Gertrude the Great - Religious Thought Crossing (Langu)Ages

Racha Kirakosian

(Harvard University)

Status: Sonstiges Projekt, geplanter Abschluss: 2018

This research and book project examines the late medieval and early modern reception of the Cistercian mystic Gertrude the Great (well-known as Gertrude of Helfta, 1256-1302) as a case study for the history of vernacular religious thought that was based on Latin writings. It studies the transformation of grammatical and theological concepts when passing from one language into another in order to understand the dynamics of cultural change in an increasingly vernacular written culture. By looking at Gertrude’s theology in its textuality, translation, and transmission, the significance of such a vernacular religious culture will contribute to our understanding of transformations from the Middle Ages to the early modern period.

The project is funded by the William F. Milton Fund (Harvard Medical School) and also part of the 2015 Herzog-Ernst-Stipendienprogramm of the Fritz Thyssen Stiftung.