The War of the Princes and the Suffering of Monks and Peasants. Perceptions of the Consequences of War and the Conceptualization of Actors and Those Affected by Military Conflicts in Staufer-Era Sources War and feuds were ubiquitous in the Middle Ages, and there was likely hardly an adult who did not encounter them at some point in their life. For in addition to the combatants in the relatively rare open battles, many segments of the population were affected by military violence. My project focuses on 12th-century Staufer-era historiography from the Empire and the (non)use of violence against the unarmed population as described therein.

Going beyond the topoi and panegyrics of military historiography, the study aims to examine whether—and to what extent—moral categories can be identified that guided either the authors’ portrayals and assessments, the motives and actions of the actors, or the perceptions of those affected. Authors such as Otto of Freising or Arnold of Lübeck wrote what appeared to be consistently positive accounts of their patrons, yet reading between the lines reveals the moral leeway available to the ruler, which likely reflected the code of norms of their respective courts. When rulers and military commanders violated this set of norms, they were sanctioned or criticized by historiographers—sometimes openly, sometimes subtly. To understand this, a close examination of the history of each work’s creation is essential, as this is the only way to discern the author’s stance toward both the person described as using violence and the victims. Those of different faiths were held responsible for the excessive violence directed against them, while their own brutality was demonized as immoral. When were victims of violence who shared the same faith protected, and when was violence against them justified—and how was it legitimized? Were there notions of regional or national identity that reinforced the use of violence? Was the renunciation of violence recognized within the framework of courtly norms, or was it interpreted as a sign of weakness? Was a distinction made in the use of violence between men and women, believers and non-believers, warriors, clergy, and the vulnerable or innocent, or did the same fate befall everyone? The authors also present differing perspectives on religion and ethics, which play a role in this investigation.

The aim of this thesis is to conduct a comprehensive examination of the available sources in order to compile the depictions of violence in 12th-century Staufer-era historiography and to conceptualize them through discourse analysis. By limiting the time period, the aim is to push the various contexts in which the authors wrote into the background in order to identify commonalities as patterns of representation and evaluation in historiography.

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Ludger Körntgen