Markus Friedrich - Böcker

The most comprehensive and up-to-date exploration of one of the most important religious orders in the modern worldSince its founding by Ignatius of Loyola in 1540, the Society of Jesus—more commonly known as the Jesuits—has played a critical role in the events of modern history. From the Counter-Reformation to the ascent of Francis I as the first Jesuit pope, The Jesuits presents an intimate look at one of the most important religious orders not only in the Catholic Church, but also the world. Markus Friedrich describes an organization that has deftly walked a tightrope between sacred and secular involvement and experienced difficulties during changing times, all while shaping cultural developments from pastoral care and spirituality to art, education, and science.Examining the Jesuits in the context of social, cultural, and world history, Friedrich sheds light on how the order shaped the culture of the Counter-Reformation and participated in the establishment of European empires, including missionary activity throughout Asia and in many parts of Africa in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. He also explores the place of Jesuits in the New World and addresses the issue of Jesuit slaveholders. The Jesuits often tangled with the Roman Curia and the pope, resulting in their suppression in 1773, but the order returned in 1814 to rise again to a powerful position of influence. Friedrich demonstrates that the Jesuit fathers were not a monolithic group and he considers the distinctive spiritual legacy inherited by Pope Francis.With its global scope and meticulous attention to archival sources and previous scholarship, The Jesuits illustrates the heterogeneous, varied, and contradictory perspectives of this famed religious organization.

The most comprehensive and up-to-date exploration of one of the most important religious orders in the modern worldSince its founding by Ignatius of Loyola in 1540, the Society of Jesus—more commonly known as the Jesuits—has played a critical role in the events of modern history. From the Counter-Reformation to the ascent of Francis I as the first Jesuit pope, The Jesuits presents an intimate look at one of the most important religious orders not only in the Catholic Church, but also the world. Markus Friedrich describes an organization that has deftly walked a tightrope between sacred and secular involvement and experienced difficulties during changing times, all while shaping cultural developments from pastoral care and spirituality to art, education, and science.Examining the Jesuits in the context of social, cultural, and world history, Friedrich sheds light on how the order shaped the culture of the Counter-Reformation and participated in the establishment of European empires, including missionary activity throughout Asia and in many parts of Africa in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. He also explores the place of Jesuits in the New World and addresses the issue of Jesuit slaveholders. The Jesuits often tangled with the Roman Curia and the pope, resulting in their suppression in 1773, but the order returned in 1814 to rise again to a powerful position of influence. Friedrich demonstrates that the Jesuit fathers were not a monolithic group and he considers the distinctive spiritual legacy inherited by Pope Francis.With its global scope and meticulous attention to archival sources and previous scholarship, The Jesuits illustrates the heterogeneous, varied, and contradictory perspectives of this famed religious organization.

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.

A leading Catholic historian tells the fascinating story of how the Jesuits shaped the modern worldSince its founding by Ignatius of Loyola in 1540, the Society of Jesus—commonly known as the Jesuits—has played a critical role in the events of modern history.In A Concise History of the Jesuits, Markus Friedrich, a leading historian of the Jesuits in academia, tells the story of the Society of Jesus from its founding to the papacy of Francis, the first Jesuit pope. Drawing on meticulous archival research and previous scholarship, he explores the profound societal impact of the Jesuits' humanist colleges, spiritual tradition, and global outreach—far beyond ecclesiastical boundaries. In fact, no other religious order has been more successful—or more contentious. Unlike other orders, the Jesuits do not wear distinctive clerical garments or reside in monasteries. Instead, they are educators, missionaries, and religious leaders. They formed a global network led by influential superiors general, while pledging unwavering obedience to the pope. Friedrich highlights their extraordinary cultural and intellectual contributions through their prominent roles in science, religion, missions, and politics.A Concise History of the Jesuits illustrates the Jesuits' complicated and, at times, controversial history. Through this insightful introduction, readers interested in Catholicism and Jesuit history will gain a deeper understanding of the character and history of the Society of Jesus.

