Otto Gerhard Oexle

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Otto Gerhard Oexle (born August 28, 1939 in Singen am Hohentwiel ; † May 16, 2016 ) was a German historian .

As a full professor of medieval history, Oexle taught at the University of Hanover from 1980 to 1987 . From 1987 to 2004 he was director at the Max Planck Institute for History in Göttingen. Oexle was one of the leading international medieval historians of his time. He mainly worked on social history and on the theory and history of his own subject. Oexle gained great recognition in the collaboration between German and French medieval research and, after the fall of the Wall in 1989, also with Russian and Polish Medieval Studies .

Life

Otto Gerhard Oexle passed his Abitur in 1958 in Singen am Hohentwiel. From 1958 to 1965 he studied history and Romance studies at the Universities of Freiburg i. Br. , Poitiers and Cologne . His main academic teachers were Gerd Tellenbach and Karl Schmid . In Freiburg he received his doctorate from Tellenbach in 1965 on the Carolingians and the city of St. Arnulf . In his dissertation he described the history of the Metz Church in the 8th and 9th centuries, which, like no other church in the Franconian Empire , was characterized by “periods of unprecedented distinction” by the Carolingian rulers “followed by unusual setbacks”.

From 1965 to 1973 he worked as a research assistant at the University of Münster . His work focused on the Guelphs and their household tradition. As part of the Collaborative Research Center 7 established in Münster in 1968 and the “People and Communities” project led by Karl Schmid, Oexle researched the monastic community of Fulda and its beginnings up to the 11th century. The focus of the work was the analysis and edition of the tradition of the Fulda death annals. In 1973 his habilitation took place in Münster with a thesis on monastic and spiritual communities in the West Franconian area during the 8th and 9th centuries. In 1975 he became a scientific adviser and professor at the University of Münster. In the same year he was visiting professor at Tel Aviv University . In 1980 he received a professorship at the University of Hanover . Since the mid-1980s, he has dealt in depth with epistemological questions of history and historicism .

From 1987 until his retirement in 2004, he succeeded Josef Fleckenstein as Director and Scientific Member at the Max Planck Institute for History in Göttingen. As director of the Medieval Research Department, Oexle continued the long-term Germania Sacra and Palatinate Research. In contrast to Fleckenstein, however, Oexle no longer focused on researching the medieval estates and court culture, but on the project "Social groups in medieval society". It was about the forms of group formation in the Middle Ages, which were based on consensus and contract, and the type of bonding of individuals in groups. Under Oexle, the institute's collaboration with foreign researchers and research institutions was further expanded. Oexle taught at the University of Göttingen as an honorary professor for Medieval and Modern History . As an academic teacher, he supervised two dissertations in Münster, three in Hanover and six in Göttingen. Academic students were Wilfried Reininghaus , Reinhard Laube , Hans-Jürgen Derda and Andrea Germer . However, no academic school in the sense of a group of students with a common research area was formed. In the project “Social Groups in Society in the Middle Ages” at the Max Planck Institute, two post- doctoral qualifications were created with the work of Bernhard Jussen and Andrea von Hülsen-Esch . He has lived in Berlin since the Max Planck Institute was closed in 2006.

Research priorities

One of his fields of work were the social groups in medieval society. According to Oexle, four conditions must be met in order to speak of a group. A group has “rules and norms”, “external boundaries”, “internal organization” and finally “the relative duration and continuity in time”. Oexle has dealt intensively with the guilds . Oexle continued the personal history approach founded by Karl Schmid . In 1957 Schmid asked about the “structure of the medieval nobility in families, sexes and houses”. With this approach, the structure and rulership of the nobility could be better captured. In addition to the aristocratic existence and rule (descent, offices and property), the aristocratic self-image was also examined from now on. The concentration of the rulers on an eponymous headquarters, the writing of the house tradition, the foundation of a house monastery with burial place and the memoria were given greater consideration than before. This led to new insights with the Saxon Duke Heinrich the Lion . The power and territorial politics receded and the duke now appeared as an important part of a wide-ranging aristocratic community of descent and remembrance. In the spring of 1995, Oexle and Johannes Fried organized the first conference in the forty-year history of the Constance Working Group for Medieval History on Heinrich the Lion for a person without royal dignity. The conference proceedings were published in 2003. In the dating dispute over the Gospel Book of Henry the Lion, Oexle and Fried took different positions.

