The Gotha – A study of the most important genealogical reference work in modern Europe.

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Markus Friedrich
• Subject Area: Early Modern History ; Modern and Contemporary History
• Term: since 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 519132233

This project is part of a four-project- “World Genealogy. Presenting, documenting, and instrumentalizing lineages in early modern Asia, Europe, and the Middle East”. The four projects— submitted independently, yet simultaneously—discuss genealogical practices of • Middle Eastern politics • Japanese Buddhism • European aristocracies and state governments. • China’s rural elites The projects together attempt to establish a conceptual roadmap towards a future cross-culturally comparative investigation of genealogical practices. All projects share a common research agenda and working schedule, focusing on genealogical media (year 1 – Research Pathway A), routines of genealogical knowledge management (year 2 – Research Pathway B), and the role of genealogical arguments in creating social, political, and cultural legitimacy (year 3 – Research Pathway C). For a more extensive description of our research agenda, please see the attached pdf-file “Framework Document”. In this context, this project on early modern and modern Europe focuses on the Gothaischer (genealogischer) Hof-Calender, the most important regular genealogical publication of the 19th and (early) 20th century. The study of “the Gotha” covers a number of systematic points relevant for the broader project: concerning the analysis of genealogical media, it brings examples of text-only print publication and serialized media into the conversation; in terms of research practices, it highlights the challenges of contemporary genealogy and provides opportunities to investigate the continuously changing nature of kinship knowledge; regarding the production of legitimacy, the Gotha invites in-depth analysis of the changing relations between dynasty and state as well as the status of genealogy in broader notions of entertaining or curious, conversational texts.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants