Christa Agnes Tuczay (born 7 February 1952 in Eisenstadt) is an Austrian University professor in Medieval German Language and Literature at the Institute of German Studies at the University of Vienna. Tuczay is well known for her research on narratives and fairytales in the Middle Ages.
Biography Tuczay studied German Literature and Pedagogy, Philosophy and Psychology and also Ethnology, Indology and Finnish and Hungarian Studies at the University of Vienna, gaining the title of Magister in 1978. In 1981 she received her doctorate with a study on the fairytale motif "Der Unhold ohne Seele" (the soulless monster). From 1981 to 2006 she was a researcher in the Austrian Academy of Sciences’ (OeAW) "Motif Index of German Secular Narrative Literature from the Beginnings to 1400". Currently, Tuczay lectures at the Institute of German Studies at the University of Vienna. She has also been a visiting professor in Chiang Mai (Thailand), Innsbruck and Klagenfurt.
Research foci Tuczay's research focuses on narratives, cultural studies, history of mentality, history of magic and the psychohistory of the Middle Ages. Her interest in narratives and fairytales was sparked during her undergraduate days, and she eventually wrote her doctoral thesis on an international fairytale motif.Die Seele außerhalb in den Volkserzählungen, Diss. Wien 1981, Buchausgabe: Der Unhold ohne Seele, Wien 1981 With her knowledge on this area she also contributed to the OeAW project "Motif Index of German Secular Narrative Literature from the Beginnings to 1400". She has also written several entries in the Encyclopedia of Fairy Tales.Tuczay, Christa (1990). Das Herz des Unholds im Ei“, in: Enzyklopädie des Märchens, Bd. 6, Berlin 1990, Sp. 929-936.Tuczay, Christa (1999). Mann, der wie ein Vogel flog und wie ein Fisch schwamm (ATh 665), in: Enzyklopädie des Märchens Bd.9, Berlin 1999, Sp. 215-218.Tuczay, Christa (1999). Golem, in: Wunderlich, Werner/ Müller, Ulrich (Hg.): Mythen des Mittelalters Bd. 2: Dämonen, Monstren, Fabelwesen, St. Gallen 1999; S. 257–267.
From 1999 onwards, Tuczay worked on the edited volumes in the series “Mythen des Mittelalters” (Myths in the Middle Ages) and contributed with various articles.Tuczay, Christa (1999). Incubus, in: Wunderlich, Werner/ Müller, Ulrich (Hg.): Mythen des Mittelalters. Bd. 2: Dämonen, Monstren, Fabelwesen, St. Gallen 1999; S. 333–343.Tuczay, Christa (1999). „Golem”, in: Wunderlich, Werner/ Müller, Ulrich (Hg.): Mythen des Mittelalters Bd. 2: Dämonen, Monstren, Fabelwesen, St. Gallen 1999; S. 257-267.Tuczay, Christa (1999). „Riese/Zwerg”, in: Wunderlich, Werner/ Müller, Ulrich (Hg.): Mythen des Mittelalters Bd. 2: Dämonen, Monstren, Fabelwesen, St. Gallen 1999; S. 635-659.Tuczay, Christa (1999). „Meisterdieb“ in: Wunderlich, Werner/ Müller, Ulrich (Hg.): Mythen des Mittelalters Bd 3: Verführer Schurken Magier, St. Gallen 2001; S. 629-639. Together with researchers on the Motif-Index she edited a volume of collected papers on the modern Austrian legend.Habiger-Tuczay, C., Hirhager, U., & Lichtblau, K. (1996). Vater Ötzi und das Krokodil im Donaukanal: moderne österreichische Sagen. Wien: Löcker. Since the publication of "Magie im Mittelalter" (Magic in the Middle Ages)Tuczay, Christa (2003). Magie und Magier im Mittelalter (Überarb. Neuausg.). München: DtTaschenbuch-Verl. Tuczay has been dedicated to the special field of research on witchcraft, which has been on the rise since the 1980s, from the perspective of history of mentality and cultural studies,Bever, E. (2013). Popular Witch Beliefs and Magical Practices. In: Levack, B. P. (2013). The Oxford Handbook of Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America. OUP Oxford. resulting in various articles in English- and German-speaking anthologies.Golden, R. M. (2006). Encyclopedia of witchcraft: the western tradition : 1 : A - D. Santa Barbara, Calif. [ua]: ABC-Clio.Tuczay, Christa (2006). „Animals“, in: Encyclopedia of Witchcraft, hg. v. Richard M. Golden, Santa Barbara 2006, Bd. I S. 40-42.Tuczay, Christa (2006). „Bibliomancy“, in: Encyclopedia of Witchcraft, hg. v. Richard M. Golden, Santa Barbara 2006, Bd. I S. 120-121.Tuczay, Christa (2006). „Charms“, in: Encyclopedia of Witchcraft, hg. v. Richard M. Golden, Santa