The World in Schwenckfeld's Day
A Symposium on Every Day Life in Sixteenth Century Germany
October 23, 2010
9:00 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.
Moderator: Dr. Peter C. Erb, Associate Director of Theology, Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center
Registration fee: $30.00, includes breakfast, snacks, and lunch
To Register, please contact Michelle Pritt, SLHC Administrative Assistant 215-679-3103 or email Michelle@schwenkfelder.com.
This program has been supported in part by the Pennsylvania Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities' We the People initiative on American history. The program is also supported in part by the Ladies Aid Society of Central Schwenkfelder Church.
8:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Arrival, Coffee and Breakfast snacks
Scheduled breaks: 10:45 a.m.; 2:45 p.m.
Lunch: 12:30 p.m.
- Religion and Society in Sixteenth Century Germany
- Dr. Emmet McLaughlin, Professor of Early Modern History, Villanova University
- 9:00 a.m. Welcome and Keynote Address
-
Dr. McLaughlin will speak on the role of religion in a society very different than our own. In addition to helping the audience understand Schwenckfeld’s sixteenth century context, he will provide insight into those parts of the current world in which religion continues to play a central role.
- Arguing in Public: How Printing Changed The World of Debate
- Rev. Luka Ilic, Doctoral Candidate, Lutheran Theological Seminary
- 10:00 a.m.; followed by a 15 minute break at 10:45 a.m.
-
Rev. Ilic will discuss the use of the very public, and relatively new, resource of the printing press as a way for holding public debates in which differing opinions or ideas are explored.
- Food and Sin in the Sixteenth Century
- Dr. Jill Furst, Consulting Scholar, University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
- 11:00 a.m.
-
Sixteenth century religious teachings identified almost all foods as occasions of sin, depending on the time they were eaten, with whom they were (or were not) eaten, where they were eaten, and the occupation of the consumer. According to early modern church law, it was almost impossible not to sin when eating, and even eyeing a pretzel with too much longing could win a starving man a seat in Hell. Sometimes a pretzel was not just a pretzel.
- Drinking and Tavern Sociability in Sixteenth Century Germany
- Dr. Ann Tlusty, Professor of History Bucknell University
- 11:45 a.m.; followed by lunch at 12:30 p.m.
-
The subject of drink received a great deal of attention in sixteenth century Germany. Preachers, physicians, authorities, artists, and travelers all addressed it from a range of different perspectives. At the same time, public houses served as multifunctional centers in towns and villages throughout the Empire, and drinking had important cultural uses as well. Sixteenth century attempts to sober up early modern drinkers were often at cross purposes with the demands of society, the needs of the government, and even the interests of religious leaders.
- Popular Reformation and Popular Rebellion: The German's Peasants' War
- Dr. Michael Baylor, Professor of History, Lehigh University
- 1:15 p.m.
-
Dr. Baylor's presentation will explore Europe's greatest popular insurrection prior to the French Revolution and its links with the Reformation. He will examine the rebellion's causation, ideology, organization, strategies, and goals, as well as its outcome and long-range political impact.
- Music Both Common and Noble in the Sixteenth Century
- Dr. Hilde Binford, Associate Professor of Music, Moravian College
- 2:00 p.m.; followed by a 15 minute break beginning at 2:45 p.m.
-
Dr. Binford will explore the role of music in the sixteenth century as experienced by the various social strata.
- From Altarpiece to Woodcut: Visual Culture in Reformation Germany by Dr. Lisa Norris has been replaced by:
- The Art & Craft of German Renaissance Bookbinding
- Dr. Tom Kinsella, Professor of Literature at The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey
- 3:00 p.m.
-
Alongside printing, bookbinding flourished throughout Europe during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Painstakingly copied manuscripts and carefully printed texts were given sturdy but also artistic covers, and distinctive styles developed within areas of cultural influence. This session describes the typical binding styles created by German craftsmen during this period, paying special attention to their artistry and iconography.
- Presenter's Discussion
- Moderated by Dr. Peter C. Erb
- 3:45 p.m.
-