Ein unbekannter Leibniz-Brief vom November 1688 an den hannoverschen Kammersekretär Johann Christoph Urbich und seine Einbettung in den Kontext der Beziehungen des hannoverschen Hofes mit Wien

• Published in: Studia Leibnitiana Vol. 49; no. 2; pp. 201 - 223
• Main Author: Stuber, