Johann Christoph Gottscheds Briefwechsel - Historisch-kritische Ausgabe

Gottsched spent several months in Dresden while representing Leipzig University at Saxony’s parliament. His correspondence lends insight to the events unfolding there and documents his interactions with his circle of acquaintances in Leipzig, whom he normally saw in person. Major topics in the correspondence include the theater, the War of Austrian Succession, and disagreements with Gottsched’s critics Bodmer and Breitinger in Zurich

Johann Christoph Gottscheds Briefwechsel - Historisch-kritische Ausgabe

The letters collected in Volume 4 show Gottsched at the height of his fame and recognition as a poetry theorist, linguist, philosopher, theater reformer, and publicist. Recurring themes in the correspondence, in addition to the introduction of German language instruction in high schools, are questions about poetry theory, the translation of foreign-language books, and the printing of works by Gottsched and his pen pals. The confrontation with representatives of Lutheran orthodoxy, of which the letters bear detailed witness, increasingly became a major problem for Gottsched, threatening his professional existence

Johann Christoph Gottscheds Briefwechsel - Historisch-kritische Ausgabe

The highlights of this volume include the celebration of the 200th anniversary of Copernicus`s death. Political developments in Europe remain an important concern for Gottsched. He devotes close attention to the situation of German theater in his correspondence with actors and playwrights. The "literary dispute" with Bodmer and Breitinger becomes ever more heated. Gottsched uses every means available to seek allies in this prolonged controversy

Johann Christoph Gottscheds Briefwechsel - Historisch-kritische Ausgabe

This edition, containing approx. 6,000 letters written to and by Johann Christoph Gottsched (and his wife Luise Adelgune Viktoria Gottsched), documents for the first time the correspondence of one of the most significant supporters of the Early German Enlightenment. This volume presents the complete 25-volume historic-critical edition of letters by the Saxonian Academy of Sciences in Leipzig. Each letter has been meticulously edited and includes detailed commentary about the writer, the occasion of the correspondence, as well as information about names and realities. The historical and biographical “venue” of each letter is described in detail

Johann Christoph Gottscheds Briefwechsel - Historisch-kritische Ausgabe

In the years 1738/39, Gottsched was mostly concerned with two events: his departure from the “Deutsche Gesellschaft” which he had been heading and the resulting developments, and the continuation of his disputes on the philosophy of Christian Wolff which he had been conducting with the Lutheran-Orthodox theologians. Through the support of the influential Imperial Count Ernst von Manteuffel, Gottsched now acquired strong political backing. This is documented by 52 of the total of 204 letters published in this volume, a correspondence in which Mrs Gottsched also soon became involved. The letters of other correspondents also deal with Wolff’s rationalist philosophy, as well as other very varied themes such as theater, teaching of the German language in schools, the problems of Leipzig students, newspaper polemics, planned translation projects and the competing editions of the writings of Martin Opitz, the “father of German poetry”, that were undertaken in Leipzig and Zurich

Johann Christoph Gottscheds Briefwechsel - Historisch-kritische Ausgabe

This second volume of the letter edition shows that Gottsched already occupied an influential position in the academic and cultural life of Leipzig in the early 1730s. This is documented by his university career and his work as a senior member of the German Society. The correspondence provides detailed insights into the work of this first society for the study of German language and literature and, in addition, illuminates new facets of the reception history of such central works as Critische Dichtkunst (1730)

Johann Christoph Gottscheds Briefwechsel - Historisch-kritische Ausgabe

Of the 218 letters, 126 belong to correspondence with the Imperial Count Ernst Christoph von Manteuffel, a dedicated patron of the supporters of Christian Wolff and the head of the Berlin chapter of the Society of Alethophiles. In Berlin and Leipzig great hopes were placed in the Prussian heir apparent Friedrich II, whom many saw a kind of Platonian "philosopher king" who would help elevate reason and Wolffian philosophy to new heights. The letters document the development of a rationalistic strain in Gottsched's sermons. They also provide insight into the satires of Wolff's opponents written by L.A.V. Gottsched. Gottsched's speeches concerning Martin Opitz and the "book printing anniversary" (Buchdruckjubiläum) found strong resonance in the correspondence and inspired letters concerning similar undertakings. Jakob Brucker's letters illuminate the planning and creation of the "Bilder-sal", a contemporary history of notable scholars that featured biographies and portraits, and which came to include Gottsched and his wife

Johann Christoph Gottscheds Briefwechsel - Historisch-kritische Ausgabe

The focus of this volume is on the world of theater. The reign of Frederick II is a subject of considerable attention in the correspondence: from Königsberg come reports about the politics of religion, and from Berlin reports about the politics of science. The Weißenfelser Society of Alethophiles was becoming successful

Johann Christoph Gottscheds Briefwechsel - Historisch-kritische Ausgabe

This third volume of the letter edition documents the correspondence of the years 1734 and 1735. With his appointment as professor of logic and metaphysics and his marriage to Luise Adelgunde Victorie Kulmus, Gottsched was firmly established in Leipzig by the mid-1730s. The letters offer important insights into the development of the German Society he led (especially to the first periodical on literary studies it published), into the reception and impact of his works, including his plays, and into his translating activities

Johann Christoph Gottscheds Briefwechsel - Historisch-kritische Ausgabe

On the occasion of the two-hundred-year anniversary of the founding of the university, the Gottsched couple traveled to Königsberg. Their journey is reflected in the letters from 1744 and 1745 along with the events of the Second Silesian War. Gottsched reports on the reception of his collection of dramatic texts Schaubüne, answers queries from academics seeking positions and acts as an intermediary between authors and publishers