Making penance work. Structure, function and dependencies of Early Medieval redemptions within the tradition of Excarpsus Cummeani and the Paenitentialia Ps.-Bedae-Egberti.

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Ludger Körntgen
• Subject Area: Medieval History
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 536776211

The project aims to deliver the first in-depth comparative and analytical study of the penitential redemptions connected to the traditions of the Excarpsus Cummeani and the Paenitentialia Ps.-Bedae-Egberti (8th/9th century), in which their structure, function and literary form will be examined. Redemptions are defined as the conversion of lengthy penances - mostly fasting - into shorter, but more intense acts, such as monetary payments or singing a number of psalms. Penance as prescribed by the penitentials could thereby be made feasible. Despite of this, the traditions of redemptions have, until now, not been included in the continuing discussion regarding the early medieval penitentials’ practical relevance. A detailed study of the redemptions included in those two central penitential traditions will therefore expand and add nuance to the discussion by introducing a previously disregarded factor, and by examining the redemptions not only for their general function, but also for their applicability for different social groups. But an analysis of said traditions does not only pose an urgent research desideratum in this sense: The Paenitentiale Excarpsus Cummeani and the Paenitentiale Ps.-Bedae-Egberti are two of the most influential traditions of the early medieval penitentials, having been widely disseminated over various regions of the Carolingian Kingdom, and having retained enough significance to influence the "Decretum" of bishop Burchard of Worms (1000-1025). Previous studies regarding those penitentials have only marginally considered their redemptions. This project, for the first time, intends to use an in-depth analysis of those texts to contribute to a more nuanced assessment of the complete pentitentials’ traditions. Until now, there is a complete lack of clarity regarding both traditions’ parallelism of contents in their redemptions. To make a precise comparison possible the project will use a differentiated method, which will go beyond literary parallelism or dependence, to also identify and evaluate congruities of content.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants