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Research focus Death and the History of the Body in the Middle Ages

The treatment of the dead body is a particular focus of our research. Several dissertations are currently being written in this area, dealing with funerary culture (Lorenzo Curatella) and self-representation (Federica Cosenza) as reflected in sources on dying and death in high and late medieval Rome (both completed in winter semester 2024/25), the cultural significance of the dead in Ashkenazi Judaism (Anna Osprian) and humility in burial practices (Hanna Hirt). Recent initiatives also include reflecting on the role of the night for a history of bodies in the Middle Ages and a cooperation with the Zurich National Museum (exhibition “begehrt. umsorgt. gemartert. Körper im Mittelalter”, 2024).

Mittelalterliche Darstellung bekleideter und unbekleideter Personen mit gefalteten Händen

Conferences

Death and Belief: Funerary Practices of Medieval Fraternities in the Holy Roman Empire and in Italy, organized by Federica Cosenza, Lorenzo Curatella and Romedio Schmitz-Esser, November 16th and 17th 2023, former Senate Hall of the Neue Universität in Heidelberg

…et licteris disegnatis. Visibility and Accessibility of Funerary Monuments in Late Medieval Churches, workshop organized by Federica Cosenza, Lorenzo Curatella and Romedio Schmitz-Esser, September 8th and 9th 2023, Basilica di Santa Maria sopra Minerva in Rome

The Bright Side of Night. Nocturnal Activities in Medieval and Early Modern Times, organized by Vitus Huber, Maria Weber and Romedio Schmitz-Esser, June 10th and 11th 2022 in Geneva

Publications

Table

Cover des Buches „The Bright Side of Night“
The Bright Side of Night. Nocturnal Activities in Medieval and Early Modern Times (Micrologus Library 123), hrsg. von Vitus Huber, Romedio Schmitz-Esser und Maria Weber, Florenz 2024.
Cover des Buches „Death Matters - Dead Matter“
Death Matters - Dead Matter. Materialität und Immaterialität des Todes im Mittelalter (Beihefte zur Mediaevistik 28), hrsg. von Romedio Schmitz-Esser und Katharina Zeppezauer-Wachauer, Lausanne u.a. 2023.
Cover des Buches „The Corpse in the Middle Ages“
The Corpse in the Middle Ages: Embalming, Cremating, and the Cultural Construction of the Dead Body, London–Turnhout 2021.
Cover des Buches „Handgebrauch“
Handgebrauch. Geschichten von der Hand aus dem Mittelalter und der Frühen Neuzeit, hrsg. gem. mit Robert Jütte, Paderborn 2019.
Cover des Buches „Der Leichnam im Mittelalter“
Der Leichnam im Mittelalter. Einbalsamierung, Verbrennung und die kulturelle Konstruktion des toten Körpers (Mittelalter-Forschungen 48), Ostfildern 2014 (2. Aufl. 2016).

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