Lucas Gahrmann MA
PhD candidate
E-mail: l.p.j.gahrmann@hum.leidenuniv.nl
Area(s) of interest: Historiography & Theory of History, Languages & Literature, Religious History & Theology
Cohort/Start PhD: 2024-2025
Cædmon, Cynewulf and the Continent: The Search for Anglo-Saxon Christianity in 19th-century Europe
Leiden University
Overarching project: Early Medieval English in Nineteenth-Century Europe: The Transnational Reception of Old English in the Age of Romantic Nationalism (EMERGENCE; led by dr. Thijs Porck, Leiden University)
Supervisor(s): prof. dr. H.J. Paul; dr. M.H. Porck (co-supervisor)
Aanstelling: 1-8-2024 – 31-7-2028
The literary and cultural world of Anglo-Saxon England has often been appropriated for contemporary concerns by scholars, ever since studying the Old English language and its texts first gained traction in the 16th century. The 19th century, a revolutionary age in many respects, is no exception to this rule. Yet, precisely which present concerns hovered above the heads of scholars working in Old English studies at this volatile time remains relatively underexplored. This is especially true when it comes to the religious motivations of 19th-century continental scholars. What pushed scholars from, for instance, Germany, the Low Countries and Scandinavia to direct their attention to Old English religious texts in particular? In what way did contemporary religious issues—within (Christian) theology and, more broadly, the scholarly community—steer their research?
In my project, I will look at the correspondence, lives and academic output of a selection of 19th-century continental and British philologists—including, among others, N.F.S. Grundtvig (1783-1872), Joseph Bosworth (1788-1876) and K.W. Bouterwek (1809-1869)—in order to discover in what manner, and to what extent, these scholars were influenced by religious motives in their dealings with Old English literature.