 Dear fellows, alumni and friends, Spring at the Herzog August Bibliothek always brings new discoveries — in our collections, our collaborations, and our community. We are pleased to reconnect with you and to share a selection of news, reflections, and glimpses of what has been unfolding since our last newsletter in December. We would be very glad to hear from you as well: What are you currently working on, and how has your time in Wolfenbüttel continued to shape your research or professional path? Please don't hesitate to get in touch and share your updates with us at presse@hab.de. Warm regards, The HAB Team  Image: Bibliotheca Augusta with flowers (photo: HAB) NewsHerzog August Bibliothek now on LinkedIn Image: The HAB LinkedIn page (photo: HAB) Our page features updates on current job opportunities, ongoing research projects, and other news and developments from the HAB community. Follow us on LinkedIn and stay connected with the HAB and fellow alumni. Digital Edition of Lessing’s “Ernst und Falk” Now Available Image: The “Lessing digital” homepage (photo: HAB) The digital edition of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing’s Ernst und Falk – Gespräche für Freymäurer (1778/1780), a key text of the German Enlightenment, is now available. It includes the printed versions of the five dialogues as well as a manuscript that can be understood as the basis for the first edition. More... New HAB-Event Series
New Research ProjectsNützliche Bibliotheken: The Emergence of Institutional Knowledge Techniques in the 18th Century The HAB, the Georg August University of Göttingen, the Göttingen State and University Library, and the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Library in Hanover have joined forces in the research consortium “Nützliche Bibliotheken”(Useful Libraries). The sub-project based at the HAB aims to examine and reconstruct the library’s practices of use. More... EDIKILEX The project seeks to develop an AI system that significantly improves access to and comparability of Early New High German texts (c. 1350–1650) for research and teaching. In collaboration with the Early New High German Dictionary (FWB) at the Lower Saxony Academy of Sciences in Göttingen, the Georg August University of Göttingen, the Lower Saxony State and University Library Göttingen, and the Institute for Information Science and Language Technology (IwiSt) at the University of Hildesheim, the project is going to develop AI-based methods for the lemmatization and semantic analysis of Early New High German textual data. The resulting tools and data will support scholarly editions and contribute to the further development of the FWB. More... Fellow Feature: Exploring American Print in Enlightenment Germany with Jennifer MerrimanHAB: What did you work on during your time as a fellow of the HAB? Jennifer: I spent my three-month stay at the HAB researching the circulation of American-made print in early modern Germany. Specifically, my dissertation looks at the circulation and reception of works printed by Christoph Saur (1695-1758), who was an influential German printer in British North America in the eighteenth century. Born in Ladenburg, near Heidelberg, he migrated to Pennsylvania in 1724 alongside his wife and son, and by 1738 he had set up a printing press near Philadelphia. He began with German-language almanacs and newspapers before moving on to larger works, including printing in 1743 the first European-language Bible in the Americas. While the Saur printing family has long been a subject of investigation among “Pennsylvania German” historians, the transatlantic dimension of the Saur press remains largely understudied. Saur Bibles, for example, were coveted objects in European court libraries. One of my goals at the HAB was to find out more about the German reception of the Saur Bible, not only among the nobility but also among book collectors, craftsmen, and Enlightenment thinkers. Luckily for me, the Herzog August Bibliothek has a very special copy of the Saur Bible, being one of twelve so-called “Apostle Bibles” that were gifted by the Württemberg courtier and Frankfurt resident Heinrich Ehrenfried Luther to various courtly libraries in Europe. The Saur Bible at the HAB was originally gifted to Duchess Elizabeth Sophia Maria around 1747 and was later absorbed into the library in 1780, around the time of Lessing's death. And of course, aside from provenance, I am interested in how these American-made German Bibles intersect with Enlightenment notions of language, culture, and theology. HAB: What’s your favorite spot or hidden gem in Wolfenbüttel? Jennifer: Two things: first, there are great walking trails on the eastern edge of the city that lead you through both fields and forests. The second tip would be Sportpark Meesche, which is within walking distance of the HAB — it's a great place to get exercise between reading room visits or after a long day in the office. HAB: What’s one piece of advice you’d give to current fellows or visitors to the library? Jennifer: The library will lead you down many research rabbit holes — so leave yourself plenty of time to explore them! You will need more time than you think. Also, go to all the research presentations. HAB: If you had to sum up your time as a HAB fellow in just three words, what would they be? Jennifer: Stimulation, community, caffeine HAB: Thank you very much, Jennifer – enjoy your stay in Wolfenbüttel! HAB Calls: Apply now!Doctoral Fellowship: Dr. Günther Findel-Stiftung / Rolf and Ursula Schneider-Stiftung, application deadline October 01, 2026 More... Conference: The American Friends of the Herzog August Bibliothek Grant: Research grants funded by the State of Lower Saxony 2027, application deadline: January 31, 2027 More... Grant (DGEJ-members only): DGEJ-Gale-Fellowships "Digital Humanities" 2026 (Deutsche Gesellschaft für die Erforschung des 18. Jahrhunderts), application deadline: June 15, 2026 More... Exploring Further: Noteworthy Calls Outside the HABCalls for Applications
