The Reception History of Rumelia in Austria and France (Late 17th- Early 20th Centuries) (RHR)

Description

The project has the aim to elaborate on three research questions regarding the presence and reception of Rumelia in Austria and France (Late 17th- Early 20th Centuries) by addressing its visual impact across the centuries. The Ottoman conquest of South-Eastern Europe during the 14th and 15th centuries led to a caesura in the history of the Balkan Peninsula and turned this region into a terra incognita from a Central and Western European point of view, which would only return to the pan-European perspective in Early Modern times.

Our three research questions include:
a) Our first research question is addressing the “sacred space” of Rumelia coming to the Habsburg capital of Vienna in the second half of the 17th century. This “sacred space” is embodied by Orthodox icons, which were pouring to Vienna in the wake of the Habsburg-Ottoman struggle in South-Eastern Europe.
b) Our second research question is concerned with the cartographic acquisition of data by French cartographers in Rumelia by order of King Louis XIV, which resulted in three crucial Recueils. Two of them still need in-depth research with regard to their thematic map content.
c) Our third research question shall explore the popular imaginary of Rumelia’s heirs as advertised in Austria and France through large scale events like world fairs and exhibitions, as well as mass visual culture (postcards, collectible prints, engravings, caricature). In the 19th and early 20th centuries both countries pioneered in Slavic and Byzantine Studies, sending scholars to and educating scholars from the Balkan Peninsula, whose works were instrumental in the emergence of strong, and often clashing, national narratives and identities in the Balkans.