Self-Narratives of Christian Conversions in the Holy Roman Empire and the Netherlands During the Confessional Age (17./18. c.)

Researcher: Gesine Carl, M.A.

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Angelika Schaser

Abstract

Self narratives of Christian conversions in the Age of Confessionalization are a hitherto unexplored historical source.  They contribute substantially, however, to the development of “concepts of the person” in the period.  This project takes as its goal the study of these conversion narratives.  Which individual, social, religious, hierarchical or gender-specific concepts of the person do these narratives display?  To what extent are conversion narratives the result of voluntary individual decisions or the expression of coercion as practiced by family and society or religious or secular institutions, possibly for propagandistic purposes?  Under what circumstances are these narratives written, and to what extent do they reflect ritualised formulations of the person? The Netherlands and the Holy Roman Empire serve as the region of study, because the number of confessions found in within their boundaries provided numerous opportunities for conversion.

In the first phase of the project, the more accessible narratives of Catholic conversions will be organized and analysed according to sex, age, estate, and education.  On the basis of this primary analysis, a representative selection of narratives will be published in annotated, digital form.

Gesine Carl, M.A.