Grant: 2x printing cost subsidy “Geschichte der Frühen Neuzeit”, Oestreich-Stiftung Rostock (Germany). Application deadline: June 30, 2026 More... Job: Vice President for Research and Education, Newberry Library (USA). Application deadline: September 1, 2026 More... Job: Research Associate, New Jersey Institute of Technology (USA). Application deadline: September 11, 2026 More... Fellowship: Resnick fellowships (National Library of Israel, Jerusalem) Application deadline: June 30, 2026 More... Fellowship: IZEA fellowships “Multiple Enlightenments: 18th century to today” at Martin Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg. Application deadline: June 15, 2026 More... Grant: Digitisation Grants, Netzwerk Historische Wissens- und Gebrauchsliteratur e.V. Application deadline: December 31, 2026 More... Fellowship: Karl-Ferdinand-Werner Fellowship, Deutsches Historisches Institut Paris. Application deadline: September 15, 2026 More... Calls for Papers
Workshop: Contingency and Imagination. Rethinking Economic Agency in the Early Modern Period, Technische Universität Dresden, March 03 – March 05, 2027. Deadline: July 19, 2026 More... Summer school: “Food History” als Globale Kulturgeschichte, Forschungszentrum Gotha, August 24 – August 28, 2026. Deadline: June 21, 2026 More... Conference: ›Vröide – Joie – Joye. Singen, Lachen, Tanzen, Trinken – Freude und Feste in der mittelalterlichen und frühneuzeitlichen Literatur und Kunst‹, Oswald von Wolkenstein-Gesellschaft, Brixen, September 22 – September 25, 2027. Deadline: December 31, 2026 More... Conference: Zwischen ‚erzählen‘ und ‚sprechen lassen‘. Online Seminar Series: Euro-Mediterranean Entanglements in Medieval History, Academic year 2026/2027. Deadline: June 8, 2026 More... Colloquium: The Art of Failure: Hybridity, Risk and the Limits of Artistic Projects, 1450–1900. 9th Philipp Hainhofer Colloquium, Augsburg, 19–21 March 2027. Deadline: September 30, 2026 More... Currently at the HAB: Meet Our Fellows!Postdocs & Senior Fellows
Jonathan Schiesaro Doctoral students
Recap from the 10th International Conference of Frühe Neuzeit Interdisziplinär (FNI) Opening address at the 10th International Conference of Frühe Neuzeit Interdisziplinär in the Zeughaus (photo: HAB) The Conference, titled “The Mobility of People, Ideas and Objects between the German-Speaking Lands and the World beyond Europe”, brought together scholars from around the world and a wide range of fields.
Across the panels, participants discussed how people, knowledge, and material objects circulated in the early modern world. We thank all speakers and participants for their engaging contributions and for making the conference such a lively and inspiring event.
Images: More Impressions of the 10th International Conference of Frühe Neuzeit Interdisziplinär (photos: HAB) Events at the HABGuided Tour: Tuesday evening tour through the Zeughaus Research Conversation: Material Migrations: Transkulturelle Kunstgeschichte mit afrikanischem Fokus - Forschungsgespräch mit Vera-Simone Schulz (Universität Lüneburg) Workshop: Christiana Mariana von Ziegler (1695–1760): Aufklärungsfeminismus, Kulturtransfer, Edition mit Astrid Dröse und Marisa Irawan (beide Karlsruher Institut für Technologie). Conference: Atrocity and Normativity in Early Modern War (II) with Deborah Pileggi-Karrer and Harald E. Braun. Concert: Wir HABen Musik #3 – Wandelkonzert. Mit den zwei Ensembles Capella de la Torre und Gambenduo Ensemble Art d'Echo. Außerdem dabei: Elektro-Pop-Band Laini. Talk: Revolution im Leseland „MEIN DING“ | Wolfenbütteler Gespräche mit Michael Knoche Reading: Yade Yasemin Önder liest: Anti Müller. Lesung und Gespräch in der Reihe „HAB gelesen“ Research Conversation: Essen und Kochen: Best Practice des Kulturtransfers? Forschungsgespräch mit Elena Korowin (Hochschule für Bildende Künste Braunschweig Reading: „hinab in die schauerliche Höllentiefe und dem Maulwurf gleich wühlen“ - Kommentierte Lesung mit Susanne Maierhöfer und Manuel Zink anlässlich des 250. Geburtstages von Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann Guided Tour: Tuesday evening tour through the Zeughaus Research Conversation: Die Reformation der Frauen – ein Lehrbuchprojekt Reading: Heike Geißler liest: Michaela Kohlhaas. Lesung und Gespräch in der Reihe „HAB gelesen“ Guided Tour: Auf den Spuren von Gotthold Ephraim Lessing. Führung durch das Lessinghaus zum Tag des offenen Denkmals mit Manuel Zink Reading: Verena Keßler liest: Gym. Lesung und Gespräch in der Reihe „HAB gelesen“ Reading: Ulli Lust liest: Die Frau als Mensch: Am Anfang der Geschichte. Lesung und Gespräch in der Reihe „HAB gelesen“ More events may be added - check our calendar to stay up to date! New ChaptersGiovanni Lista, former HAB-fellow, shares news of the upcoming conference “Translations and Academies in the Eighteenth Century: Sociability, Transnational Networks and Knowledge Circulation”. He organizes the event with the support of the Fritz Thyssen Stiftung and the Interdisciplinary Centre for European Enlightenment Studies (IZEA) at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg. The conference will take place from 25 to 27 June 2026. More... Is there something you would like to share with the community? Please get in touch at presse@hab.de
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