In addition, Oexle researched the forms of thought and mentalities in medieval society, especially the interpretations of class societies. Oexle examined individual classes and strata of society. For the Constance working group, Oexle organized a conference on the island of Reichenau in the spring of 1998 on the subject of poverty in the Middle Ages. Up until this point in time, medieval studies had paid little attention to the subject of “poverty and poor” in contrast to the leading groups in society. The conference proceedings could appear in 2005.

Oexle researched the memoria with special attention to liturgy , historiography and the forms of expression in painting, sculpture and architecture. Above all, the numerous works by Oexle have pushed memorial research forward with new ideas and impulses. In 1993 a conference on memoria as culture was held at the Max Planck Institute for History. In the detailed introductory essay, Oexle dealt with the change in memory from antiquity to the 19th century. Oexle understood Memoria as a “total social phenomenon”, “in which religion, politics, economy, art, representation mutually interpenetrate - and illuminate each other”.

Oexle also devoted himself to the history of science. In his work he dealt with important historians of the 19th and early 20th centuries ( Otto von Gierke , Georg von Below , Marc Bloch , Otto Brunner ) as well as the present ( Georges Duby , Jacques Le Goff ). At the Frankfurt Historians' Day in 1998, Oexle and Winfried Schulze headed the section “German Historians under National Socialism”. The section caused a sensation in the professional world, as the entanglement of German historians in the "Third Reich" was discussed for the first time in a large context.

Another focus of work was the problem of the relationship between the Middle Ages and the modern age. Oexle coined the term "divided Middle Ages". The thinking of the people about the Middle Ages became present in two ways: “in a positive and a negative view, in a positive and a negative cathexis of this term, in repulsion and appropriation, in judgment and identification at the same time. Both views stand in contradictory contrast to one another; to a certain extent they are mutually exclusive and yet at the same time relate to one another continuously ”. In 2002 and 2003 he organized German-Russian colloquia with Michail A. Bojcov in Göttingen and Moscow on the images of power in the Middle Ages and modern times. It was about the function of imaginary and real images in the representation of power.

Honors and memberships

Oexle was awarded numerous honors and memberships for his research. Oexle had been a member of the Constance Working Group for Medieval History since 1989 and became a full member of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences in 1990 . Oexle became a full member of the Braunschweigische Wissenschaftlichen Gesellschaft in 1985 and has been a corresponding member since 1989. In 1996 he became a Corresponding Fellow of the Royal Historical Society in London. In 1998 he became a member of the historical commission at the Bavarian Academy of Sciences . Oexle became an honorary member of the Russian Association of Medievalists and Early Modern Historians in 1999. He was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (2001) and the Nicolaus Copernicus University of Toruń (2003). From 1987 to 2004 he was a member of the Association for Constitutional History and from 1999 to 2005 a member of the Central Directorate Monumenta Germaniae Historica . Oexle became an honorary member of the Russian Association of Medievalists and Early Modern Historians in Moscow in 1999.

Fonts (selection)

A list of publications appeared in Otto Gerhard Oexle: The Reality and Knowledge. Medieval research - historical cultural studies - history and theory of historical knowledge. Edited by Andrea von Hülsen-Esch, Bernhard Jussen, Frank Rexroth. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2011, ISBN 978-3-525-30021-3 , pp. 1023-1050. 22 more publications had appeared by the end of 2016. A complete list of publications was printed in: Thomas Schilp, Caroline Horch: Memoria - culture of remembrance - historicism. In memory of Otto Gerhard Oexle (August 28, 1939– May 16, 2016) (= Memoria and remembrance practices. Vol. 2). Brepols, Turnhout 2019, ISBN 978-2-503-58438-6 , pp. 331-366.

