Emotions on the battlefield (junior project)

The research team for the student project 'Battlefield Narratives' explores well-known and lesser-known battlefields (initially) of Roman antiquity as part of the Conflict Landscapes group – from the Battle of the Allia to the famous battles with Carthage (Lake Trasimeno, Cannae and Zama) and the clashes with the kings in the Greek East (Kynoskephalai, Magnesia) or the so-called barbarians (Mons Graupius, Catalaunian Fields) through to the numerous civil war battles such as the battles at Cremona, the Milvian Bridge or Frigidus. There are also provincial uprisings with so-called barbarians, such as the Boudicca Uprising. In the selection of battles, no distinction is made between defeat and victory, but rather the narratives that are inscribed in battles regardless of the outcome and the configuration of the location are examined.

The focus is on the emotional component: how emotionally is a battle portrayed; how emotionally are the opponents portrayed and what emotions are woven into the narrative? We will explore all these questions in the project. The basis for this is an idea of emotions that is neither based on modern concepts nor purely intuitive. Rather, we refer to Cicero’s conception of movement(e-movere, according to Cic. de orat. 1,18; see also Diersen 2022, 25-29) and thus consider all concepts or statements related to (inner) movement.