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，人们对孤独进行了重新解释。1900年是对社会规范的偏离，甚至可能是病态的。在过去，孤独的概念更加矛盾，因为对孤独的积极解释具有重要的文化意义。在整个前现代时期，隐士主义在欧洲的影响和传播助长了这一趋势。关于这个主题的更全面的研究已经在英国、法国和意大利进行过，但没有在神圣罗马帝国进行过。对这种现象的系统研究还不存在，所以在第一个近似值中，有必要转向零星已知的“孤独专家”：隐士，隐士和Incluses。特别感兴趣的必须是早期的历史，所谓的“新隐士”，从它的开始，在中间的11世纪，直到其结束约1200年。在这个时代，大多数隐士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，同时也应充分考虑其前后历史（总研究时期：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历史的新见解，从而推进孤独文化史项目。定量调查的核心是开发一个开放访问的传记数据库，暂定名为“REKMAR”（“Repertorium der Erremit *innen und Klausner*innen im mittelalterlichen赖希”），列出了在所涉时期已知生活在神圣罗马帝国的隐士。这个数据库将成为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，我们认为隐士生活是一种特殊的生活形式，在文化上与其他生活方式相关，并成为其他生活方式的典范。我们的指导性问题与两个总体认识目标相一致：（1）一部社会史，从隐逸主义群体史的意义上考察所谓的“新隐逸主义”-具有其自身的特殊性及其与社会环境的相互作用-是否可以被识别，男女之间在选择某种特定的孤独形式或将禁欲主义铭刻在身体上方面存在哪些差异，以及男性和女性孤独的现实如何相互关联; 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，以及孤独对自我的感知和实践的文化影响，如习得的习惯或对女性的虔诚。

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.