Feudal system revisited: The Danish example as a regional specific feature or a European standard case in the Middle Ages?

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Oliver Auge
• Subject Area: Medieval History
• Term: since 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 459056567

In 1994, Susan Reynolds principally queried the ideal-typical model of the feudal system as it was created in the 19th and 20th century by publishing her monograph “Fiefs and Vassals” which shook the international as well as the German medieval studies. Regional analyses have qualified Reynolds’ theses to some extent by now and they have demonstrated that it is quite justified to speak of the existence of a medieval feudal system – with regional varieties and not just in a rigid and lawful form. Exemplary studies which have a regional perspective and strive for a redefinition of the feudal system are a desideratum. Based on the example of Denmark which has not been considered in this context before, the proposed three-year project foreseen for a scientific assistant from the category of “doctoral student and equivalent” (0,65 TV-L 13) wants to react to this. Denmark provides a good basis for a regional study with European validi-ty in many respects: In the past, the existence of a Danish feudal system was negated, but this point of view has recently been revised. It may be that the previous assessment resulted from the old definition of a feudal system which did not tolerate any deviations. The close connection between the Danish kings and the Holy Roman Empire, the dispute between Erich VII and the counts of Holstein over the question whether the duchy of Schleswig was a fief, the accordance by name due to the Danish and German term of fief and, last but not least, the appearance of several terms in Danish medieval sources which indicate a feudal system suggest that it is quite allowed to talk of a feudal system with regard to Denmark. The project wants to approach the question by a triad: First, there should be created a collection as significant as possible which includes Danish sources relating to the relevant feudal terms and contexts – in continuation of a corpus of sources prepared for this application. Second, this detailed list has to be the working basis for the analysis to figure out whether there was a causal relation of vassalage and fief in medieval Denmark, too. Third, the question concerning the general existence of the feudal sys-tem and a redefinition which also may fit pan-European varieties will be answered – starting with the Danish case. In conclusion, the aim is to make an in-depth reassessment of the previous research positions on the (non-)existence of the feudal system in Denmark, to extend the knowledge with regard to the current historical discourse on the Holy Roman Empire and other parts of Europe and, finally, to use the results for the general medieval research on the feudal system by giving an attempt of definition.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants