Anthology on the 'Discernment of Spirits'. 'Probate spiritus'-Compilation and Treatises - Edition and Commentary

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Martin Schubert, since 5/2017
• Subject Area: German Medieval Studies (Medieval German Literature)
• Term: from 2014 to 2017
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 263956897

Aim of the project is a commented edition of important vernacular texts on the 'Discernment of spirits' (Discretio spirituum). The 'Discernment of spirits' is one of the most ardent and largely discussed themes of late-medieval religious literature. It plays an important role in mystical contexts of the 13th through 15th century, because every physical and mental effort to approach God needs a continuous external and personal control to avoid deceit by nature or the devil. Texts on the discernment are thereby documents of a 'moralic psychology', which especially in the realms of German religious literature still needs research. From the different emphasis and definition of the standard 'spirits' God, angels, devil and nature, and from the varying criteria of discernment, transformation processes in spiritual, theological and anthropological discourses can be scrutinized. Translation into the vernacular are an important part of these transformation processes, which opened, throughout the late Middle Ages, theological discussions to a broader public and the catechesis of laymen. The texts on discernment which shall be edited are exemplary for these transformations. Most of them are based on latin texts, which are not 'only' translated, but revised according to their content and form, combined with other texts and actualised according to contemporary theological discussions. At the same time, these texts are representative for texts on discernment, which preserve the academical and scholastic intent while adapting the methods of discernment to the layman reader. The 'Probate spiritus'-compilation is based on the influential 'De quattuor instinctibus' by Heinrich of Friemar. The treatise 'Von Unterscheidung wahrer und falscher Andacht' ('On discerning true and false devotion') uses a theme from the 'Probate spiritus'-compilation - the confusion of self-inflicted mental sweetness and true nearness to God - and reworks it independently, going back to the authority of Thomas Aquinas. As these two texts are oftentimes transmitted in the same manuscripts, a joint edition is advisable. The other treatises are also oftentimes connected with translations or adaptations of the treatise by Friemar. The printed edition shall be supplemented with a digital presentation of the manuscript transcriptions.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Participating Person: Professor Dr. Werner Williams
• Ehemaliger Antragsteller: Professor Dr. Volker Honemann, until 5/2017 (†)