In the past year, 2023, the MGH were proud to support six scholars at the beginning of their academic careers with scholarships for their research at the MGH Munich institute.
Tobit Loevenich wrote his Ph.D. at Trinity College Dublin/Ireland from 2018 to 2022 under Dr Immo Warntjes with a thesis on the Computus Einsidlensis, one of the oldest Irish texts on the calculation of the Easter cycle. After successfully defending his thesis in February 2023, he used his three-month research scholarship at the MGH from May to July 2023 to prepare his edition of the Computus Einsidlensis for publication.
supported with an Arno Borst postdoctoral scholarship
Giacomo Pirani is a Ph.D. student at the University of Pavia/Italy. He used his one-month scholarship at the MGH to work on his doctoral thesis treating the „Ritus canendi vetustissimus et novus“, a music theory treatise written in Mantua between 1458 and 1464 by the Carthusian monk Johannes Gallicus (†1473), a former student of Vittorino da Feltre. Examining the parallels between Gallicus‘ programme for a reform of musical instruction and the contemporary ideas and evaluations of other Carthusian scholars in German-speaking countries, Pirani aims to cast light on the role of the Carthusians in monastical reform movements and delineate their views on the relationship of music, liturgy, and education.
supported with a one-month MGH scholarship
Sofia Santosuosso is a Ph.D. student at the University of Venice/Italy and the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales Paris/France writing her doctoral thesis on the Summa Dictaminis of Thomas of Capua (1213-1268). She used her two-month visit at the MGH to research the relationship between papal letters and certain areas of medieval rhetoric. Additionally, Santosuosso was able to consult the largely unpublished research material of Emmy Heller, the first editor of the Summa Dictaminis, stored in the MGH archive. As she stated, her reading of Heller’s unpublished Ph.D. thesis enabled her to gain an overview of the source material for a comprehensive new biography of Thomas of Capua and provided her with an interesting and previously unknown model for structuring the work.
supported by Pro arte edendi – Freunde der MGH e. V.
Anja Thaller (Universität Mannheim) used her sojourn in Munich to make progress on her edition of the correspondence of Margaret of Savoy (1420-1479). The transmission, volume, multilingual character, and social standing of the correspondence partners make this collection of letters both special and challenging to edit. In Munich, Thaller profited from the wealth of libraries and the important collection of relevant source material in the Bayerisches Hauptstaatsarchiv as well as the network of German and international scholars.
supported with an Arno-Borst postdoctoral scholarship
Felix Wilhelm from the Universität Erfurt is writing his Ph.D. thesis on the Fourth Crusade. The crusade, which ended up conquering not Egypt but Constantinople, was an event of global political significance with long-term repercussions in historical processes and developments. Modern research has tended to focus on the motives and interests of the leading figures of this crusade, while the role of the „simple“ crusaders and their influence on the course of events has been largely neglected. The degree of importance that this crusade still has to the present day (as may be seen in Pope John Paul II’s admission of the Catholic Church’s guilt in the matter in Athen in 2001) justifies a reconsideration of the topic under a new focus.
supported with a one-month MGH scholarship
Patrick Woll is a Ph.D. student at the Universität of Saarland writing his thesis on the financial and economical administration of the Duchy Pfalz-Zweibrücken in the 15th and early 16th centuries. During his four-week visit to Munich, Woll was able to study the relevant administrative and economic sources in the Bayerisches Hauptstaatsarchiv. The MGH scholarship made it possible for him to discover numerous previously unnoticed documents and make them accessible for further scholarly endeavour.
supported with a one-month MGH scholarship
