Articles by Rachel Ernst
I quaderni del m.æ.s. - Journal of Mediæ Ætatis Sodalicium, 2024
In the unstable and politically charged atmosphere in the Holy Roman Empire during the twelfth ce... more In the unstable and politically charged atmosphere in the Holy Roman Empire during the twelfth century, there were multiple systemic changes that derived from secular and clerical institutions, which targeted the scope of authority and daily behavior of individuals who had taken monastic vows. This article questions the narrative that these systemic changes were boundaries that females were made to capitulate to overcome or subvert. By using Elisabeth and Eckbert of Schönau's involvement in verifying the sanctity of the remains of male individuals discovered amongst St. Ursula's entourage of 11,000 virgin martyrs in Cologne as a case study, I examine how these changes provided religious, male and female, with new opportunities to create opportunities to cultivate and voice their individual interests. In doing so, I hope to demonstrate how targeted case studies of individuals who are navigating the prescribed borders of their sociopolitical context can captivate the attention of nascent historians and inspire seasoned scholars.
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Living on the Edge, 2022
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The Reading Medievalist, 2014
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Conference Presentations by Rachel Ernst
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Call for Papers by Rachel Ernst
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The aim of our panel is to reconsider heresy in light of a broader understanding of the concept o... more The aim of our panel is to reconsider heresy in light of a broader understanding of the concept of religious dissent (as it was discussed by R. I. Moore more than four decades ago) and to examine religious diversity and the diversity of discourses (be it invective, scholastic, or satirical in nature) which emerged within the long twelfth century, targeting various audiences and serving different purposes. Thus, more often than not, the aims of various reforming groups (e.g. Valdensians, Mendicants) aimed to re-negotiate the boundaries of ‘orthodoxy’ from within, although in some cases their actions ended with their total exclusion. This process of entangled discourses can be analyzed in the polemical literature of the time. For example, Hildegard of Bingen and Geoffrey of Auxerre combine anti-heretical with anticlerical topoi in their heavy polemical discourses, although not in a radical sense, such as denying the essentiality of the clerical institution. Are these monastic figures just isolated voices within the monastic landscape, or do they tend to reflect contemporary discursive trends, and to what degree?
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Articles by Rachel Ernst
Conference Presentations by Rachel Ernst
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