Vol. 92 (2021): Vorträge und Forschungen: Ständische Grenzüberschreitungen

Going beyond Adalbero of Laon’s early 11th century tripartite division
of medieval society, this volume examines transitions between social estates,
particularly the temporary and permanent transgressions of legally,
symbolically or performatively defined estate boundaries in the later
Middle Ages. Instead of the »classical« problem of burghers ascending into nobility, this book focuses on transitions in other directions, for instance members of the clergy entering into aristocracy, and upon examples of one estate’s symbols being appropriated by another. The chapters treat such phenomena systematically by inquiries into the reasons, timing and geography of the estate boundary transgressions. Contemporaneous selfconceptions and opposing perceptions of how social boundaries transitioned and were transgressed are central to this volume.