| Research, Knowledge, Spaces, and Media, Faculty of Philosophy

600,000 euros for a Franco-German research project on the history of European trade fairs

Over the next three years, the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR) will provide a total of around 600,000 euros in funding for a new research project investigating the history of European trade fairs. It is entitled "Configurations of European Fairs. Merchants, Objects, Routes (1350-1600)" (CoMOR), and in addition to the University of Erfurt, the University of Leipzig, CIHAM ("Histoire, archéologie, littératures des mondes chrétiens et musulmans médiévaux" - UMR 5648) and the École normale supérieure de Lyon are also involved. The project starts on April 1 and aims at the same time to expand Franco-German cooperation in the humanities and social sciences.

[Translate to English:] Foire de Beaucaire André Basset XVIIIe
[Translate to English:] Foire de Beaucaire André Basset XVIIIe (Wikimedia)

"CoMOR" will examine the history of European fairs from the perspective of increasing market integration in the period from around 1320 (end of the Champagne fairs) to 1630 (decline of the Besançon fairs). One of the aims is to map the trade fair trade in spatial and temporal perspective for the first time in a relational database and in a geo-information system, which will be created by digital humanities experts, operated collaboratively and made available openly at the latest at the end of the project. The international consortium is led by researchers in Lyon and Erfurt. In addition to the joint work on a virtual platform, workshops will be held every six months in Erfurt and Lyon. A touring exhibition and an international final conference are also planned. The main applicant on the German side is Prof. Dr. Susanne Rau from the University of Erfurt, who is carrying out this project within the framework of Erfurt's SpaceTime research and the university's priority field "Knowledge. Spaces. Media". "I am delighted with the approval," explains the historian. "Because it means that newer approaches to spatial humanities can be used or developed further."

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