Barbara 2006, Bd. I S. 181- 182.Tuczay, Christa (2006). „Flight of witches”, in: Encyclopedia of Witchcraft, hg. v. Richard M. Golden, Santa Barbara 2006, Bd. II S. 379-382.Tuczay, Christa (2006). „Grimoire“, in: Encyclopedia of Witchcraft, hg. v. Richard M. Golden, Santa Barbara 2006, Bd. II S. 462-464.Tuczay, Christa (2006). „Johannes Hartlieb“, in: Encyclopedia of Witchcraft, hg. v. Richard M. Golden, Santa Barbara 2006, Bd. II S. 475.Tuczay, Christa (2006). „Holda”, Encyclopedia of Witchcraft, hg. v. Richard M. Golden, Santa Barbara 2006, Bd. II S. 501-502. Her monograph "Kulturgeschichte der mittelalterlichen Wahrsagerei" (A Cultural History of Medieval Fortune Telling), published in 2012, focuses on the topic of divination, briefly outlined in "Magie und Magier im Mittelalter".Tuczay, C. A. (2012). Kulturgeschichte der mittelalterlichen Wahrsagerei. Berlin: de Gruyter. Bever, E. (2014). Kulturgeschichte der Mittelalterlichen Wahrsagerei by Christa Agnest Tuczay (review). Magic, Ritual, and Witchcraft, University of Pennsylvania Press, 9(1), 87–90. https://doi.org/10.1353/mrw.2014.0011
In her habilitation Tuczay examines the subject of ecstasy, experienced in medieval texts as a desirable borderline experience.Tuczay, Christa (2009). Ekstase im Kontext. Mittelalterliche und neuere Diskurse einer Entgrenzungserfahrung. Peter Lang, Frankfurt am Main 2009. Her work in this area introduced her to research on shamanism in Hungary, where she has contributed to the frequent congresses and publications in the field. A related experience, dreams and visions, has been the focus of Tuczay's psychohistorical observations,Tuczay, C. A., & Ballhausen, T. (2018). Traumnarrative: Motivische Muster – Erzählerische Traditionen – Medienübergreifende Perspektiven. Wien: Praesens Verlag. including a three-part series on revenants, human-to-animal transformation and occultism.
Besides these research foci, Tuczay has written many articles on topics firmly rooted in medieval German studies.Tuczay, Christa (2015). Westöstliche Askesepraxis in >Barlaam und Josaphat< und der Gymnosophistenepisode. In: Barlaam und Josaphat: Neue Perspektiven auf ein europäisches Phänomen. Hg. v. Constanza Cordoni und Matthias Meyer. Berlin 2015, S. 365–388. Her book "Herzesser" (Heart Eaters) also examines the history of crime and mentality in Austria.Tuczay, C. A. (2009). Die Herzesser. Dämonische Verbrechen in der Donaumonarchie. Seifert Verlag, Wien 2007.
Publications (selection) Geister, Dämonen Phantasmen – eine Kulturgeschichte. Wiesbaden (Marix) 2015. Die aventiurehafte Dietrichepik: Laurin und Walberan, jüngerer Sigenot, Eckenlied, Wunderer, Mittelhochdeutscher Text mit neuhochdeutscher Übersetzung (GAG 599), Göppingen (Kümmerle Verlag) 1999. Co-editor and co-author of the edited volumes Vater Ötzi und das Krokodil im Donaukanal, Moderne Sagen aus Österreich, Der poetische Wiedergänger, Faszination des Okkulten und Tierverwandlungen, Jenseits. Ir sult sprechen willekomen. Grenzenlose Mediävistik, Festschrift für Helmut Birkhan zum 60. Geburtstag, ed. by Ulrike Hirhager, Karin Lichtblau, Christa Agnes Tuczay. Bern (Peter Lang) 1998. Poetische Wiedergänger – Deutschsprachige Vampirismus-Diskurse vom Mittelalter bis zur Gegenwart, ed. by Christa Agnes Tuczay and Julia Bertschik, Tübingen (Francke Verlag) 2004. Faszination des Okkulten. Diskurse zum Übersinnlichen, ed. by Christa Agnes Tuczay and Wolfgang Müller-Funk: Tübingen (Francke Verlag) 2008. Tierverwandlungen. Codierungen und Diskurse, ed. by Christa Agnes Tuczay and Willem de Blécourt. Tübingen (Francke Verlag) 2011. Jenseits – Eine mittelalterliche und mediävistische Imagination: Interdisziplinäre Ansätze zur Analyse des Unerklärlichen. (=Beihefte zur Mediävistik, ed. by Peter Dinzelbacher and Romedio Schmitz-Esser Vol. 21). Frankfurt (Peter Lang) 2015. Tuczay, C.A. (2004). Interactions with Apparitions, Ghosts, and Revenants in Ancient and Medieval Sources. In: Houran, J. (ed). From Shamans to Scientists: Essays on Humanity's Search for Spirits. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press: 97-126. A comprehensive list of Tuczay's publications can be found on the webpage of the University of Vienna.
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