Heinrich Fichtenau
Encyclopedia
Heinrich von Fichtenau was an Austria
n medievalist
best known for his studies of medieval diplomatics
, social and intellectual history. He spent his academic career at the University of Vienna
and from 1962 to 1983 served as director of the Institut für österreichische Geschichtsforschung (Institute for Austrian Historical Research). He remains one of the few Austrian medieval scholars whose work has been translated into English and which has enjoyed a broad reception in Anglophone academia.
As a young scholar after World War II, Fichtenau published a short treatment of the Carolingian Empire
which drew sharp criticism from fellow German-speaking academics, but found more favorable reception in the U.S. and Great Britain (The Carolingian Empire: The Age of Charlemagne, trans. Peter Munz, 1957). Fichtenau attempted to demythologize Charlemagne's
achievements and draw out many of the contradictions of his reign and the fundamental instabilities within the empire he created. Written in post-war Vienna, the book was a frank, if understandably cynical, take on historical narratives of the early Middle Ages which celebrated power, conquest and the idealized image of a pan-European political entity.
Fichtenau's landmark monographic study, Lebensordnungen des 10. Jahrhunderts, appeared in 1984 and was later translated into English by the American medievalist Patrick J. Geary
as Living in the Tenth Century: Mentalities and Social Orders (Chicago & London, 1991). In it, Fichtenau explored the political, religious and social value systems with which people ordered their lives in a time that many (including historians) still characterize as primitive, violent and mostly unknown -- the so-called "Dark Ages." In focusing on issues such as perceptions of order and social mentalities, Fichtenau's work tended to have more in common with the interdisciplinary Anglo-French approaches to medieval social history than with the institutional-legal traditions of the German schools.
Fichtenau taught primarily in the field of ancillary historical sciences (Historische Hilfswissenschaften), a set of disciplines that encompasses the technical study of medieval historical sources, such as paleography, diplomatics
, epigraphy
, sigilography, heraldry
, and so on. Much of his published work in German relates to understanding how the forms of documentation and writing in the Middle Ages reflect social and cultural change. In a series of studies entitled Arenga: Spätantike und Mittelalter im Spiegel von Urkundenformeln (Cologne & Vienna, 1957), for example, Fichtenau traced shifts in the self-representation of medieval rulers based on the rhetoric of the introductory clauses of their diplomas. In 1971, he published Das Urkundenwesen in Österreich vom 8. bis zum frühen 13. Jahrhundert (Cologne & Vienna), a still unsurpassed analysis of the various forms, and -- more importantly -- social and cultural significance, of medieval charters from institutions and collections in southern Germany and Austria. He also edited, with fellow-historian Erich Zöllner, a three-volume edition of the charters of the Babenberger dukes of Austria in the Middle Ages -- Urkundenbuch zur Geschichte der Babenberger (Vienna, 1950, 1958, 1968)
In 1983, Fichtenau retired and passed the directorship of the Viennese Institute on to his pupil and protégé, Herwig Wolfram
. In retirement throughout the 80's and 90's, he remained an active scholar. In 1991, he produced a wide-ranging intellectual-religious study of the concomitant emergence of heretical movements
and scholasticism
in medieval Europe after the eleventh century, translated into English as Heretics and Scholars in the High Middle Ages, 1000-1200 (Philadelphia, 1998). He fell suddenly ill in the spring of 2000 and died several days later at the age of 88. Fichtenau is buried at his family's crypt in the town of Baden
, near Vienna.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n medievalist
Medievalism
Medievalism is the system of belief and practice characteristic of the Middle Ages, or devotion to elements of that period, which has been expressed in areas such as architecture, literature, music, art, philosophy, scholarship, and various vehicles of popular culture.Since the 18th century, a...
best known for his studies of medieval diplomatics
Diplomatics
Diplomatics , or Diplomatic , is the study that revolves around documentation. It is a study that focuses on the analysis of document creation, its inner constitutions and form, the means of transmitting information, and the relationship documented facts have with their creator...
, social and intellectual history. He spent his academic career at the University of Vienna
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...
and from 1962 to 1983 served as director of the Institut für österreichische Geschichtsforschung (Institute for Austrian Historical Research). He remains one of the few Austrian medieval scholars whose work has been translated into English and which has enjoyed a broad reception in Anglophone academia.
