Am Montag, den 25. April 2016, findet ab 17.15 Uhr im Hörsaal des Instituts für Österreichische Geschichtsforschung das 197. Institutsseminar des Instituts für Österreichische Geschichtsforschung statt. Es spricht Gábor Almási, Leiter des Forschungsprojekts „Humanism in East Central Europe“ an der Eötvös Loránd Universität Budapest, zum Thema:

„Vulgar Machiavellism and Machiavellian Advice: Kaspar Schoppe and the Bohemian Revolt“

Abstract: Catholic publicist and Habsburg agent Kaspar Schoppe (1576–1649) was probably the most prolific author of political pamphlets in the early years of the Thirty Years’ War. Born into a Lutheran family and converted to Catholicism in Prague in 1597, this highly talented philologist has been remembered mostly as “one of the attack dogs of Catholic erudition” or as a ruthless supporter of the Counter Reformation. This lecture presents Schoppe’s political thought and propaganda activity as reflected in his anonymous pamphlets written against the King of Bohemia, Frederick I, and a manuscript letter, in which he advised Emperor Ferdinand II on how to use the victory over the Bohemians after the Battle of White Mountain. While Schoppe’s activity as an agent and councillor was informed by Machiavellian political thinking, he also started consciously fighting for Machiavelli’s rehabilitation, which became one of his life projects. The goal of the lecture is not only to highlight the authorship of important pamphlets and give a coherent interpretation of Schoppe’s Machiavellism, but also to call attention to Machiavelli’s influence in treating the Bohemian crisis.

Die Veranstaltung ist wie alle Institutsseminare öffentlich, Gäste sind herzlich willkommen. Die Einladung im PDF-Format gibt es hier.