„Wir Ludwig von Gottes Gnaden“. A Comparison of the German-language charters of Ludwig the Bavarian

An exhibition by the Staartsarchiv Augsburg (Augsburg State Archive), conceived by students of History and German Studies at the University of Augsburg under the direction of Archive Director Dr. Thomas Engelke and Professors Klaus Wolf and Thomas Krüger.

During the reign of the Roman King and Emperor Ludwig IV, called "the Bavarian" (born 1282/86, ruled 1314-1347, emperor from 1328), a considerable increase in the importance of the German language, which had previously only been used in isolated cases, can be observed in the royal chancery. If we look at the proportion of German-language royal charters among the total number of charters issued by Ludwig, this amounts to 55% (in the case examined here for Swabian recipients, preserved in the Staatsarchiv Augsburg).

After Ludwig’s reign, the relationship between German-language and Latin documents did not change. On the contrary: the Latin royal charter became an exception. It can rightly be assumed that German became established as the language of charters and the chancery during Ludwig’s era. This is reason enough to appreciate that process and to take a closer look at Ludwig’s German-language charters.

The subject of the exhibition are selected examples of Ludwig’s German-language charters from the Staatsarchiv Augsburg’s holdings, subdivided according to groups of recipients, themes and occasions for the charters’ issue. In addition, there are two outstanding exhibits from the holdings of the Bayerisches Hauptstaatsarchiv (Bavarian Main State Archives) and the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek (Bavarian State Library) in Munich: a magnificent charter of Ludwig IV and the "Oberbayerische Landrecht" (Upper Bavarian Land Law). The documents from the Ludwig the Bavarian’s chancery are framed by brief glimpses of the development of royal diplomas before and after Ludwig IV, as well as early examples of the use of the German language in non-royal charters.

The exhibition, which thus draws mainly on the rich holdings of the Staatsarchiv Augsburg, also demonstrates the fruitful cooperation between this institution and the University of Augsburg and is a result of the interdisciplinary teaching concept practised here.

About the exhibition

Bibliography

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