Florian Kühnel, M. A.

History Department

Curriculum vitae:

Ph.D. project:

Suicide in Early Modern Nobility

My thesis consists of an analysis of suicide from a historical-anthropological point of view. This means that suicide is examined in a specific historical context (here: the early modern nobility of the Holy Roman Empire) comprising collective patterns of perception, cultural practice, as well as meaning assigned to the body. In order to symbolically cope with suicidal acts, every society develops its own collective beliefs. The study of these beliefs permits the historian to gain an understanding of the fundamental characteristics of that society. Therefore I examine whether or not a particular aristocratic habitus is expressed in suicides of early modern noblemen. My main argument is that the answer to this question will be very useful in providing an insight into early modern social relations. In order to deal with this problem, a multi-perspective approach is necessary. On the one hand I will focus on the level of discourse, i.e. collective beliefs concerning “aristocratic suicide” as manifested in literature and other forms of contemporary publications. On the other hand, I will turn my attention to cultural practice by analysing specific cases of suicide in early modern nobility: How did noblemen commit suicide? What kind of reactions did these suicides provoke? What rites existed to dispose of the dead body, what laws regulated this situation? Finally: In which way was the suicide of a nobleman communicated, how was it judged by the society?

Research on English nobility suggests that in the early modern period, suicide was reassessed as a medium through which it was possible for a nobleman to retrieve his honour. Suicide therefore became an instrument of distinction: Faced with their own decreasing political significance, the nobility attempted to defend its prominent position by reinterpreting fundamental religious norms. In this process, suicide was idealised within the scope of a heroic ethos derived from antiquity. In order to achieve honour, suicidal acts had to be committed in full consciousness, in stoical calmness and using a weapon. Even though this research on the English nobility is certainly noteworthy, it does not seem to be able to decode the complexity of historical reality. In fact, first findings indicate a much more ambivalent picture with regard to the perception of “Suicide in Early Modern Nobility”. Therefore, I will aim at a broader perspective which will provide a better understanding of the aristocratic self-image.

Research interests:

• Historical Anthropology
• History of Suicide
• Early Modern Nobility
• History of Violence und Body History

Function within the Cluster/Membership in Projects and Groups:

• Member of the study group Comparison and Transfer

Publications:

Articles:

• together with Alexander Kästner: Am Leben scheitern. ‚Selbstmörder’ als Verlierer und Verlorene der frühneuzeitlichen Gesellschaft?, in: Nebelin, Marian / Graul, Sabine (eds.): Verlierer der Geschichte. Von der Antike bis zur Moderne, Berlin 2008, pp. 229-258 (Chemnitzer Beiträge zur Politik und Geschichte 4).
• Selbsttötung in der ‚Öffentlichkeit’. Das Programm des sächsischen Kurfürsten gegen den Grafen Karl Heinrich von Hoym, in: Neues Archiv für sächsische Geschichte 80, 2009, pp. 179-204.
• Die Ehre der Unehrlichen. Rituelle Verunreinigung und Ehrverlust in der Frühen Neuzeit, in: Burschel, Peter / Marx, Christoph (eds.): Reinheit, Köln / Weimar / Wien 2011, pp. 271-301 (Veröffentlichungen des Instituts für Historische Anthropologie e.V. 12).

Reviews / Conference proceedings:

• [Review] Pfannkuchen, Karsten: Selbstmord und Sanktionen. Eine rechtshistorische Betrachtung unter besonderer Berücksichtigung ostpreußischer Bestimmungen, Berlin 2008, in: Zeitschrift für Historische Forschung 36, 2009, pp. 375f.
• [Review] Lidman, Satu: Zum Spektakel und Abscheu. Schand- und Ehrenstrafen als Mittel öffentlicher Disziplinierung in München um 1600, Frankfurt a.M. 2008 (Strafrecht und Rechtsphilosophie in Geschichte und Gegenwart 4), in: Historische Zeitschrift 290, 2010, pp. 790f.
• [Review] Schmidt, Jeremy: Melancholy and the Care of the Soul. Religion, Moral Philosophy and Madness in Early Modern England, Aldershot / Burlington 2007, in: Gesnerus 67, 2010, pp. 148f.
• [Review] Auler, Jost (ed.): Richtstättenarchäologie, 2 vol., Dormagen 2008 & 2010, to be published in: Zeitschrift für Historische Forschung.
• [Review] Speitkamp, Winfried: Ohrfeige, Duell und Ehrenmord. Eine Geschichte der Ehre, Stuttgart 2010, in H-Soz-Kult, 23.5.2011.
• [Conference proceedings] Reinheit – religiöse, soziale und politische Aspekte, Mühlheim a. d. Ruhr, 11.9.-13.9.2008, in H-Soz-Kult, 4.10.2008.
• [Conference proceedings] Militär und materielle Kultur in der Frühen Neuzeit, Frankfurt a. Main, 22.11.2008, in H-Soz-Kult, 13.1.2009.
• [Conference proceedings] Audienzen transkulturell. Ritualisierte Kommunikation und inszenierte Begegnung in der Frühen Neuzeit, Vechta, 4./5.3.2011, in H-Soz-Kult, 4.5.2011.

Courses:

• Winter semester 2009-2010 together with Kristina Thies: Seminar: Rituale in der Frühen Neuzeit – Theorien und ihre praktische Umsetzung
• 2003-2006 Tutor for the seminars „Introduction to Historical Anthropology“ / Master Colloquium „Historical Anthropology“

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