Lecture series "Demons" at the Cluster of Excellence "Religion and Politics"
Organized by the Cluster of Excellence “Religion and Politics”, the six-part lecture series “Demons: Spirituality – Manifestation – Materiality” in the 2024/25 winter term used case studies from architecture, literature and history to explore how people from the Middle Ages to the present day have dealt with the idea in their respective cultural media that a latently threatening, neither human nor divine, “other” exists.
Speakers from literary studies, history and art history illuminated the subject of “demons” by discussing theories and concepts of the demonic and looking at the changing nature of demonic beings through history, for example in stories about relationships that humans enter into with devils, demons, fairies and witches, the dramaturgical staging of the demonic in the theatre, and in examples of late medieval architecture.
As historian Ulrike Ludwig explains, demons were considered intermediaries between gods and humans in ancient times. They represented the link between reality and the supernatural world. In the Middle Ages, demons then served as anchor points for thinking about the origin of evil and its status in the world. Ludwig says: “During this period, demons often have something to offer: fables and fairy tales repeatedly tell of people who make a pact with the devil to gain an advantage, and natural philosophers attributed to demons an almost complete knowledge of nature”. After the belief in demons declined with the emergence of modern science in the early modern period, there emerged more abstract notions of the demonic, as well as the idea of the demonic human. According to art historian Eva Krems, it is astonishing how present the demonic still is today, especially in visual media: “Demons may be elusive entities, but we can find pictorial manifestations of them time and again, be it in Romanesque building ornamentation or in popular culture”. The lectures explore the overarching question of how the respective representations of the demonic reflect historical ideas about the nature of the human being. Read more
Demons in context: Literature, religion, politics and law
The 12th century saw a new literary genre emerge that deals with relationships between humans and demons, and that still has an impact on contemporary pop culture. At the same time, the Third Lateran Council (1179) dogmatically confirmed the real existence of demons, while the ecclesiastical and secular ruling elite used military and legal means to combat new heresies that understood the devil and his demons as a power independent of God. The lecture examines the overarching interests of literature, religion, politics and law in dealing with demons and, taking a sideways glance at Jewish demon narratives, explores their potential to fascinate people across historical periods and cultures.
Speaker: Silvia Reuvekamp (Münster)
Lecture series "Demons. Spirituality – Manifestation – Materiality", Thursday, 22 October 2024, 6-8 pm
JO 1, Johannisstraße 4, 48143 MünsterCan architecture embody the demonic? Reflections on iconic architecture around/after 1500
Can architecture embody anything at all – and, if so, what and how? The lecture deals with nothing less than the question of meaning, applied to the media of late medieval architecture. It is certainly possible to use reflections on the meaning and forms of expression of the demonic in built spaces as embodiments of social spaces and apply them to other areas, such as film art.
Speaker: Stefan Bürger (Würzburg)
Lecture series "Demons. Spirituality – Manifestation – Materiality", Thursday, 5 November 2024, 6-8 pm
JO 1, Johannisstraße 4, 48143 MünsterThe animals of witches and wizards
The lecture deals with the controversial notion of humans transforming into animals in early modern witchcraft discourse, as well as that of the spiritus familiaris, , the demonic helper in animal form that accompanies witches and wizards. Adopting the perspective of literary studies, the lecture shows how literature reshaped theological and legal concepts in the historical documents.
Speaker: Tobias Bulang (Heidelberg)
Lecture series "Demons. Spirituality – Manifestation – Materiality", Thursday, 19 November 2024, 6-8 pm
JO 1, Johannisstraße 4, 48143 MünsterThe bodies of witches and demons: Corporality and the origins of the European witch-hunt
Witchcraft was a crime people heard about rather than saw. It was the confessions of witches that made real a reality that could not be seen. This lecture suggests that the bodily experience of witchcraft was much more important than historians have realized, and that changing ideas about the devil’s corporality significantly contributed to the witch-hunt’s origins.
Speaker: Jan Machielsen (Cardiff)
Lecture in English
Lecture series "Demons. Spirituality – Manifestation – Materiality", Thursday, 03 December 2024, 6-8 pm
JO 1, Johannisstraße 4, 48143 Münster‘Wunderbahre Secreta’ or ‘Neue Teufels Stücklein’ : Popularising and demonising everyday magic in the early modern period
Despite our fascination with witches, it is easy to forget that the early modern period saw people of all social strata and confessions use magic to counter everyday dangers. There were many ways to harness natural or sacred forces, and to use them for the purposes of healing, protection or entertainment. Theologians became increasingly convinced during the 16th century that such practices were at least ‘superstitious’, if not ‘demonic’. While many magical practices seemed to be completely legitimate, it could not be ruled out completely that the devil was somehow involved. However, this did little to curb the popularity and popularisation of magical practices. On the contrary, the 17th century saw an increase in publications that told their readers of magical remedies and recipes for use in all situations. The lecture thus addresses an area of early modern culture that is often overlooked, and examines the tension between popularising and demonising everyday magic.
Speaker: Nikolas Funke (Münster)
Lecture series "Demons. Spirituality – Manifestation – Materiality", Thursday, 17 December 2024, 6-8 pm
JO 1, Johannisstraße 4, 48143 Münster*Please note: the lecture by Rita Voltmer has been cancelled.
Demons of modernity
We might think that there are no more demons in secularized modernity. But, besides the invocation of demons in public discourse, e.g. when people invoke the “demons of the past”, there are a multitude of demonic appearances in modern and contemporary literature. Demons are clearly associated with forces that haunt people without the latter being able to grasp them concretely. The lecture traces their literary forms and functions.
Speaker: Martina Wagner-Egelhaaf (Münster)
Lecture series "Demons. Spirituality – Manifestation – Materiality", Thursday, 14 January 2025, 6-8 pm
JO 1, Johannisstraße 4, 48143 Münster