Lecture Ludwig Pelzl

Abstract:

Formal retirement was rare in the early modern period (c. 1500-1800), but it did exist. Europe was dotted by foundations and hospitals in which ageing individuals could purchase so called corrodies, ie the right of bed and board, enjoying material security until the last of their days. There is, however, a side to this story beyond the material. Retiring to one of such institutions, despite all of its benefits, removed individuals from their life-long environment and thus inhibited ties to corporate groups which were so influential in constituting social status and rank in the early modern era. Retirement meant a profound life-cyclic change for the old that entailed a partial redefinition of their position in society. My piece tries to trace this act of social mobility through the images which were made of the elderly and which they made of themselves, asking how they and the urban public understood or were supposed to understand their retirement. Drawing on an exceptional series of images, a case study on two small retirement homes in the South German city of Nuremberg in the 17th and 18th century will make the empirical part of the argument, but also invite to a wider theoretical engagment with issues of early modern retirement, life cycle and social mobility.

Bio:

Ludwig Pelzl is a doctoral researcher in early modern European history at the European University Institute, Florence. He has earned his Master's Degree in Economic History at Lund University in 2018 and currently works on the social history of early modern retirement arrangements. The talk will be based on one chapter of his prospective thesis.

IISH Seminar: This lecture is part of the monthly IISH Seminar series. In principle, seminars take place every first Tuesday of the month. This seminar is open to the public online only. For the Zoom link and paper please contact  jacqueline.rutte@bb.huc.knaw.nl.