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Throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, cities were constantly threatened by fires. The prevalence of timber-framed houses and the absence of organised fire brigades meant that major fires were bound to occur from time to time. In this seminar, we shall conduct a case study of the most famous early modern conflagration, the Great Fire of London (1666). Within four days and nights, it destroyed most of the City of London. The re-building process brought about thorough changes in London’s architecture; it deeply affected all aspects of life in the metropolis.
Seventeenth-century commentators were not only interested in the physical causes of the disaster but also in what they regarded as the meaning of this event. Depending on their political and religious background, they drew on a wide range of ideas and imagery in their attempts to make sense of the fire. As people came up with a wide range of explanations, there soon was a lively debate. Who was to blame for the Great Fire? Suspects included Londoners themselves, the French, a wide range of natural phenomena, God, the Dutch, the Devil and the pope.
A number of texts written during or shortly after the fire will be discussed. These include diaries, texts of a predominantly religious nature and poetry. Some pictorial sources will also be considered. A reader will be made available at the usual shop (Reckhammerweg 4) from early March. If you want to do this seminar, you should have bought the reader and prepared at least the first 50 pages before the first week of the new semester – so think, annotate, look things up if necessary and, above all, enjoy!
Many objects and structures intimately connected with the Great Fire can still be seen in today’s London. I would therefore like to organise a study tour to London (5 days) to complement this seminar if enough people are interested – details to be discussed in our first session.
Formal requirements: regular attendance, reading and preparing the assigned texts, active participation, final exam (Klausur). |
