About
Prof. Dr. Hans Rudolf Velten is a Professor of Medieval Studies at the University of Siegen, specializing in German Medieval Literature and its contemporary reception. Appointed to his position in 2014, he serves as Subproject Manager for "B04 Popular Middle Ages: Narratives and inventories of fantasy in the media network" and participates in multiple working groups including "Theories of the Popular," "Gender and Intersectionality," "Global Dimension of Popularity," and "Case studies." His institutional affiliation is with the Department of German Studies at the University of Siegen, where he contributes to various Collaborative Research Groups including "Popularizing the Past" and "Attribution practices and logics in popularization processes."
Velten received his broad education in philology and historical sciences, studying in Frankfurt am Main, Charleston, and Naples. After completing his doctorate on German autobiography in the 16th century (1995), he worked as a DAAD exchange lecturer for German language and literature at the University of Pisa, followed by research associate positions in DFG research networks in Osnabrück, Potsdam, and Berlin. His work with the Berlin Collaborative Research Center "Cultures of the Performative" significantly shaped his approach to pre-modern literature as a form of knowledge embedded in historical-anthropological frameworks.
Professor Velten's research focuses on the intersection of medieval literature and contemporary popular culture, particularly examining how medieval narratives are updated in modern fantasy literature and media. His work explores vulgarities and transgressive elements in late medieval culture, the visual representation of medieval themes in fantasy aesthetics, and the conceptual differentiation between medievalism, mediävalismus, and neomediävalismus. He investigates laughter, comedy, and bodily expressions in medieval literature and theater, building on his influential 2017 book "Scurrilitas. Das Lachen, die Komik und der Körper in Literatur und Kultur des Spätmittelalters und der Frühen Neuzeit." His recent scholarship examines the "popular Middle Ages" phenomenon, analyzing how medieval narratives function in contemporary fantasy novels and performances, with particular attention to the role these representations play in present-day cultural discourse.
Velten's extensive publication record reveals a consistent focus on medieval reception studies, with recent work emphasizing the visualization of medieval themes in fantasy literature and art. His scholarship spans conceptual analyses of medievalism, examinations of vulgarities in late medieval culture, studies of medieval laughter and comedy, and investigations into the representation of medieval themes in contemporary fantasy. A notable trend in his recent work is the systematic exploration of how medieval narratives are adapted and transformed in modern popular culture, particularly through fantasy literature and visual media. His research demonstrates interdisciplinary engagement with performance studies, cultural history, visual culture, and conceptual history.
Among his notable recent publications are the 2024 book "The Popularity of Others – Vulgarity at the End of Pre-Modernity" (co-authored with Joseph Imorde and Michael Multhammer), "Fantasy Aesthetics. Visualizing Myth and Middle Ages, 1880–2020" (2024, co-authored with Joseph Imorde), and "The Middle Ages and Popular Culture: Reception – Appropriation – Attention" (2024, co-authored with Theresa Specht). His 2017 monograph "Scurrilitas" established him as a significant voice in medieval laughter studies.
As an academic advisor and researcher, Velten has supervised numerous collaborative projects focusing on medieval reception in popular culture. His current work with the Collaborative Research Center examines how medieval narratives function within contemporary media networks, particularly through fantasy literature and performance. He has developed research frameworks for analyzing the "popular Middle Ages" phenomenon, investigating both the historical roots of medieval narratives and their contemporary transformations. His methodological approach combines textual analysis with cultural theory, performance studies, and conceptual history to provide comprehensive examinations of medieval reception patterns.
Professor Velten is actively involved with several research groups that examine different dimensions of popularity and medieval reception. His work with the "Popularizing the Past" Collaborative Research Group explores how historical narratives become popularized, while his participation in the "Gender and Intersectionality" working group brings critical perspectives to medieval reception studies. These collaborative efforts have produced significant interdisciplinary research at the intersection of medieval studies, cultural studies, and media studies.