Monographs

Editorships

  • Crisis of Historicism - Crisis of Reality Science, Art and Literature 1880–1932 (= publications of the Max Planck Institute for History. Vol. 228). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2007, ISBN 978-3-525-35810-8 .
  • with Michail A. Bojcov : Images of Power in the Middle Ages and Modern Times. Byzantium - Occident - Russia (= publications of the Max Planck Institute for History. Vol. 226). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2007, ISBN 978-3-525-35878-8 .
  • Remember - preserve - make memory fruitful. In memory of Josef Fleckenstein. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2007, ISBN 978-3-525-35808-5 .
  • Poverty in the Middle Ages. Thorbecke, Ostfildern 2004, ISBN 3-7995-6658-9 .
  • together with Hartmut Lehmann : National Socialism in Cultural Studies. 2 vols. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2004;
    • Vol. 1: Subjects, milieus, careers (= publications of the Max Planck Institute for History. Vol. 200). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2004, ISBN 3-525-35198-4 .
    • Vol. 2: Key concepts - interpretation patterns - paradigm struggles. Experiences and transformations in exile (= publications by the Max Planck Institute for History. Vol. 211). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2004, ISBN 3-525-35862-8 .
  • with Johannes Fried : Heinrich the Lion. Dominion and representation (= lectures and research. Vol. 57). Thorbecke, Ostfildern 2003, ISBN 3-7995-6657-0 ( digitized version ).
  • The problem of the problem history. 1880–1932 (= Göttingen Talks on History. Vol. 12). Wallstein-Verlag, Göttingen 2001, ISBN 3-89244-437-4 .
  • with Andrea von Hülsen-Esch: The representation of the groups. Texts - Images - Objects (= publications of the Max Planck Institute for History. Vol. 141). Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, Göttingen 1998, ISBN 3-525-35456-8 .

literature

  • Bernhard Jussen: Otto Gerhard Oexle (August 28, 1939 - May 16, 2016). Obituaries 2016, supplement to the annual report of the Max Planck Institute for History 2017, pp. 8–9.
  • Patrick J. Geary : Quaestiones medii aevi novae 22, 2017, pp. 421-425.
  • Pierre Monnet : Otto Gerhard Oexle, historien du Moyen Âge, de l'Europe et de l'histoire (1939–2016). In: Francia . 44, 2017, pp. 425-427.
  • Otto Gerhard Oexle: Introduction. In: Ders .: Reality and knowledge. Medieval research - historical cultural studies - history and theory of historical knowledge. Edited by Andrea von Hülsen-Esch, Bernhard Jussen, Frank Rexroth. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2011, ISBN 978-3-525-30021-3 , pp. 11-29.
  • Otto Gerhard Oexle. In: Jürgen Petersohn (Ed.): The Constance Working Group for Medieval History 1951–2001. The members and their work. A bio-bibliographical documentation (= publications of the Constance Working Group for Medieval History on the occasion of its fiftieth anniversary 1951–2001. Vol. 2). Thorbecke, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-7995-6906-5 , pp. 301-309 ( digitized version ).
  • Michael Borgolte : Remember, speak! On the death of the medievalist Otto Gerhard Oexle. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , May 23, 2016, No. 118, p. 13.
  • Frank Rexroth : Otto Gerhard Oexle (1939-2016). In: Historical magazine . 303, 2016, pp. 464-471.
  • Frank Rexroth: Obituary for Otto Gerhard Oexle. August 28, 1939-16. May 2016. In: Yearbook of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences. 2016, pp. 229–235.
  • Thomas Schilp, Caroline Horch: Memoria - culture of remembrance - historicism. In memory of Otto Gerhard Oexle (August 28, 1939– May 16, 2016) (= Memoria and remembrance practices. Vol. 2). Brepols, Turnhout 2019, ISBN 978-2-503-58438-6 .
  • Janusz Tandecki: Otto Gerhard Oexle (28 VIII 1939-16 V 2016). In: Zapiski Historyczne. 81, 2016, pp. 165-168 ( online ).

