The Maker of Pedigrees: Jakob Wilhelm Imhoff and the Meanings of Genealogy in Early Modern Europe

"The practice of genealogy, in particular the work of Jakob Wilhelm Imhoff from Nuremberg, Germany, a prolific and highly respected genealogical author, is a case study in how knowledge was produced and disseminated in the 17th and 18th centuries. During this time much of Europe was in the grip of a genealogical craze. Family lineages, and their display in multiple textual and visual forms, were key instruments in defining dynasties, organizing international relations, and structuring social life at large. Despite genealogy's overall impact on social, cultural, and political life, however, scholars have so far largely failed to investigate the complex knowledge economy that supported all forms of genealogical argumentation. This monograph, in fact, is the first book-length study of post-1600 continental genealogy"--