Forms of Individuality and Literacy in the Medieval and Early Modern Periods
Forms of Individuality and Literacy in the Medieval and Early Modern Periods By Franz-Josef Arlinghaus
2015 | 326 Pages | ISBN: 250355220X | PDF | 11 MB
2015 | 326 Pages | ISBN: 250355220X | PDF | 11 MB
‘Individuality’ is one of the central categories of modern society. Can the roots of modern individuality be found in pre-modern times? Or is our way of thinking about ourselves a very recent phenomenon? This book takes a theoretical approach to the problem, derived from Niklas Luhmann’s system theory, in which different forms of individuality are linked to different structures of society in modern and pre-modern times. The papers in this volume approach this problem by discussing a broad variety of medieval and early modern sources, including charters and seals, letters, and naming practices in a late medieval town. Self-representation is also considered, in ‘housebooks’ and drawings. Textual studies include autobiography in German Humanism, and concepts of individuality and gender in late medieval literary texts.