Pflichten in den Gemeinschaften der Franziskaner, Johanniter, Cölestiner sowie der Zisterzienser und Zisterzienserinnen“ [Rules and Realities: A Comparative Study of Ideals, Lifestyles and Duties in the Franciscan, Knights Hospitaller, Celestine as well as Male and Female Cistercian Communities] started.

As part of this project, five students have joined forces under the guidance of Mirko Breitenstein to analyze the fundamental norms of five different religious communities. Through a comparative investigation, the project aims to identify commonalities, differences, and order-specific characteristics of the Franciscans, Knights Hospitaller, Celestines, and male and female Cistercian Communities.

Over the two-year duration of the project, a total of five essays will be published and compiled in an edited volume. Additionally, a podcast will be produced for each essay to make the research findings accessible to a wider audience.

This project offers a broad perspective on monastic ways of life in the Middle Ages and seeks to bring these insights to the general public. The project combines historical research with modern forms of communication, making an important contribution to understanding medieval religious communities through the analysis of selected orders.