I profited enormously („Ich nehme sehr sehr viel mit“), commented one of the participants evaluating this years MGH Autumn Academy on charters as testimonials of Medieval written production. For 12 students and doctorands, it was an enriching week of intense learning under the instruction of MGH staff and guest experts and networking in the group and in the MGH institute, crowned by the inspection of some remarkable original documents on the concluding visit to the Bayerisches Hauptstaatsarchiv (>>> programme).
The participants’ unanimously positive feedback proves that attending the MGH Academy was more than worth the effort: besides acquiring a wealth of specialist knowledge, they were instilled with an interest in diplomatics and the courage to work with original documents. Beyond the fundamental instruction in charter scholarship, the participants appreciated aspects such as the stimulation they received for further research, the cultivation of a critical approach to terminology, and the chance to deepen their knowledge of source criticism. Best marks for their team of instructors, Dr Katharina Gutermuth (Munich), Prof. Dr Jochen Johrendt (Wuppertal), Prof. Dr Mark Mersiowsky (Stuttgart), Prof. Dr Harald Müller (Aachen), Prof. Dr Stefan Petersen (Munich), Prof. Dr Magdalena Weileder (Darmstadt), and PD Dr Roman Zehetmayer (St. Pölten)! A particularly positive aspect of the course was the intensive exchange not just with the instructors but also with fellow students. As one of the participants wrote in the evaluation: “I find I am not the only crazy person with a passion for old animal skins and their content” ("Ich bin nicht die einzige verrückte Person, die eine Leidenschaft für alte Tierhäute und ihren Inhalt hat").
