Mit Wörtern unterwegs. Bildungsreisen und Fremdsprachen im Spiegel der Sulzbacher Hofbibliothek

The educational journey of early modern aristocrats was an educational experience in which the acquisition of various foreign languages played an important role. Unfortunately, travelogues usually provide only scant information about how language barriers were overcome in everyday life, in which situations which language was used, and which misunderstandings and problems arose as a result. The educational programme of the Sulzbach princes recommended warmly the study of modern languages (besides Latin) and the variety of foreign language works in the Sulzbach court library testifies to the Duke’s cultural multilingualism. In my contribution, I will focus on the part of the library directly connected with the princes’ studies but also with his later interest in language as a means to attain wisdom and truth, according to the mystical conception of time. The manuscript catalogue of that part of the library is then transcribed in the appendix.