Date of Award
2013
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelors
Department
Social Sciences
First Advisor
McCarthy, Thomas
Keywords
Vampire Debate, Michael Ranfft/Ranft, Eighteenth Century
Area of Concentration
Medieval and Renaissance Studies
Abstract
This thesis analyzes the influence that Michael Ranfft's original 1728 vampire treatise had on the central figures in the German 1732–33 vampire debate. This focus aims to demonstrate how these figures introduced contemporary scientific, theological, and philosophical arguments to the novel debate, largely following Ranfft's intellectual model. The first chapter analyzes the procedures of Austrian military medics who produced reports of vampire stories in occupied Serbia. The second chapter examines in what form Ranfft's ideas appeared within the German academic discussion that exploded in Leipzig in 1732–3. The third chapter explores how a Catholic archbishop, Giuseppe Davanzati (1665–1755), answered Ranfft's ideas on the vegetative function of the soul and the anti-Catholic criticisms from the wider Protestant-dominated debate.
Recommended Citation
Black, Derek, "MORTUUS NON MORDET MICHAEL RANFFT'S INFLUENCE IN THE EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY VAMPIRE DEBATE" (2013). Theses & ETDs. 4729.
https://digitalcommons.ncf.edu/theses_etds/4729
Rights
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