We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
Das Editionsprojekt der Acta Pacis Westphalicae.
- Authors
Lanzinner, Maximilian
- Abstract
In this article, the research proceedings of the Acta Pacis Westphalicae (APW) will be described and analyzed. The edition documents the negotiations surrounding the Peace of Westphalia between the years 1644 and 1649 and thus a significant event in European history. The editorial project was funded up to the year 2011 by the Union of the German Academies of Sciences and Humanities and has now come to an end. The first part of the article sketches the origins and aims of the project. It began in the Federal Republic of Germany during the early years of non-university research institutions, but only contingently and not tactically defined, as is common today. Then follows an account of what has been published and what has been omitted, and to what extent the aims have been achieved. The next section addresses the conversion of the existing print edition into a digital online publication, in order to compare the two formats, but also to evaluate the challenges and opportunities of digital editions. Concluding thoughts pertain to the contributions of the APW and comparable editions to historical research. The criticisms of such major projects are also considered, it is argued, however, that editorial projects fulfill essential functions within the historical discipline: They lead to the development of new, unique methods which are now necessary in the course of digital editions. By opening up these complex bodies of text for research for the first time, new knowledge is gained and the scope of questions is broadened while the questions themselves become more innovative. Finally, these projects ensure a high degree of checking the results, which is necessary in all sciences.
- Subjects
ACTA Pacis Westphalicae (Book); PEACE of Westphalia (1648); THIRTY Years' War, 1618-1648; 17TH century European history; HISTORICAL source material; PUBLISHING of historical sources; HISTORIOGRAPHY
- Publication
Historische Zeitschrift, 2014, Vol 298, Issue 1, p29
- ISSN
0018-2613
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1515/hzhz-2014-0002