Web links

Remarks

  1. Otto Gerhard Oexle: The Carolingians and the city of St. Arnulf. In: Early Medieval Studies . Vol. 1 (1967), pp. 250-364, here: p. 360.
  2. Otto Gerhard Oexle: The "Saxon Welfenquelle" as a testimony to the Guelph house tradition. In: German Archive for Research into the Middle Ages . Vol. 24 (1968), pp. 435-497 ( digitized version ); Otto Gerhard Oexle: Bishop Konrad von Konstanz in the memory of the Guelphs and the Guelph house tradition of the 12th century. In: Freiburg Diocesan Archive. 95: 7-40 (1975).
  3. ^ Otto Gerhard Oexle: Research on monastic and spiritual communities in the West Franconian area. Munich 1978 (partial print).
  4. Werner Rösener: The Max Planck Institute for History (1956-2006). Fifty years of historical research. Göttingen 2014, p. 134.
  5. Werner Rösener: The Max Planck Institute for History (1956-2006). Fifty years of historical research. Göttingen 2014, p. 167.
  6. Directory of the doctoral theses and habilitation theses supervised by Otto Gerhard Oexle in Otto Gerhard Oexle: The Reality and Knowledge. Medieval research - historical cultural studies - history and theory of historical knowledge. Edited by Andrea von Hülsen-Esch, Bernhard Jussen, Frank Rexroth. Göttingen 2011, pp. 1051-1052.
  7. ^ Otto Gerhard Oexle: Social groups in the estates society: ways of life in the Middle Ages and their historical effects. In: Otto Gerhard Oexle, Andrea von Hülsen-Esch (Hrsg.): The representation of the groups. Texts - images - objects. Göttingen 1998, pp. 9–44, here: p. 17.
  8. ^ Otto Gerhard Oexle: The medieval guilds. Your self-interpretation and your contribution to the formation of social structures. In: Albert Zimmermann (ed.): Social orders in the self-understanding of the Middle Ages. Berlin et al. 1979, pp. 203-226. Otto Gerhard Oexle: The medieval guilds. Your self-interpretation and your contribution to the formation of social structures. In: Miscellanea Mediaevalia. Vol. 12, 1 (1979), pp. 203-226. Otto Gerhard Oexle: Group bonding and group behavior in humans and animals. Observations on the history of medieval guilds. In: Saeculum. 36: 28-45 (1985).
  9. Cf. among others: Karl Schmid: On the emergence and research of gender consciousness. In: Journal for the history of the Upper Rhine . 134: 21-33 (1986). Karl Schmid: Welfish self-image. In: Josef Fleckenstein , Karl Schmid (Ed.): Nobility and Church. Festschrift for Gerd Tellenbach. Freiburg et al. 1968, pp. 389-416.
  10. Cf. u. a. Otto Gerhard Oexle: Noble self-image and its connection with liturgical remembrance. The example of the Guelphs. In: Journal for the history of the Upper Rhine. 134: 47-75 (1986).
  11. ^ Karl Schmid: On the problems of family, clan and gender, house and dynasty in the medieval nobility. Preliminary questions on the subject of "Nobility and Rulership in the Middle Ages". In: Journal for the history of the Upper Rhine. 105: 1-62 (1957).
  12. Hubertus Seibert: Heinrich the lion and the Welfs. An anniversary and its earnings for research. In: Historical magazine . Vol. 268 (1999), pp. 375-406, here: pp. 376 f.
  13. Johannes Fried, Otto Gerhard Oexle (Ed.): Heinrich the Lion. Domination and representation. Ostfildern 2003.
