Forms of individuality and literacy in the medieval and early modern periods. Literacies of the self

‘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. Front Matter ("Contents", "Preface"), p. i Free Access Conceptualising Pre-Modern and Modern Individuality: Some Theoretical Considerations, p. 1 Franz-Josef Arlinghaus https://doi.org/10.1484/M.USML-EB.5.105609 Bodily Practices as an Expression of ‘Individuality’ in the Letters of Liselotte von der Pfalz (1652-1722), p. 47 Mareike Böth https://doi.org/10.1484/M.USML-EB.5.105610 Loci of Medieval Individuality: A Methodological Inquiry, p. 81 Brigitte M. Bedos-Rezak https://doi.org/10.1484/M.USML-EB.5.105611 Hetero-Reference and Heterology: Autobiographical Writing, Individuality, and Gender on the Threshold of the Modern Period, p. 107 Eva Kormann https://doi.org/10.1484/M.USML-EB.5.105612 Expressing Your Self in Later Medieval England: Individuality and Social Differentiation, p. 121 David Gary Shaw https://doi.org/10.1484/M.USML-EB.5.105613 ‘Individuality’, Relationships, Words about Oneself: Autobiographical Writing as a Resource (Fifteenth-Sixteenth Centuries) - Konrad Pellikan’s Autobiography, p. 151 Gabriele Jancke https://doi.org/10.1484/M.USML-EB.5.105614 Individuality and Narration: The Cases of Ulrich von Liechtenstein, Helene Kottanerin, and Johannes Tichtel, p. 177 Matthias Meyer https://doi.org/10.1484/M.USML-EB.5.105615 Kinship as Catalyst of Individuation in Sixteenth-Century German House Books: A Reconsideration of Niklas Luhmann’s Approach to Pre-Modern Individuality, p. 199 Gregor Rohmann https://doi.org/10.1484/M.USML-EB.5.105616 Me, Myself, and My Name: Naming and Identity in the Late Middle Ages, p. 233 Christof Rolker https://doi.org/10.1484/M.USML-EB.5.105617 Body and Time: The Representation of the Naked and Clothed Self in Religious, Social, and Cosmological Orders (Matthäus Schwarz, 1497-1574), p. 259 Heike Schlie https://doi.org/10.1484/M.USML-EB.5.105618 Dialogue Situations: Considerations on Self-Identification in the Middle Ages, p. 303 Sabine Schmolinsky https://doi.org/10.1484/M.USML-EB.5.105619 Through case studies of a broad variety of medieval and early modern sources, this volume discusses whether the roots of modern notions of individuality can be found in pre-modern Europe. 0‘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. 0The 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