Making Mysticism. Mystical books in the library of Erfurt Charterhouse

• Applicants: Dr. Antje Kellersohn; Dr. Balázs J. Nemes
• Subject Area: German Medieval Studies (Medieval German Literature)
• Term: from 2018 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 397020343

The Middle Ages still do not know the application of the concept mysticism as a historiographical category. Infact, a history of mysticism confronts us with the question how the beginning of the construction of this category looked like. An excellent paradigm for such an inquiry is the library of the Charterhouse in Erfurt. The library catalogue in Erfurt has two groups of signatures with the letters D and J, who according to modern parlance comprise mystical literature. However, in the discursive order of the library, whose catalogue is a pivotal document, which is only published in excerpts, the concept mysticism is not addressed. Nevertheless, the signature group D collects explicitly texts of the theologia mystica, while J covers texts dealing with revelationes. D and J (together with the signature groups DF, E and F, which form with D the signature class DEF) are the basis of the present project. The leading question of this project, which departs from a historically attested library collection, is how mysticism as a historiographical category of order and description can be historicized. The goals of this project are a virtual reconstruction, a digital genetic edition and a complex philological inquiry into the signature groups D and J (whereby also the signature class DEF will be taken into account) in order to comprehend the collection of mystical books in the Erfurt Charterhouse and to outline the profile of this collection from the perspectives of the history of literature, library, philosophy, theology, and science. The implementation plan of this program in cooperation with the University Library of Freiburg envisages: (1) a genetic reconstruction and documentation of the signature groups D, DF, E, F (= DEF) and J in the library catalogue of the Erfurt Charterhouse; (2) a digital presentation of the codex ms. Hist. 6 along with the library catalogue of the Charterhouse, a digital genetic edition of D, DF, E, F (=DEF) and J, as well as a virtual reconstruction of the signature groups D and J dedicated to the theologia mystica and revelationes on the basis of a Making Mysticism Portal, which will be developed and implemented, within a specialist, web-based collaborative work environment; (3) a historicization and localisation in the history of ideas of the concept mysticism, i.e. a description of the Making Mysticism, on the basis of those parts of the Carthusian library catalogue that will be made accessible via the digital edition. Finally, a conference is planned that will take as a starting point the results acquired in the project and the digitally disposable materials in order to portray the library in the Erfurt Charterhouse, their catalogue and knowledge system in the context of the (European) Carthusian monastic culture of the Late Middle Ages. In addition, the conference will address the work field Historical Collections and Digital Humanities.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants