Fat Booty. A Social History of the Whale in Flanders, the Netherlands and Northern Germany (c. 1300-1600)

• Applicant: Dr. Marie Jaros
• Subject Area: Medieval History ; Early Modern History
• Term: since 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 525252809

Whales served as an object of projection for moralisations and mystifications or as huntable resources. Therefore, they have primarily been studied in these contexts by scholars in medieval and early modern studies. However, hardly any consideration has been given to the cultural and social effects of the unintended encounter between humans and whales in the case of strandings. These extraordinary and accidental events happened outside of the divine order, which is precisely why they made such an impression on contemporary witnesses. Torn from their element, the whales forced a reaction, be it by harvesting whale oil and meat, be it as a starting point for religious and political claims, as a trigger for conflicts, or simply as a disposal problem. This observation is the starting point of my habilitation thesis, which is to be significantly advanced within the time frame of the project. Its aim is to analyse practices of experiencing, interpreting and utilising stranded whales between c. 1300 and 1600. I will, therefore, problematise changing patterns of thought, needs for representation, political constellations and ways of communication. Changes and persistences of practices and knowledge will be traced across the traditional periodizations. The North Sea and Baltic Sea coasts of Flanders, Holland and the Holy Roman Empire were chosen as the study area because no commercial whaling took place there during the period in question. The base for my research is a database of whale stranding events, that I will successively expand through systematic evaluations of a heterogeneous spectrum of sources. The stranding density varied considerably along the above-mentioned coasts, a fact that significantly influenced the handling of whales and thus needs to be taken into account. In some places, for instance, routinely used patterns developed, whereas in other areas the washed-up whale remained a once-in-a-hundred-year event. It is a substantial concern of my study to bring together the disciplines (e.g. art history, legal history, social history, economic history, cultural history, history of knowledge and environmental history, zooarchaeology, marine biology) that have so far predominantly worked independently on the topic. Through my critical investigation of historical sources, I will fundamentally expand the current state of historical whale research. In addition to the work on the monograph, I will publish two papers and a blog article, all dealing with related topics. Furthermore, I plan to organise an international and interdisciplinary workshop. Within the framework of the project, I would like to further my academic qualifications in a significant way by establishing a new field of research, connecting to a new research location and thereby increasing my visibility. Due to the research interests and personality of the host, its international research community and excellent libraries, Berlin offers an ideal environment to pursue these goals.

• DFG Programme: WBP Position