The Age of Ambiguity. Concurrence and Competition of Norms ('Normenkonkurrenz') in Early Modern Europe

Concurrence and competition of norms - i. e. the coexistence of different, partially conflicting norms of different origin - is most likely an ubiquitous phenomenon in human societies. However, with regard to European history, in the late medieval and early modern period a specific normative order emerged which was characterized by overlaps and contradictions between different groups of norms. Religious, common-good oriented (including legal norms) and and social norms were on the rise simultaneously as were instances - confessional churches, worldly authorities, social groups - which demanded normative correct behaviour in an unprecedented way. In this normative order, actors found themselves forced to manoeuvre between different and sometimes contradictory normative expectations. As a result of this constellation, a behavioural style of cultural ambiguity emerged - the 'Age of Ambiguity' was the unintended outcome of 'Normenkonkurrenz'.