  14. Cf. Otto Gerhard Oexle: On the criticism of new research on the Gospel of Heinrich the Lion. In: Göttingische Scholars Ads . 245: 70-109 (1993).
  15. Otto Gerhard Oexle: The functional tripartite division as an interpretation scheme of social reality in the corporate society of the Middle Ages. In: Winfried Schulze (Hrsg.): Corporate society and social mobility. Munich 1988, pp. 19-51 ( online ). Otto Gerhard Oexle: The functional tripartite division of "society" with Adalbero von Laon. Schemes of interpretation of social reality in the earlier Middle Ages. In: Early Medieval Studies . Vol. 12 (1978), pp. 1-54.
  16. ^ Otto Gerhard Oexle (ed.): Poverty in the Middle Ages. Ostfildern 2004.
  17. ^ Otto Gerhard Oexle: Memoria and Memorial Tradition in the Early Middle Ages. In: Frühmittelalterliche Studien 10 (1976), pp. 70-95; Otto Gerhard Oexle: The Presence of the Living and the Dead. Thoughts on Memoria. In: Karl Schmid (Ed.): Memory that creates community. Munich / Zurich 1985, pp. 74-107; Otto Gerhard Oexle: Memoria in society and in the culture of the Middle Ages. In: Joachim Heinzle (Hrsg.): Modernes Mittelalter. New pictures of a popular era. Frankfurt et al. 1994, pp. 297-323
  18. ^ Otto Gerhard Oexle: Memoria as culture. In: Otto Gerhard Oexle (ed.): Memoria as culture. Göttingen 1995, pp. 9-78 ( online ).
  19. Otto Gerhard Oexle: The Memoria Heinrichs des Löwen. In: Dieter Geuenich, Otto Gerhard Oexle (ed.): Memoria in the society of the Middle Ages. Göttingen 1994, pp. 128–177, here: p. 177.
  20. ^ Otto Gerhard Oexle: Otto von Gierke's 'Legal History of the German Cooperative'. An attempt at a recapitulation of the history of science. In: Notker Hammerstein (Ed.): Deutsche Geschichtswwissenschaft um 1900. Stuttgart 1988, pp. 193–217.
  21. Otto Gerhard Oexle: A political historian: Georg von Below (1858-1927). In: Notker Hammerstein (Ed.): Deutsche Geschichtswwissenschaft um 1900. Stuttgart 1988, pp. 283-312.
  22. ^ Otto Gerhard Oexle: Marc Bloch et la critique de la raison historique. In: Hartmut Atsma, André Burguière (Ed.): Marc Bloch aujourd'hui. Histoire comparée et sciences sociales. Paris 1990, pp. 419-433.
  23. ^ Otto Gerhard Oexle: Social history - conceptual history - history of science. Notes on the work of Otto Brunner. In: Quarterly for social and economic history . 71: 305-341 (1984).
  24. Otto Gerhard Oexle: The 'reality' and the 'knowledge'. A look at the socio-historical oeuvre of Georges Duby. In: Historical magazine. 232: 61-91 (1981).
  25. Otto Gerhard Oexle: The other, the differences, the whole. Jacques Le Goff's picture of the European Middle Ages. In: Francia . Vol. 17/1 (1990), pp. 141-158 ( digitized version ).
  26. Winfried Schulze, Otto Gerhard Oexle (ed.): German historians in National Socialism. Frankfurt am Main 1999.
  27. Cf. for example Otto Gerhard Oexle: The image of modernity from the Middle Ages and modern research on the Middle Ages. In: Early Medieval Studies. 24: 1-22 (1990).
  28. Otto Gerhard Oexle: The divided Middle Ages. In: Gerd Althoff (Ed.): The Germans and their Middle Ages. Topics and functions of modern historical images from the Middle Ages. Darmstadt 1992, pp. 7–28, here: p. 7.
  29. With Michail A. Bojcov: Images of Power in the Middle Ages and Modern Times. Byzantium - Occident - Russia. Göttingen 2007.