Chantry chapels by burghers in Kutná Hora in pre-Hussite period Vojtěch Vaněk This study is based on the social-historical understanding of the role of chantries and of liturgical memory in medieval society, as discussed especially by Otto G. Oexle and Michael Borgolte. Chantries as permanent pious gifts connected the world of the living with the world of the dead, kept the presence of the dead among the living and, simultaneously, contributed to the salvation of their souls through mutual solidarity between the living and the dead. This study also evaluates the insights of the new cultural history, which understands the endowments as symbolic capital in a given society, capital which enabled display of social status and legitimized power through ostentatious demonstration of devotion. Under the House of Luxembourg, Kutná Hora was one of the most populous towns in Bohemia and Moravia as well as one of the biggest centers of mining and processing of silver ore in Europe. 1280's saw the origins of mining there, the first decade of the 14th century saw the city's founding. Kutná Hora was the residence of the central mint in the Czech kingdom and of the royal offices related to the mint and mining. It also attracted burgher elite, who participated in the mining entrepreneurship and traded with precious metals....

It is not the purpose of this dissertation to present a history of Purgatory; rather, it is to show through the history the influence of purgatorial doctrine on the English lay community and the need of that community for this doctrine. Having established the importance this doctrine held for so many in England, with an examination of the chantry institution in England, this study then examines how this doctrine was stripped away from the laity by political and religious reformers during the sixteenth century. Purgatorial belief was adversely affected when chantries were closed in execution of the chantry acts under Henry VIII and Edward VI. These chantries were vital to the laity and not moribund institutions. Purgatorial doctrine greatly influenced the development and concept of the medieval English community. Always seen to be tightly knit, this community had a transgenerational quality, a spiritual and congregational quality, and a quality extending beyond the grave. The Catholic Church was central to this definition of community, distributing apotropaic powers, enhancing the congregational aspects, and brokering the relationship with the dead. The elements of the Roman liturgy were essential to community cohesiveness, as were the material and ritual supports for this liturgy. The need of the community for purgatorial doctrine shaped and popularized this doctrine Next, an analysis of surviving and resurging elements of expiatory rites is explored; ritual, especially that surrounding death, as well as the relationship with the dead, were sorely missed when stripped away through political actions linked to Protestant belief. This deficiency of ritual aspects within the emerging Protestant religion became evident in further years as some of the same customs and rituals that were considered anathema by Protestants slowly crept back into the Protestant liturgy in an attempt to restore the relationship between the living and the dead. Strong evidence of this is provided through sixteenth to nineteenth century death eulogies, surviving rites of expiation, as well as lay essays and popular literature discussing the phenomenon called the Sin-Eater.

Die Dissertation widmet sich der Frage, was Menschen motiviert, in evangelischen Kirchenchören mitzuwirken, wobei sich die Forschung auf die Sängerinnen und Sänger des Kirchenchorwerkes der Ev.-Luth. Landeskirche Sachsens fokussiert. Als erster Schritt wird anhand relevanter vorliegender Kenntnisse u. a. der Motivations-, Sozial-, Musik- und Religionspsychologie, der Soziologie und Musikpräferenzforschung ein wissenschaftliches Verständnis der Motivation für die Mitwirkung in Kirchenchören entwickelt, dieses mit dem theoretischen Wissen der Praxis von Kirchenchören in Beziehung gesetzt und ein Kategoriensystem potentieller Anreize bzw. Motive der Kirchenchorpraxis erarbeitet. Anschließend erfolgt die Überprüfung und Erweiterung der gewonnenen Erkenntnisse anhand zweier aufeinander aufbauender empirischer Studien: Einer qualitativen exploratorischen Studie anhand von Leitfadeninterviews, aus deren Ergebnissen sechs Hypothesen zur sozialen, musikalischen und religiösen Motivation, zur Erlebnisqualität in der Chorpraxis, zu Zweckzentrierung und Routineaspekten der Chormitwirkung und zur musikalischen bzw. religiösen Sozialisation der Sänger abgeleitet wurden sowie einer quantitative Studie in Form einer Online-Befragung. Die Stichprobengröße hierfür beträgt 544. Die Ergebnisse der Studien bestätigen im Wesentlichen die Aussagen der Hypothesen, die eine große Bedeutung von musikalischen und sozialen Anreizen der Kirchenchorpraxis, Differenzen der religiösen Motivation bei Mitgliedern für alle offener Chöre im Vergleich zu spezialisierten Chören, das überragende Potential für Flow-Erleben bei der Mitwirkung in Konzerten im Vergleich zu Proben, geselligen Veranstaltungen und Gottesdiensten sowie eine bereits in der Kindheit bzw. Jugend erfolgte religiöse und/ oder überdurchschnittlich musikalische Sozialisation der Chormitglieder postulieren. Als Fazit werden Anregungen für die praktische Kirchenchorarbeit abgeleitet und die Ergebnisse aus theologisch-liturgischer Perspektive reflektiert.