Working Areas of the Project "Protestant Hagiography and Sermons on the Turks"
Working area A
NEW PATTERNS OF SAINTHOOD AND THE TRANSFORMATIONS OF HAGIOGRAPHIC NARRATIVES
Antje Sablotny analyzes the transformations of legendary narratives on the Protestant side under the aspect of invectivity and the new enforcement of sanctity claims, which are made and propagated in the narratives now referred to as martyr and confessor 'Historien' (histories). Based on the extensive collection of Ludwig Rabus (1552-58; 1571/72) and the calendars of Caspar Goltwurm (1554; 1559) and Andreas Hondorff (1573), it will be shown how the Lutheran 'Historien' are differentiated from the Catholic legends, how the Lutheran hagiographers attempt to legitimize their own tradition of martyrs and confessors from the movement of differentiation from the 'Lügenden' ('lying legends'), and what effects this has both on the Lutheran narrative patterns and on the transformation of the legend genre as a whole. Sablotny places particular emphasis on the confessional 'Historien', which, after the devaluation of the legend as 'lying', pose a much greater problem for the establishment of an independent hagiography than the martyrdom narratives. Her habilitation thesis "Nach der lutherischen Zerstrümmerung der Hagiographie - 'Lebendige Predigten' alter und neuer Heiliger" (After the Lutheran Destruction of Hagiography - 'Living Sermons' of old and new Saints) will synthesize the results from this working area.
Working area B
THE SERMONS ON THE TURKS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE REFORMATORY AND CONFESSIONAL DEBATES
In her dissertation project, Theresa Beckert examines Protestant and Catholic sermons on Turks in the period from 1527 to 1572, focusing on the question of how the othering of 'the Turks' as a non-Christian opponent is combined with the othering of the inner-Christian opponent in order to profile the identity of the Christian group and distinguish it from the inner-Christian opponent. On the one hand, the rhetorical strategies of othering are examined, and on the other, the semantics, topoi and narratives used for this purpose. Beckert wants to show, as it were, how traditional semantics of the discourse on Turks shift when they enter the context of inner-Christian conflicts. A particular focus is on the use of secondary stigmatization (Lobenstein-Reichmann) and polemical comparisons (Brauner/Steckel) to correlate 'Turks' and inner-Christian opponents. In comparison with other Turcica of religious discourse, the specific affordances of the sermon for processes of othering will be worked out. From a genre-historical perspective, Beckert examines how the sermon on the Turks changed during the 16th century and what role the inner Christian moves of distinction played in this.
Working area C1
ANTI-LEGENDS ABOUT LUTHER USING THE EXAMPLE OF JOHANNES NAS
In this research area, the Protestant stylization of Luther, which is examined in working area A, is supplemented by the question of what points of contact Luther's 'sanctification' offers for Catholic 'anti-legends' (Brückner), what invective linguistic means and narrative patterns they use and how this affects hagiographics in Catholicism. Marina Münkler will concentrate in particular on the invectives against Luther's 'sanctification' in the "Centurien" (1565-1570) of the controversial theologian Johannes Nas, who also appeared with sermons on Turks, and ask which hagiographic narratives about Luther they are based on, which polemical patterns of language use, proverbs and topoi they work with and in what way they refer back to Luther's own writings. Image source and license
Working area C2
LEARNING FROM THE ENEMY: LUTHER'S ADAPTATION OF RICOLD OF MONTECROCE'S 'ALCORAN'
Albrecht Dröse will examine Luther's edition and commentary of the "Alcoran" written by Ricold de Montecroce in 1300, which went to print in Wittenberg in 1542. With regard to its invective linguistic means against both the Old Believers and Islam Dröse will analyze, which overlaps arise, for example, through the means of polemical comparison (Brauner/Steckel). He also will examine, which rhetorical and semantic means are used to legitimize the adoption of the depiction of a member of the Order of Preachers, which contradictions arise in relation to the sermons on the Turks and which transformations take place in the description of Islam in the hypertextual adaptation of Ricold's text. Image source and license