Hermitism and the Culture of Solitude in the Holy Roman Empire, 900-1300

现代对孤独的理解有着深刻的历史根源，但在最近的时代经历了重新解释，因为自1900年以来，孤独被认为是对社会规范的偏离，甚至可能是一种病态。在过去，孤独的概念是比较矛盾的，因为对孤独的积极解释在文化上是非常重要的。在整个前现代时期，欧洲隐士主义的影响和传播助长了这一现象。英国、法国和意大利对这一主题进行了更全面的研究，但对神圣罗马帝国却没有。对这一现象的系统研究尚不存在，因此，首先有必要求助于那些偶尔为人所知的“孤独专家”：隐士、隐士和隐士。特别有趣的是所谓的“新厄米主义”的早期历史，从11世纪中期开始到1200年左右结束。在这个时代，大多数隐士都生活在一群志同道合的人中。这一阶段是我们研究项目的重点，同时也应该充分考虑到它的前后历史（总研究期：900-1300）。该项目的目的是采用定量调查和定性研究相结合的方法，以获得对神圣罗马帝国隐士主义历史的新见解，从而推进孤独文化历史项目。定量调查的核心是开发一个开放存取的传记数据库，其工作名称为“REKMAR”（“Repertorium der Eremit*innen und Klausner*innen im mittelalterlichen Reich”），列出了在调查期间已知生活在神圣罗马帝国的隐士。这个数据库将构成我们对隐士生活的社会文化条件和背景进行定性调查的基础，我们认为这是一个群体中特殊的生活形式，与其他生活方式具有文化相关性和典范性。我们的指导问题与两个首要的认知目标是一致的：1)一部以隐逸主义群体史为意义的社会史，考察所谓的“新隐逸主义”——其自身的特殊性和与社会环境的相互作用——是否可以被识别，男性和女性在选择一种特定形式的孤独或将苦行主义铭刻在身体上方面存在哪些差异，以及男性和女性的孤独现实如何相互联系；2)对孤独话语的历史研究，探索孤独的概念，符号，神话和记忆空间的作用，以及孤独对自我认知和实践的文化影响，如习得习惯或对女性的特别期望的虔诚。

Modern understandings of solitude have deep historical roots, but in more recent times have undergone a reinterpretation, insofar as solitude has been conceived since c. 1900 as a deviation from social norms, maybe even a pathological one. In the past, the concept of solitude was more ambivalent, as a positive interpretation of aloneness existed that was of great cultural importance. It was fuelled by the influence and spread of hermitism in Europe throughout the entire pre-modern period. More comprehensive research on the topic has been conducted for England, France, and Italy, but not for the Holy Roman Empire. Systematic research into this phenomenon does not yet exist, so in a first approximation it is necessary to turn to the sporadically-known ‘experts of solitude’: hermits, recluses, and incluses. Of particular interest must be the early history of the so-called “New Hermitism”, from its beginnings in the middle of the 11th century until its end around 1200. During this era, most hermits lived a life in a group of like-minded individuals.. This phase is the focus of our research project, while its pre- and post-history should also be taken into sufficient account (total research period: 900–1300). The aim of the project is to employ a combination of quantitative surveys and qualitative studies to gain new insights into the history of hermitism in the Holy Roman Empire and thus to advance the project of a cultural history of solitude. At the centre of the quantitative survey is the development of an open access biographical database under the working title “REKMAR” (“Repertorium der Eremit*innen und Klausner*innen im mittelalterlichen Reich”), listing the hermits known to have lived in the Holy Roman Empire during the period in question. This database will form the basis for our qualitative investigations into the socio-cultural conditions and contexts of hermitic life, which we see as a special form of life within a group that is culturally relevant and exemplary for other lifestyles. Our guiding questions are aligned with two overarching epistemic aims: 1) a social history in the sense of a group history of hermitism examining whether the so-called “new hermitism” – with its own specificity and interaction with its social environment – can be identified, which differences exist between men and women in terms of their choice of a particular form of solitude or the inscription of asceticism into the body, and how the realities of solitude of men and women relate to one another; and 2) a historical study of the discourse on solitude exploring concepts of loneliness, the role of symbols, myths, and memory spaces, as well as the cultural impact of aloneness on perceptions and practices of the self, such as learned habitus or the kind of piety that is specifically expected of women.