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Barbara Stollberg-Rilinger

バルバラ・シュトルベルク＝リリンガー

Barbara Stollberg-Rilinger

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1955-07-17 （Bergisch Gladbach, Germany）
Nationality
Germany
Languages
German
Residence History
Cologne (studies and research) → Münster (university professor) → Berlin (director/rector at Institute for Advanced Study)

Career

Occupations
Historian, University professor
Active Years
1980-2025
Affiliations
University of Cologne (Historical Institute), University of Münster (Chair of Early Modern History), Berlin Institute for Advanced Study (Rector)
Influenced By
Earlier early-modern historians
Influenced
Scholars of early-modern ritual and symbolic communication

Education

University of Cologne
Faculty of Arts / German language & literature, History, History of Art
Degree: 学士相当・修了
Period: 1970s–1980
Year of Graduation: 1980
Country: Germany
Completed undergraduate studies and continued to doctoral studies at the same university
University of Cologne
Faculty of Arts / Medieval and Modern History, Ancient History, Philology
Degree: 博士（PhD）
Period: 1980–1985
Year of Graduation: 1985
Country: Germany
PhD awarded in medieval and modern history and related fields
University of Cologne
Faculty of Arts / History
Degree: （ドイツ）ハビリタツィオン
Period: 1990s
Year of Graduation: 1994
Country: Germany
Habilitation (postdoctoral qualification) obtained

Awards

Leipzig Book Fair Prize (non-fiction)
2017
Work: Maria Theresia: The Habsburg Empress in Her Time
Category: ノンフィクション
Organization: Leipzig Book Fair
Result: 受賞
Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy
2017
Organization: British Academy
Result: 選出
Sigmund Freud Prize
2017
Work: Maria Theresia: The Habsburg Empress in Her Time
Category: 学術的散文
Organization: Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung
Result: 受賞
Award of the Historical Collegium of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities
2013
Organization: Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities
Result: 受賞
Innovation Award of North Rhine-Westphalia
2012
Organization: State of North Rhine-Westphalia
Result: 受賞
Doctorate honoris causa (École normale supérieure de Lyon)
2006
Organization: École normale supérieure Lyon
Result: 授与
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize
2005
Organization: German Research Foundation (DFG)
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Der Staat als Maschine: On the Political Metaphor of the Absolute Princely State

1986 Scholarly monograph

A scholarly study examining political metaphors of the absolute princely state, discussing the relation between political theory and symbolic representation.

AbsolutismPolitical metaphorSymbolic representation

Vormünder des Volkes?: Concepts of Territorial Representation in the Late Phase of the Old Empire

1999 Scholarly monograph

An examination of concepts of representation and estates in the late Holy Roman Empire.

RepresentationOld EmpirePolitical history

The Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation: From the End of the Middle Ages to 1806

2009 Overview / Scholarly work

An authoritative overview of the political and institutional history of the Holy Roman Empire, linking institutional history with symbolic practices.

Holy Roman EmpireInstitutional historySymbolic ritual

The Emperor's Old Clothes: Constitutional History and Symbolic Language of the Old Empire

2013 Scholarly monograph

Reassesses constitutional history of the Holy Roman Empire through analysis of symbolic language and rituals, focusing on the symbolic aspects of power.

Constitutional historyRitualSymbolism

Maria Theresia: The Habsburg Empress in Her Time

2022 Biography / History

A biography of Maria Theresa that situates her life and reign within the political culture, rituals, and governance of the eighteenth century, presenting scholarly insights for a broad readership.

BiographyPolitical culture18th century
Translations
  • English translation (Princeton University Press, 2022)

Bibliography

  • Der Staat als Maschine: On the Political Metaphor of the Absolute Princely State (1986)
  • Vormünder des Volkes? Concepts of Territorial Representation in the Late Phase of the Old Empire (1999)
  • The Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation: From the End of the Middle Ages to 1806 (2009)
  • The Emperor's Old Clothes: Constitutional History and Symbolic Language of the Old Empire (2013)
  • Maria Theresia: Die Kaiserin in ihrer Zeit / Maria Theresia: the Habsburg empress in her time (2022)

Translations of Works

  • Maria Theresia: the Habsburg Empress in Her Time (English translation, Princeton University Press, 2022)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Interdisciplinary, rigorous scholarly style combining institutional and cultural historyAnalytical and explanatory prose emphasizing rituals and symbolic communication
Recurring Motifs
Ritual and symbolismRepresentations of powerInstitutions and constitution of the Holy Roman Empire

Legacy

Stollberg-Rilinger is a leading scholar who re-evaluated power practices in the Holy Roman Empire and early-modern Europe through the study of rituals and symbolic communication. By introducing cultural and ritual analysis into institutional history she has offered new perspectives to early-modern studies.

Academic Societies

  • British Academy (Corresponding Fellow)

Trivia

  • Since 2018 she has served as rector of the Berlin Institute for Advanced Study.
  • Her research focuses on seventeenth- and eighteenth-century political culture, especially rituals and symbolic communication.
  • In 2020 she was one of the initiators/signatories of the 'Initiative GG 5.3 Weltoffenheit', which drew public criticism.