The Problem of Cultural Origins. Scholarly Knowledge between Authority and Pluralization

This project investigates the book 'De inventoribus rerum' by Polydorus Vergilius. The first version of the text appeared in 1499 in three parts, five more parts were added in 1521. The book had a widespread distribution throughout Europe; it was available well into the eighteenth century. There were more than 100 different editions.

This text allows an exemplary examination of how cultural origins were conceptualized. Translations into the most important European vernacular languages (English, French, German, Spanish, and Russian) document an interest in Polydorus Vergilius beyond the scholarly community.

This research project cooperates closely with the collaborative research centre (Sonderforschungsbereich) on 'Pluralization and Authority in the Early Modern Period (15th to 17th century)', established in 2001 at the University of Munich.

Database: http://diglib.hab.de/?db=polydorus