Heinz Schilling
Encyclopedia
Heinz Schilling is a German historian.
in Berg
and grew up in Cologne
. After studying history, German, philosophy and sociology at the University of Cologne
and completing a state teaching certification, Schilling moved on to take a doctorate in 1971 at the University of Freiburg
with a study of social and religious history of Dutch exiles, working with Gottfried Schramm. From 1971 to 1979 Schilling worked as an assistant and lecturer at the department of medieval history and then in early modern history at the newly founded Faculty of History at the University of Bielefeld. He completed his Habilitation
there in 1977/78 with a case study of territorial societal history and "Confessionalization
" (committee members Wolfgang Mager, Reinhart Koselleck
and Bernd Moeller
). From 1979 to 1982 he was professor of early modern history at the University of Osnabrück
and from 1982 to 1992 professor at the University of Giessen
. In 1992 he was appointed to the newly established chair of early modern European history as part of the foundation of the Institute of Historical Studies (Instituts für Geschichtswissenschaften) at the Humboldt University of Berlin
, which he held until his retirement at the end of the 2010 summer semester.
Collected essays
Life
Heinz Schilling was born in BergneustadtBergneustadt
Bergneustadt is a municipality in the eastern part of the Oberbergischer Kreis , in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located 50 km east of Cologne. It is part of the Berg region.-First naming:...
in Berg
Berg
Berg is the word for mountain in various Germanic languages, and may also refer to:-People:* Alban Berg , Austrian composer of the Second Viennese School.* Paul Berg Berg is the word for mountain in various Germanic languages, and may also refer to:-People:* Alban Berg (1885-1935), Austrian...
and grew up in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
. After studying history, German, philosophy and sociology at the University of Cologne
University of Cologne
The University of Cologne is one of the oldest universities in Europe and, with over 44,000 students, one of the largest universities in Germany. The university is part of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, an association of Germany's leading research universities...
and completing a state teaching certification, Schilling moved on to take a doctorate in 1971 at the University of Freiburg
University of Freiburg
The University of Freiburg , sometimes referred to in English as the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.The university was founded in 1457 by the Habsburg dynasty as the...
with a study of social and religious history of Dutch exiles, working with Gottfried Schramm. From 1971 to 1979 Schilling worked as an assistant and lecturer at the department of medieval history and then in early modern history at the newly founded Faculty of History at the University of Bielefeld. He completed his Habilitation
Habilitation
Habilitation is the highest academic qualification a scholar can achieve by his or her own pursuit in several European and Asian countries. Earned after obtaining a research doctorate, such as a PhD, habilitation requires the candidate to write a professorial thesis based on independent...
there in 1977/78 with a case study of territorial societal history and "Confessionalization
Confessionalization
Confessionalization is a recent concept employed by Reformation historians to describe the parallel processes of "confession-building" taking place in Europe between the Peace of Augsburg and the Thirty Years' War...
" (committee members Wolfgang Mager, Reinhart Koselleck
Reinhart Koselleck
Reinhart Koselleck was a German historian, considered as one of the most important historians of the twentieth century...
and Bernd Moeller
Bernd Moeller
Bernd Moeller is a German Protestant theologian and church historian.Bernd Moeller studied Protestant theology as well as history. In 1956 he received his doctorate from the Protestant theological department of the University of Mainz with the dissertation Die Anfechtung bei Johann Tauler...
). From 1979 to 1982 he was professor of early modern history at the University of Osnabrück
University of Osnabrück
The University of Osnabrück is a public university located in the city of Osnabrück in Lower Saxony, Germany.In 2010 it was attended by 9,298 students. In 2009, the staff of 1,570 consisted of 214 professors, 662 additional academic personnel and 694 non-academic personnel...
and from 1982 to 1992 professor at the University of Giessen
University of Giessen
The University of Giessen is officially called the Justus Liebig University Giessen after its most famous faculty member, Justus von Liebig, the founder of modern agricultural chemistry and inventor of artificial fertiliser.-History:The University of Gießen is among the oldest institutions of...
. In 1992 he was appointed to the newly established chair of early modern European history as part of the foundation of the Institute of Historical Studies (Instituts für Geschichtswissenschaften) at the Humboldt University of Berlin
Humboldt University of Berlin
The Humboldt University of Berlin is Berlin's oldest university, founded in 1810 as the University of Berlin by the liberal Prussian educational reformer and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt, whose university model has strongly influenced other European and Western universities...
, which he held until his retirement at the end of the 2010 summer semester.
Research interests
- the comparative history of Europe in the early modern period
- the international system
- the political and cultural origins of national identity in Europe
- the history of the Holy Roman EmpireHoly Roman EmpireThe Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
and its constituent territories - immigration and minorities in old Europe (Germany, England, the Netherlands)
- cities and bourgeois life in the early modern period and the transition to the modern world
- the history of political theory
- the ReformationProtestant ReformationThe Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
and European ConfessionalizationConfessionalizationConfessionalization is a recent concept employed by Reformation historians to describe the parallel processes of "confession-building" taking place in Europe between the Peace of Augsburg and the Thirty Years' War... - the social and cultural history of CalvinismCalvinismCalvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
from the 16th to the 19th centuries - the early modern modernization of Germany and the Netherlands
- historical exhibits in museums
Memberships and honors (selected)
- since 1996 member of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences
- 1998/99 chair of the scholarly committee for the European exhibition "1648 – Krieg und Frieden in Europa“, Münster/Osnabrück
- since 2001 chair of the Vereins für Reformationsgeschichte (Society for Reformation Research -- German branch)
- Dr.-A.H.-Heineken-Preis for History of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences 2002
- 2003/04 fellow of the Netherlands Institute for Advanced StudyNetherlands Institute for Advanced StudyThe Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences in Wassenaar, the Netherlands, is an independent research institute in the field of the humanities and social and behavioural sciences founded in 1970...
