Jan Thorbecke Verlag Reformer als Wertegemeinschaften: Zur diskursiven Formierung einer sozialen Gruppe im spätangelsächsischen England (ca. 8501050)

What makes a reformer at the transition from early to high Middle Ages? As simple as the question at first seems so difficult is its answer, especially since the applicability of the reform term to this era has been disputed many times. The present book addresses this criticism with a discourse analysis by showing the group-forming dimension of values and norms using two case examples from early English history. Through communication about common social ideals, communities emerged that can be called reformers in the retrospective. Thus, the study not only contributes to the study of the illuminated examples. Rather, it also discusses further questions of a cultural science-inspired social history as well as historical value research. What constituted a reformer during the transition from the early to the high middle ages? As simple as this question may seem, it is difficult to answer, especially since scholarship has increasingly cast doubt on the usefulness of the modern concept of reform for medieval studies. This book counters recent criticism with a discourse analysis based on two case studies from early English history focussing on group formation processes. It shows how shared ideas of values and norms were employed by historical actors in order to establish a distinct social group, namely, the community of reformers. Thus the study not only contributes to research on the case studies highlighted, but also addresses further questions pertaining to a social history inspired by cultural studies and to the historical study of values.