Sources to Paul Gerhardt's life and work

• Applicant: Privatdozent Dr. Andreas Stegmann
• Subject Area: Protestant Theology ; Early Modern History ; German Literary and Cultural Studies (Modern German Literature)
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 509113572

Paul Gerhardt is one of Germany’s most important baroque poets. The study of his life and work is complicated by the fact that no comprehensive and scientifically reliable edition of his writings is available. It is not only important to know his German and Latinpoetry, but also the other surviving texts, such as the funeral sermons, letters and theological reports. The focus of the project is to make these sources accessible by transcribing, editing, and commenting Gerhardtʼs non-poetic texts and investigating their contexts. Additional material, that is important for the study of Gerhardtʼs life and work, will be taken into account in the introductions to the different sections of Gerhardtʼs life and in the introductory summaries to the sources. Therefore, the project includes extensive research on Gerhardtʼs biography as well as on the ecclesiastical and cultural life in the regions where he lived and worked (Saxony, Berlin, Brandenburg, Lower Lusatia). Of particular interest are the theological disputes in Brandenburg in the 1650s and 1660s as well as Gerhardt’s personal and professional networks. The project’s objective is to present a printed book that contains the sources on Gerhardt’s life and work in a chronological order. At the same time, the material will be made available in a digital working environment and supplemented by further material (additional texts, digital copies of the originals). This hybrid edition is intended to be a reference work for further historical, theological and literary research into Paul Gerhardt’s life and work.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants