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09.–10.04.2026 | CfP | Workshop “Joining the Dots. Actors, networks and the social fabric of courts and towns during the Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period”


One of the SFB’s Managing Maximilian key research outcomes will be the open-access prosopographical database APIS. This will include not only individuals who were involved with the court or the wider circle of the Emperor, but also their family members, offices, places of residence, works, etc. The input consists of so-called “factoids”: short biographical data obtained either from secondary literature, edited sources, or directly from historical originals.

At the end of an initial four-year phase of work (early 2027), a vivid and complex picture of Maximilian I, his government, his court, and above all the people surrounding him – his family, courtiers, the members of the ladies’ chamber, and the various officials and servants of both sexes – will be available. Subsequently, for instance Mark Grannoveter’s theory of “weak ties” in the “Maximilian network” will be discussed to determine which individuals can be interpreted as decisive “hubs.” According to his widely acclaimed thesis, weak ties – acquaintances that are not strengthened by many mutual friends – are particularly important for the flow of information within a social network.

In our workshop, we would like to offer primarily younger historians (graduates, doctoral candidates and postdoctoral researchers) a platform to present their research on prosopographical studies – especially in the context of a town, region, and princely or royal court in (Eastern) Central Europe between 1300 and 1600 – and to exchange their experiences with the sources, methods, and digital tools they have used. The focus should lie on questions concerning the collection of prosopographic data, its handling and further processing, and the applicability of concepts from social network analysis to prosopographic research in a pre-modern context.

When: 9–10 April, 2026
Where: Austrian Academy of Sciences Vienna, Alte PSK, Georg Coch Platz 2
Mode: Online via Zoom or in-person
Language: German and English

If you are interested to join our workshop, please send your German or English abstract with a presentation title (max. 300 words) and a short CV (max. 1 page) with the subject “Joining the Dots” to Andrea Singh Bottanova (andrea.singh@oeaw.ac.at) or Ronald Kurt Salzer (ronald.salzer@oeaw.ac.at) by 10 January, 2026. Travel and accommodation expenses may be reimbursed to a certain extent.

See the complete text of the Call for Papers in German and English.

Header image credits: “Secreterey“ in the “Weißkunig”, written by Hans Burgkmair the Elder, Marx Treitzsaurwein of Ehrentreitz and Emperor Maximilian I. (Vienna, Albertina, Inv. Nr.: DG2012/129/24). Source:  https://sammlungenonline.albertina.at/objects/333510/weikunig-die-geschicklichkeit-des-jungen-weien-konigs-im.


OpenEdition suggests that you cite this post as follows:
Herbert Krammer (December 10, 2025). 09.–10.04.2026 | CfP | Workshop “Joining the Dots. Actors, networks and the social fabric of courts and towns during the Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period” Managing Maximilian (1493-1519) - A blog on Persona, Politics, and Personnel through the Lens of Digital Prosopography at the time of Maximilian of Habsburg. Retrieved February 15, 2026 from https://doi.org/10.58079/15bjf


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