curriculum vitae:
| 1974 | born in Bremen |
| 1997-2002 | Studies of Musicology and History in Oldenburg |
| 2002-2008 | Studies of Ancient History, Byzantine Studies and Early Christian Archaeology in Münster |
| 2003-2007 | Student assistant at the Institute of Byzantine Studies |
| 2008 | Magister Artium (German Master); master’s thesis (in German): “And already the army of Theodosius is approaching – the intervention of the Eastern Roman Empire in the West in the 5th century” |
| since August 2009 | Research assistant at the Institute of Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies and doctoral student at the cluster of excellence “Religion and Politics” of WWU Münster |
Research interests:
- Late antiquity
- Late Byzantine era
- Development and history of Eastern Christianity
- History of Byzantine architecture
Function within the Cluster/membership in projects and groups:
- Research assistant of Project B11, Emperor and Patriarch in Byzantium – A Relationship Full of Tension (Prof. Dr. Michael Grünbart)
- Member of the study group Emic and etic perspectives on Religion and Politics
courses (in german):
- Winter semester 2009-2010: Emperors and patriarchs in Byzantium: Claims and realities
- Summer semester 2010: Urbs capta – Urbs perdita. The romania after the fourth crusade.
- Winter semester (projected) : Late Byzantine architecture
Ph.D. project:
After the participants of the Fourth Crusade had captured Constantinople in 1204, the Byzantine Empire, reconstituted by Theodoros Laskaris in Bithynian Nikaia, faced diverse problems. However, by quickly adapting to the given circumstances and by “downsizing” the administrative apparatus, the Nikaian rulers succeeded in governing their empire most effectively, thus keeping it robust, and – after the relative decline of the years before 1204 – also in renewing the moral authority of the empire. The investiture of an orthodox patriarch carried out in Nikaia in spring 1208 substantiated the claim to leadership of the Nikaian empire over the building of other Greek nations.
The dissertation project deals with the question whether the relationship between patriarch and emperor was deeply affected and/or redefined, at least in some areas, because of the newly emerged general conditions. Involved in this is the question for adjustments or reforms of the ceremonial, for instance as regards the crowning of the emperor or the context of public processions, including the analysis of performative aspects of the acts performed here. In addition, the “role” of the patriarch as regards the enforcement of the Nikaian emperor’s claims to power will be the object of research. It can be observed that the patriarchs of Nikaia played a key role in establishing acceptance (of rule), both inwardly toward the Byzantine aristocracy, the clergy and the population, and outwardly, particularly toward the despotate of Epiros and the empire of Trapezunt (the rulers of which also assumed imperial honours). It was also due to the presence of the ecumenical patriarch in their empire that the Nikaian emperors succeeded in establishing themselves as the only legitimate carriers of the Byzantine empire, as the patriarchs – being the head of orthodox Christendom – could also exert influence where the political power of the emperor had no sway. Therefore, the conditions will be investigated under which the “intellectual-moral” authority of the patriarch or the patriarchal office was politically utilised by the Nikaian emperors and “made available” by the patriarchs; how this was represented performatively; if and how the self-conception of the patriarch changed; and what impact this had on the relationship between “church and state”.
Contact
Lutz Rickelt M. A.Institute of Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies
Scharnhorststraße 110
D-48151 Münster
Germany
Tel.: +49 251 83-25114
l.rickelt@uni-muenster.de
Consultation hours : nach Vereinbarung
