Historical Studies on the Middle Ages in Germany:
Tradition, Current Trends, and Perspectives

Hans-Werner Goetz, University of Hamburg

It is self-evident that giving a survey of current trends and perspectives of German historical studies on the Middle Ages in a short article can only be done in a fairly rough, schematic, and exemplary manner. The choice of mentioning or neglecting recent research is admittedly subjective, and to prove my point I shall concentrate, though not exclusively, on research on the Early and High Middle Ages, for the simple reason that I am much better acquainted with this period than with the Late Middle Ages. Since every historian is well aware that nothing in the world is so new that it lacks some historical roots, one cannot talk about recent approaches in medieval studies without a retrospective look at their historical background. So I shall begin with a brief account of the German tradition and development of historiography on the Middle Ages before assessing its current "state" and exemplarily discussing some recent research fields and approaches, and I shall conclude with some remarks on the internal and external conditions of studying medieval history in German universities today.