Johann Christoph and Luise Adelgunde Victorie Gottsched: Correspondence. A Correspondence Network in the Age of Enlightenment. Historical-Critical Edition

Established in 2000, the project aims to publish a historical-critical edition of the complete surviving correspondence of Johann Christoph Gottsched (1700–1766), who was a professor at Leipzig university and one of the central figures of the German and European Enlightenment. The project will also publish the complete surviving correspondence of Gottsched’s wife, Luise Adelgunde Victorie Gottsched, née Kulmus (1713–1762), which comprises nearly 10 percent of the total corpus of around 5,800 letters. Starting in volume 18 (2023), Luise Adelgunde Victorie Gottsched’s name was included in the title of the series and of the project, in order to emphasise her contribution more appropriately. The collection is being published by De Gruyter.

The work is based on the approximately 4,700 letters from Johann Christoph Gottsched’s estate, preserved in the University of Leipzig library. The remainder of the corpus is available in older prints, or has been retrieved from libraries and archives in Germany and Europe (and in some cases, also from the United States). Presenting the letters in chronological order, the edition will have a total of 31 volumes, with each letter being accompanied by a detailed commentary. Detailed indices of senders and sending locations, of persons, places, the literature and the writings of the Gottsched couple mentioned and discussed in the letters, can be used to search the volumes for various aspects. In addition, each volume contains a collection of bio-bibliographical sketches summarising information on the lives and work of the more than 900 correspondents.

The correspondence of Gottsched and his wife is one of the most important documents for reconstructing the history of the German Enlightenment in the middle of the 18th century. It throws light on Gottsched’s multifaceted work – the popularisation of the Enlightenment philosophy of Leibniz and Wolf, the reform of German poetry, the promotion of a standard of German language, Gottsched’s pioneering work in the development of German literary history and theatre reform, his involvement in the founding of learned societies, and the publication of moral and scholarly journals – and its reception in Saxony, the German Empire and large parts of Europe. Many correspondents belonged to the academically educated middle class, but also noblemen, actors, soldiers and publishers are prominently represented in the correspondence network. In many of their letters, Luise Adelgunde Victorie Gottsched is recognised – even apart from her own correspondence – as an equal contributor to Gottsched’s reform work.

Published volumes and other publications

The German project page includes a complete index and bio-bibliographical list of correspondents for the volumes published to date, PDF files of the first 14 volumes (open access) as well as reviews on volumes of the edition.

This research project is part of German Academies' Programme which is the largest long- term research Programme in the humanities and cultural studies in the Federal Republic of Germany.
It is co-financed by tax revenue based on the budget approved by the Saxon State Parliament.