Invective asymmetrization. Diatribe duels in Italian and German humanism

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Gerd Schwerhoff, since 7/2023
• Subject Area: Medieval History
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 493786154

What ‚humanism‘ means and who belongs to the group of ‚humanists‘ was clarified not least in the medium of invectivity. The research project asks about the aspect of an elaborate invective language as a social distinctive feature or symbolic capital, with the help of which certain people and groups succeeded in achieving an asymmetry vis-à-vis opponents, who are disparaged, for example, as ‚barbarians‘ or ‚scholastics‘ and thus pushed out of the circle of recognition. The study is focused on the example of Francesco Petrarca, Jakob Wimpfeling and the Reuchlin controversy.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Ehemaliger Antragsteller: Professor Dr. Uwe Israel, until 6/2023 (†)