The English Philadelphian Mission to Germany, the Construction of their Networks and the linguistic Transmission of their Thought

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Martin Mulsow, since 10/2018
• Subject Area: Protestant Theology ; Early Modern History
• Term: from 2013 to 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 241503620

Around 1700, Philadelphia, the notion of a supra-confessional union of the children of God, became one of the most widespread ideals of German Pietism. The concept was promoted above all by the English Philadelphian community. Researchers have theorized about their influence on radical Pietism and the Herrnhuter, but exactly what influence did the English group have in Germany? A geographically organized Catalogus amicorum in Germania, which served as the starting point for the Philadelphian mission, lies together with a packet of Philadelphian letters nearly untouched in the Forschungsbibliothek Gotha. Further important collections in other archives have likewise received little scholarly attention. Based on these sources, the project will reconstruct the early network of the Philadelphians between England and Germany and the role of their thought in social and cultural mediation. Special attention will be paid to the role of language. Many German contemporaries saw Philadelphian language, which, after all, originated in translations out of English, as the Pietist language par excellence. Yet, which linguistic and cultural contributions the group actually made remains to be determined. Using the example of the English Philadelphians, the project thus inquires into the origins of Pietist language, a phenomenon perceived to be central to Pietist identity, and also investigates which role translation played in the service of cultural transfer.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Participating Persons: Professor Dr. Wolfgang Breul; Professor Dr. Joachim Jacob; Professor Dr. Alexander Schunka
• Ehemalige Antragstellerin: Lucinda Martin, Ph.D., until 9/2018