(NIAS) - 2004/05 fellow of the Historisches Kolleg, Munich
- since 2004 corresponding member of the British AcademyBritish AcademyThe British Academy is the United Kingdom's national body for the humanities and the social sciences. Its purpose is to inspire, recognise and support excellence in the humanities and social sciences, throughout the UK and internationally, and to champion their role and value.It receives an annual...
- since 2005 member of the Academia EuropaeaAcademia EuropaeaAcademia Europæa is a European non-governmental scientific academy founded in 1988. Its members are scientists and scholars who collectively aim to promote learning, education and research. It publishes European Review through Cambridge Journals....
- 2006 12th Stern Lecture Series of the Historical Society of Israel, May 9-16, 2006, Jerusalem
- 2009 honorary doctorate (Dr. theol. honoris causa) from the Theology Faculty of the University of Göttingen
Selected works
Books- Niederländische Exulanten im 16. Jahrhundert. Ihre Stellung im Sozialgefüge und im religiösen Leben deutscher und englischer Städte, Gütersloh, 1972
- Konfessionskonflikt und Staatsbildung. Eine Fallstudie über das Verhältnis von religiösem und sozialem Wandel in der Frühneuzeit am Beispiel der Grafschaft Lippe, Gütersloh: G. Mohn, 1981, = Quellen und Forschungen zur Reformationsgeschichte, hg. im Auftrag des Vereins für Reformationsgeschichte von G.A. Benrath, Bd. 48
- Mitten in Europa - Deutsche Geschichte (with H. Boockmann, H. Schulze, M. Stürmer), Berlin, 1984; reprinted.
- Bürgerliche Eliten in den Niederlanden und in Nordwestdeutschland. Studien zur Sozialgeschichte des europäischen Bürgertums im Mittelalter und in der Neuzeit, Cologne/Vienna: Böhlau, 1985, = Städteforschung, Reihe A, Bd. 23 ed. with H. Diederiks)
- Aufbruch und Krise. Deutsche Geschichte von 1517 bis 1648, Berlin: Siedler, 1988
- Höfe und Allianzen. Deutsche Geschichte von 1648 bis 1763, Berlin: Siedler, 1989
- Religion, Political Culture and the Emergence of Early Modern Society. Leiden: Brill 1992
- Die neue Zeit: Vom Christenheitseuropa zum Europa der Staaten, 1250 bis 1750, Siedler, 1999
- "1648 - Krieg und Frieden in Europa“, Europaratsausstellung zum 350. Jahrestag des Westfälischen Friedens, 3 vols., ed. with K. Bußmann, Munich, 1998
- Die neue Zeit. Vom Christenheitseuropa zum Europa der Staaten. 1250 bis 1750 (= Siedler Geschichte Europas, vol. 3). Berlin, 1999
- "La confessionalisation et le système international", in: Lucien Bély (Hg.): „L’Europe des traités de Westphalie. Esprit de la diplomatie et diplomatie de l’esprit“, Paris (Presses Universitaires de France) 2000, pp. 411-428
- Ausgewählte Abhandlungen zur europäischen Reformations- und Konfessionsgeschichte, Berlin: Duncker und Humblot, 2002
- Europa in der werdenden Neuzeit – oder: Was heißt und zu welchem Ende studiert man europäische Geschichte?, in: Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. Heineken Lectures 2002, Amsterdam 2003, pp. 62-81
- Das Reich als Verteidigungs- und Friedensorganisation, in: Altes Reich und Neue Staaten, 1495-1806. 29. Ausstellung des Europarates in Berlin und Magdeburg im Deutschen Historischen Museum, Berlin, 28. August bis 10. Dezember 2006, Band 2, Dresden (ISBN 3-937602-67-4)
- Konfessioneller Fundamentalismus. Religion als politischer Faktor im europäischen Mächtesystem um 1600 (= Schriften des Historischen Kollegs, Bd. 70), ed. Heinz Schilling with the assistance of Elisabeth Müller-Luckner, Munich, 2007
- Konfessionalisierung und Staatsinteressen. Internationale Beziehungen 1559 - 1660, Handbuch der Geschichte der internationalen Beziehungen (Band 2), Paderborn, 2007 (ISBN 978-3-506-73722-9 oder ISBN 3-506-73722-8)
- Early modern European Civilisation and its political and cultural dynamics, The Menahem Stern Jerusalem Lectures 2006. Hannover und London, 2008
- Konfesjonalizacja – Kosciól i panstwo w Europie doby przednowoczesnej, Poznan, 2010
Collected essays
- Civic Calvinism in Northwestern Germany and the Netherlands, Sixteenth to Nineteenth Centuries, Kirksville/Mo (SCJ Publishers)1991, = Sixteenth Century Essays and Studies, Bd. 17
- Religion, Political Culture, and the Emergence of Early Modern Society, Essays in German and Dutch History, Leiden (E. J. Brill) 1992
- Die Stadt in der Frühen Neuzeit, München 1993, = Enzyklopädie Deutscher Geschichte, Bd. 24., 2. Auflage München 2004
- Ausgewählte Abhandlungen zur europäischen Reformations- und Konfessionsgeschichte, hg. v. Luise Schorn-Schütte und Olaf Mörke, = Historische Forschungen, Bd. 75, Berlin (Duncker &Humblot,) 2002
Further reading
- Stefan Ehrenpreis, ed. Wege der Neuzeit. Festschrift für Heinz Schilling zum 65. Geburtstag. Historische Forschungen, Band 85. Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2007, 656 S., ISBN 978-3-428-12394-0