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| Institut für Mittelalterforschung | |
|---|---|
| Name | Institut für Mittelalterforschung |
| Native name | Institut für Mittelalterforschung |
| Established | 20th century |
| Type | Research institute |
| Location | Vienna, Austria |
| Director | (various directors) |
| Parent | Austrian Academy of Sciences |
Institut für Mittelalterforschung
The Institut für Mittelalterforschung is a Vienna-based research institute dedicated to the study of medieval Europe, connecting scholarship on Charlemagne, Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor and other pivotal figures with archival work on institutions such as the Holy Roman Empire, Kingdom of France and Byzantine Empire. It situates medieval studies in dialogue with scholars of Pope Gregory VII, Saint Benedict of Nursia, Hildegard of Bingen, Anselm of Canterbury and practitioners focused on diplomatic sources like the Ottonian dynasty diplomas, legislation such as the Capitularies and narrative traditions exemplified by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.
Founded in the postwar decades as part of the Austrian Academy of Sciences restructuring, the institute emerged amid debates involving representatives of the Monumenta Germaniae Historica, the École des Chartes, and the British Academy. Early directors engaged with scholarship shaped by figures like Theodor Mommsen, Julius von Ficker, Ludwig von Pastor and contributors from the University of Vienna, the University of Graz and the University of Innsbruck. Throughout the late 20th century the institute expanded comparative projects on the Carolingian Empire, the Capetian dynasty, the Kievan Rus', and cross-Mediterranean networks involving the Norman conquest of southern Italy and Crusades research.
The institute's mission foregrounds rigorous editions of medieval sources, philological analysis, and interdisciplinary approaches linking archaeology and palaeography. Principal research themes include court culture under Louis the Pious, legal formation in realms influenced by the Saxon dynasty, monastic reform tied to Cluny, liturgical manuscripts associated with Gregorian chant, and economic patterns highlighted by study of the Hanseatic League and merchant networks like those of Venice. Projects address linguistic transmission from Old High German to Middle High German, manuscript production in scriptoria connected to Monte Cassino, and political thought ranging from Isidore of Seville to Marsilius of Padua.
Structured under the umbrella of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, governance combines an academic directorate, an advisory board with representatives from the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, the École Pratique des Hautes Études, and liaison officers to national archives such as the Haus-, Hof- und Staatsarchiv and the Austrian State Archives. Administrative oversight interacts with funding agencies including the Austrian Science Fund, the European Research Council, and cultural ministries in cooperation with municipal authorities of Vienna. Committees evaluate editions, monograph series, and doctoral supervision in partnership with departments at the University of Vienna and international chairs at the University of Heidelberg.
The institute publishes critical editions, monographs, and periodicals addressing subjects from diplomatics of the Holy Roman Empire to imagery in illuminated codices like the Lindisfarne Gospels and the Vienna Genesis. Major projects have included diplomatic corpora for the Babenberg dynasty, catalogues of charters related to the Austrian hereditary lands, and prosopographical databases covering elites connected to Czech lands and Hungary. Publication series have featured works on medieval canon law linked to the Decretum Gratiani, studies of urban development with case studies on Bruges and Prague, and edited conference volumes on topics such as the Investiture Controversy and the Black Death.
Facilities house a specialised library with holdings of facsimiles, incunabula, and microfilms of manuscripts from repositories including the Vatican Library, the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, the Bodleian Library, and regional archives like the Stiftsbibliothek Melk. On-site palaeography labs enable analysis of scripts from hands identified in collections associated with Fulda, Reichenau Abbey, and the Monastery of St. Gall. The institute maintains digitisation suites, conservation workshops, and reading rooms permitting consultation of diplomatic collections such as imperial charters, papal registers from the Papal Curia, and municipal records from Regensburg.
Collaborative networks extend to the Monumenta Germaniae Historica, the German Historical Institute, the Institut de Recherche et d’Histoire des Textes, and the Max Planck Institute for European Legal History. Partnerships foster joint ventures with universities including the University of Bologna, the Central European University, and the University of Zurich, as well as cultural institutions such as the Kunsthistorisches Museum and the Austrian National Library. European funding consortia have supported interdisciplinary grants with teams from the Sciences Po, the University of Leiden, and the University of Barcelona addressing migration, urbanism, and religious networks.
Scholars associated with the institute encompass editors and medievalists who have contributed to the field alongside figures like Ernst Kantorowicz, Heinrich Fichtenau, Johannes Fried, Peter Classen, Gerd Tellenbach, Rosamond McKitterick, Georges Duby, and Jean Favier. Alumni and visiting fellows have included historians from the University of Chicago, the Columbia University, the University of California, Berkeley, and the Universität Leipzig, many of whom proceeded to chairs at the University of Munich, the University of Paris, the University of Salamanca, and research positions at the British Library and the National Library of Austria.
Category:Research institutes Category:Medieval studies institutions