A leading Catholic historian tells the fascinating story of how the Jesuits shaped the modern worldSince its founding by Ignatius of Loyola in 1540, the Society of Jesus—commonly known as the Jesuits—has played a critical role in the events of modern history.In A Concise History of the Jesuits, Markus Friedrich, a leading historian of the Jesuits in academia, tells the story of the Society of Jesus from its founding to the papacy of Francis, the first Jesuit pope. Drawing on meticulous archival research and previous scholarship, he explores the profound societal impact of the Jesuits' humanist colleges, spiritual tradition, and global outreach—far beyond ecclesiastical boundaries. In fact, no other religious order has been more successful—or more contentious. Unlike other orders, the Jesuits do not wear distinctive clerical garments or reside in monasteries. Instead, they are educators, missionaries, and religious leaders. They formed a global network led by influential superiors general, while pledging unwavering obedience to the pope. Friedrich highlights their extraordinary cultural and intellectual contributions through their prominent roles in science, religion, missions, and politics.A Concise History of the Jesuits illustrates the Jesuits' complicated and, at times, controversial history. Through this insightful introduction, readers interested in Catholicism and Jesuit history will gain a deeper understanding of the character and history of the Society of Jesus.

This book examines how genealogical knowledge was produced in Early Modern Europe. It studies the procedures and difficulties of genealogical research and highlights the many challenges that had to be overcome in the process of establishing family histories. Archives had to be visited, stone inscriptions had to be deciphered, and countless individuals had to be identified. The papers demonstrate that none of these tasks were simple and that the results of the research efforts often remained ambivalent. How early modern genealogists went about studying these questions is investigated here in a comparative perspective that includes cases from Germany, Italy, France, Wales, and beyond.

Zacharias Konrad von Uffenbach (1683-1734) – Patrizier und Bürgermeister in Frankfurt – zählte zu den herausragenden Sammlern und gelehrten Netzwerkern seiner Zeit. Im Laufe seines Lebens erwarb er rund 40.000 Bücher und Handschriften, von denen sich viele heute noch lokalisieren lassen. Ungeachtet der Bekanntheit seines Namens und des außergewöhnlichen Umfangs seiner Sammlung, sind weder der Bestand an sich – Kerne davon befinden sich v.a. in Hamburg, Frankfurt, Gießen und München – noch Uffenbach als Büchersammler und Polyhistor wirklich erforscht. Die Beiträge des Bandes beleuchten das Thema aus der Perspektive der Geschichtsforschung, der Philosophie- und Wissensgeschichte, der Handschriftenkunde, der Kunstgeschichte und der Germanistik. Eingangs werden zeitgenössische Phänomene wie die Entwicklung der Privatbibliothek und das Selbstverständnis des Polyhistors analysiert, gefolgt von Beiträgen speziell zu Uffenbachs Sammlungs- und Wissenskonzeption, zu seinem Netzwerk und seinen Kontakten mit Gelehrten und zum Buchhandel.

Situating the history of genealogy in the ambit of manuscript studies, this volume explores how handwriting practices influenced the development of genealogies. It shows how lineages used handwritten documents in constructing and presenting their identity both to the outside world and to themselves. Genealogical handwriting is practiced in many manuscript cultures; this volume is the first to juxtapose studies from a wide variety of such cultures, ranging from East Asia, to West and Central Asia, to Europe. As the present contributions discuss in depth, tracing one’s lineage usually required taking note of personal histories, biographies and relationships; the chapters explore the many different reasons that compelled both individuals and institutions to do just this, and highlight the various contexts in which genealogy-writing occurred. Taking a material-oriented approach to handwriting practices in the study of genealogies can reveal the challenges implicated in producing such written artefacts, highlighting the enormous effort required in cultivating lineage-related knowledge. Seen from the view of manuscript studies, genealogies emerge as invaluable, yet also highly fragile forms of cultural capital.

The history of archiving and record-keeping has recently attracted a lot of attention, however, scholarship on the physical and spatial aspects of that history are still scant. Hence, the volume foregrounds the material aspect of record-keeping and highlights the object-nature of archiving. Chapters on archive-related document preparation and the composition of archivable records are followed by explorations of storage containers, furniture, and spaces.The volume is cross-cultural in nature, highlighting the materiality of record-keeping practices as a prime entry point for a globally comparative history of archiving. Exploring the rich traditions of record-keeping practices and facilities makes visible previously underappreciated parallels and unique specifics of various archival cultures from around the globe.