Franz Brendle

Prof. Dr. Franz Brendle is an Associate Professor (Apl. Professor) at the University of Tübingen's Faculty of Humanities, Department of History, Institute of Modern History, specializing in Early Modern European History. He has held this position since 2010 and has been an Academic Councilor (Akademischer Oberrat) at the same institution since 2009. His office is located at the Institute of Modern History, Wilhelmstraße 36, 72074 Tübingen, where he maintains regular office hours throughout the academic year, including during the 2025 semester break.

Dr. Brendle's research focuses on the complex interplay between religion, politics, and society during the Early Modern period (16th-18th centuries). His work particularly examines the Reformation and confessionalization processes, the political and constitutional structures of the Holy Roman Empire, comparative regional histories, cultural aspects of warfare, and the history of the Imperial Church. His scholarly approach combines institutional analysis with cultural history perspectives, revealing how religious conflicts shaped political structures and social relations across German-speaking territories.

• Baden-Württemberg History Prize (1999)
• Prix de la Ville de Schongau from Académie d'Alsace (1998)

As an educator, Dr. Brendle supervises numerous doctoral students in the field of Early Modern History, with current Doktoranden including Daniel Pfitzer, Ruth Egger, Johannes Gradel, and others. His teaching for the 2025 semester includes lecture courses on 'Rom, das Papsttum und die Jesuiten in der Frühen Neuzeit,' a main seminar on 'Die Jesuiten. Ein Orden des konfessionellen Zeitalters,' and various proseminars and exercises focused on German territorial princes during the confessional age and historical reading/writing skills.

Dr. Brendle is actively involved in collaborative research projects, including participation in the Collaborative Research Center (CRC) 923 'Threatened Orders' and CRC 1070 'ResourceCultures,' demonstrating his engagement with interdisciplinary approaches to historical research. His work bridges traditional historical methods with contemporary theoretical frameworks, contributing to ongoing scholarly conversations about power structures, religious identity, and political development in early modern Europe.