Title The maker of pedigrees : Jakob Wilhelm Imhoff and the meanings of genealogy in early modern Europe / Markus Friedrich

Published Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press, 2023 ©2023

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Description 1 online resource (ix, 301 pages) : illustrations Series Information cultures Information cultures Contents Genealogy circa 1700 -- A patrician genealogist and his city -- Genealogy and the nobility -- The "genealogical brotherhood" -- The genealogist at work -- Publishing and reading genealogy Summary "The practice of genealogy, in particular the work of Jakob Wilhelm Imhoff from Nuremberg, Germany, a prolific and highly respected genealogical author, is a case study in how knowledge was produced and disseminated in the 17th and 18th centuries. During this time much of Europe was in the grip of a genealogical craze. Family lineages, and their display in multiple textual and visual forms, were key instruments in defining dynasties, organizing international relations, and structuring social life at large. Despite genealogy's overall impact on social, cultural, and political life, however, scholars have so far largely failed to investigate the complex knowledge economy that supported all forms of genealogical argumentation. This monograph, in fact, is the first book-length study of post-1600 continental genealogy"-- Provided by publisher "A history of genealogical knowledge-making strategies in the early modern world. In The Maker of Pedigrees, Markus Friedrich explores the complex and fascinating world of central European genealogy practices during the Baroque era. Drawing on archival material from a dozen European institutions, Friedrich reconstructs how knowledge about noble families was created, authenticated, circulated, and published. Jakob Wilhelm Imhoff, a wealthy and well-connected patrician from Nuremberg, built a European community of genealogists by assembling a transnational network of cooperators and informants. Friedrich uses Imhoff as a case study in how knowledge was produced and disseminated during the 17th and 18th centuries. Family lineages were key instruments in defining dynasties, organizing international relations, and structuring social life. Yet in the early modern world, knowledge about genealogy was cumbersome to acquire, difficult to authenticate, and complex to publish. Genealogy's status as a source of power and identity became even more ambivalent as the 17th century wore on, as the field continued to fragment into a plurality of increasingly contradictory formats and approaches. Genealogy became a contested body of knowledge, as a heterogeneous set of actors-including aristocrats, antiquaries, and publishers-competed for authority. Imhoff was closely connected to all of the major genealogical cultures of his time, and he serves as a useful prism through which the complex field of genealogy can be studied in its bewildering richness"-- Provided by publisher Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index Notes Description based on print version record Subject Imhof, Jacob Wilhelm, 1651-1728. SUBJECT Imhof, Jacob Wilhelm, 1651-1728 fast Subject Genealogists -- Germany -- Biography Families -- Europe -- History -- 18th century Families -- Europe -- History -- 17th century Nobility -- Europe -- Genealogy SCIENCE / History. HISTORY / Social History. Families Genealogists Nobility Europe Germany Genre/Form Biographies Genealogy History Form Electronic book ISBN 1421445808 9781421445809

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