Database of Early Modern German Physicians’ Letters

Started in 2009, the database now offers free online access to the records of about 45,000 letters written by or to learned physicians in the German lands between 1500 and 1700. These letters contain a wealth of information not only about medical and natural philosophical issues but also on family matters, political and confessional conflicts, on cities and courts and many other topics. In addition to the basic data (names, date, places), thousands of datasets contain a detailed summary of the letter in question. Recently, an English-language user surface has been added and over the next years English translations of the German summaries will be added.