Prostitution and Subjectivity in Late Medieval Germany

Prostitution played a major role in structuring medieval gender relations. Prostitutes were seen to be an example of extreme female sinfulness which all women risked falling into, while at the same time prostitutes themselves were seen to play a vital social role in many towns by providing a sexual outlet to unmarried men. This book is the first full-length study of medieval prostitution to focus primarily upon how gender discourse shaped the lives of prostitutes themselves. It is based on three legal case studies from the late medieval empire which examine constructions of subjectivity between the period c.1400–1500. This period saw the rapid rise of tolerated prostitution across much of western Europe and the emergence of the public brothel as a central institution in the regulation of social order, followed by its equally rapid suppression from the early 1500s. By analysing how individuals interacted with cultural discourses surrounding the body, sexuality, and sin, the book explores how the concepts that defined prostitution in the Middle Ages shaped individual lives, and how individuals were able—or not—to exert agency, both within the circumstances of their own lives, and in response to official attempts to regulate sexual behaviour.

On Reading Sefer Ḥasidim

This chapter addresses Ivan Marcus's Piety and Society: The Jewish Pietists of Medieval Germany (1981). It looks at his manner of reading and interpreting Sefer Ḥasidim. Marcus insists on the need of often taking such terms in Sefer Ḥasidim as resha'im (wicked people), peritsim (immoral people, einam mehugganim (dishonest people or people who act improperly/immorally), and the like quite literally, and to see in them a reflection of a wayward, indeed criminal, segment of the Ashkenazic community. The Pietists saw the world the way sects do, as being divided into two groups — we and all others. They viewed all non Pietists as being one and alike, whether they were religious or not, and in a limited sense not differing from the Gentiles. This allows all texts in which resha'im, peritsim, and the like are mentioned, whether they refer to actual murderers and wastrels or to scholars and religious poets who opposed the Pietists, to be cited interchangeably as evidence of the exclusivity of the Pietists. It is with this equation and its consequences that one may take issue. The chapter then offers some ground rules that should be employed in drawing inferences from Sefer Ḥasidim.

Methodological Issues

WHILE I have dealt with Sefer Ḥasidim from time to time, the leading scholar of German Pietism of this generation has unquestionably been Ivan Marcus. His work Piety and Society: The Jewish Pietists of Medieval Germany made a considerable impression when it appeared in 1981. It was and still is widely cited; indeed, one might say without exaggeration that it has, over the years, achieved semi-canonical status....

THEATER OF THE EARLY MODERN PERIOD: BETWEEN “SCHOOL” AND “CITY”

В статье на материале позднесредневековой Германии рассматривается место театра как коммуникативного канала в городском пространстве. Автор исходит из представления о том, что в диалоге между властью и городской общиной важнейшую роль играли паратеатральные практики (процессии, различные игры и пр.), тогда как собственно спектакли начиная с первых десятилетий XV в. были каналом внутригородской коммуникации. К производству спектаклей имели доступ разные сословия, что обуславливало в целом нейтральный характер театральных текстов, выполняющих главным образом консервативную и развлекательную функции. Изменилась ли роль театра в связи с развитием гуманизма и с институциализацией театра внутри школьной системы в раннее Новое время? В статье предпринята попытка ответить на этот вопрос на материале творчества раннего протестантского литератора Сикста Бирка. В историографии его творчество рассматривается через призму политического измерения, а сам он – как весьма рафинированный, интеллектуальный литератор. Однако, как считает автор статьи, тексты Бирка мало отличаются от позднесредневековой традиции. Анализ показывает, что Бирк утверждает все те же ценности стабильности и транслируют прежние топосы. Однако «Школа» явно подталкивает «Город» к осмыслению социального опыта. The article, based on the material of late medieval Germany, examines the place of the theater as a communicative channel in urban space. The author proceeds from the idea that paratheatre (processions, various games, etc.) played an important role in the dialogue between the authorities and the city community, whereas performances themselves, starting from the first decades of the 15th century, were a channel of intercity communication. Different classes had access to the production of performances, which led to the generally neutral nature of theatrical texts that performed mainly conservative and entertaining functions. Has the role of the theater changed in connection with the development of humanism and institutionalization of the theater within the school system in the Early Modern Period? The article attempts to answer this question on the material of the works of the early Protestant writer Sixt Birck. In historiography, his works are viewed through the prism of the political dimension, and he is classified as a very refined, intellectual writer. However, according to the author of the article, Birck’s texts differ little from the late medieval tradition. The analysis shows that Birck maintains the same values of stability and medieval topoi. However, the "School" clearly pushes the "City" to comprehend social experience.

A systematic investigation of human DNA preservation in medieval skeletons

Ancient DNA (aDNA) analyses necessitate the destructive sampling of archaeological material. Currently, the cochlea, part of the osseous inner ear located inside the petrous pyramid, is the most sought after skeletal element for molecular analyses of ancient humans as it has been shown to yield high amounts of endogenous DNA. However, destructive sampling of the petrous pyramid may not always be possible, particularly in cases where preservation of skeletal morphology is of top priority. To investigate alternatives, we present a survey of human aDNA preservation for each of ten skeletal elements in a skeletal collection from Medieval Germany. Through comparison of human DNA content and quality we confirm best performance of the petrous pyramid and identify seven additional sampling locations across four skeletal elements that yield adequate aDNA for most applications in human palaeogenetics. Our study provides a better perspective on DNA preservation across the human skeleton and takes a further step toward the more responsible use of ancient materials in human aDNA studies.