As a young scholar after World War II, Fichtenau published a short treatment of the Carolingian Empire
Carolingian Empire
Carolingian Empire is a historiographical term which has been used to refer to the realm of the Franks under the Carolingian dynasty in the Early Middle Ages. This dynasty is seen as the founders of France and Germany, and its beginning date is based on the crowning of Charlemagne, or Charles the...
which drew sharp criticism from fellow German-speaking academics, but found more favorable reception in the U.S. and Great Britain (The Carolingian Empire: The Age of Charlemagne, trans. Peter Munz, 1957). Fichtenau attempted to demythologize Charlemagne's
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
achievements and draw out many of the contradictions of his reign and the fundamental instabilities within the empire he created. Written in post-war Vienna, the book was a frank, if understandably cynical, take on historical narratives of the early Middle Ages which celebrated power, conquest and the idealized image of a pan-European political entity.
Fichtenau's landmark monographic study, Lebensordnungen des 10. Jahrhunderts, appeared in 1984 and was later translated into English by the American medievalist Patrick J. Geary
Patrick J. Geary
Patrick J. Geary is, effective January 1, 2012, Professor of Medieval History at the Institute for Advanced Study and Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Medieval History at UCLA. He was educated at Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama, the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium, and received...
as Living in the Tenth Century: Mentalities and Social Orders (Chicago & London, 1991). In it, Fichtenau explored the political, religious and social value systems with which people ordered their lives in a time that many (including historians) still characterize as primitive, violent and mostly unknown -- the so-called "Dark Ages." In focusing on issues such as perceptions of order and social mentalities, Fichtenau's work tended to have more in common with the interdisciplinary Anglo-French approaches to medieval social history than with the institutional-legal traditions of the German schools.
Fichtenau taught primarily in the field of ancillary historical sciences (Historische Hilfswissenschaften), a set of disciplines that encompasses the technical study of medieval historical sources, such as paleography, diplomatics
Diplomatics
Diplomatics , or Diplomatic , is the study that revolves around documentation. It is a study that focuses on the analysis of document creation, its inner constitutions and form, the means of transmitting information, and the relationship documented facts have with their creator...
, epigraphy
Epigraphy
Epigraphy Epigraphy Epigraphy (from the , literally "on-writing", is the study of inscriptions or epigraphs as writing; that is, the science of identifying the graphemes and of classifying their use as to cultural context and date, elucidating their meaning and assessing what conclusions can be...
, sigilography, heraldry
Heraldry
Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...
, and so on. Much of his published work in German relates to understanding how the forms of documentation and writing in the Middle Ages reflect social and cultural change. In a series of studies entitled Arenga: Spätantike und Mittelalter im Spiegel von Urkundenformeln (Cologne & Vienna, 1957), for example, Fichtenau traced shifts in the self-representation of medieval rulers based on the rhetoric of the introductory clauses of their diplomas. In 1971, he published Das Urkundenwesen in Österreich vom 8. bis zum frühen 13. Jahrhundert (Cologne & Vienna), a still unsurpassed analysis of the various forms, and -- more importantly -- social and cultural significance, of medieval charters from institutions and collections in southern Germany and Austria. He also edited, with fellow-historian Erich Zöllner, a three-volume edition of the charters of the Babenberger dukes of Austria in the Middle Ages -- Urkundenbuch zur Geschichte der Babenberger (Vienna, 1950, 1958, 1968)
In 1983, Fichtenau retired and passed the directorship of the Viennese Institute on to his pupil and protégé, Herwig Wolfram
Herwig Wolfram
Herwig Wolfram is an Austrian historian. Professor emeritus at the University of Vienna, from 1983 until 2002 he was Director of the Austrian Institute for Historical Research ....
. In retirement throughout the 80's and 90's, he remained an active scholar. In 1991, he produced a wide-ranging intellectual-religious study of the concomitant emergence of heretical movements
Heresy
Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...
and scholasticism
Scholasticism
Scholasticism is a method of critical thought which dominated teaching by the academics of medieval universities in Europe from about 1100–1500, and a program of employing that method in articulating and defending orthodoxy in an increasingly pluralistic context...
in medieval Europe after the eleventh century, translated into English as Heretics and Scholars in the High Middle Ages, 1000-1200 (Philadelphia, 1998). He fell suddenly ill in the spring of 2000 and died several days later at the age of 88. Fichtenau is buried at his family's crypt in the town of Baden
Baden bei Wien
-Points of interest:The town offers several parks and a picturesque surrounding, of which the most frequented is the Helenental valley. Not far from Baden, the valley is crossed by a widespread aqueduct of the Vienna waterworks...
, near Vienna.
External links
- Eulogy for Heinrich Fichtenau by Herwig Wolfram