"From the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean" – these two poles not only characterize important stages of Wolfgang Huschner’s life, but also mark fundamental coordinates of his academic interests. The authors of the articles collected in this volume were guided by one of the jubilarian’s areas of research, without leading to a strict thematic restriction. As a result, they reflect a broad spectrum of contents that can be outlined only roughly by the division into five sections on diplomacy, the history of power, medieval long-distance relations, monastic and religious history, and the history of Mecklenburg. In some cases, a different assignment would have been possible – as in the work of Wolfgang Huschner these fields are not strictly isolated from each other, but connected in many ways. In their depth and diversity, the articles represent their own contributions to research and also provide suggestions for further investigations – as such of the academic approaches of the jubilarian and their impact.

Die Inschriftenüberlieferung der Stadt Meißen, die dieser zweiteilige Band in einer kommentierten Edition vorstellt, reicht vom 13. Jahrhundert bis zum Jahr 1650. Ihre Schwerpunkte sind die Bischofskirche im 13./14. Jahrhundert, die fürstliche Residenz im 15./16. Jahrhundert und die Bürgerstadt im 16./17. Jahrhundert. Dominiert wird der Bestand von fast 350 Grabmälern. Eine kleine Zahl an Vasa sacra bezeugt Stiftungen an Kirchen. Daneben spiegeln Gebäudeinschriften die Phasen intensiver Bautätigkeit wieder und geben wie keine andere Quellengattung vielfältigen Einblick in die Lebenswelt von Adligen, Domgeistlichen und Meißner Bürgern.

The two-part volume contains 552 catalogue items of inscriptions that have survived for the old town and the historic cemeteries of Wittenberg. The collection begins with the oldest surviving inscriptions from the 13th century and ends in 1650. About two thirds of all inscriptions from this period have only been copied, i.e. they are not original. Wittenberg's inscriptions can mainly be assigned to three spheres of life: the resurgent residential culture in the late 15th century, the university founded in 1502 and the prosperous burgher town of the early modern period. The first highlight in the 16th century, which is rich in tradition, is the memorial monuments to the Electors Frederick the Wise and John the Steadfast in the castle church, masterly brass reliefs by the Vischer workshop in Nuremberg. A few years later, the painter Lucas Cranach the Younger created outstanding painting epitaphs for the city church. From the middle of the 16th century, the number of surviving memorials to members of the university increased. The extraordinarily extensive and sophisticated Latin inscriptions of the commemorations of the dead illustrate the educational aspirations and the Europe-wide networking of scholars in the early modern period. They also testify to the personal connections of Wittenberg families to the university, which can sometimes be traced over generations. The university was the place of origin of the Reformation, which has left many epigraphic traces. Apart from this major event, others were also reflected in the inscriptions, such as the Turkish Wars and the Thirty Years' War.

The volume contains 438 catalogue items with almost 800 inscriptions that could be recorded from the original and copy tradition. The collection reflects the history of Magdeburg from the foundation of the archbishopric by Emperor Otto I in the 10th century to the time of Otto von Guericke in the 17th century. The inscriptions represent the two dynamic centres that promoted Magdeburg's development into a major medieval and early modern city: the archbishop's seat with the cathedral chapter, and the strong city society with the council at its head, which established itself in the 12th/13th century.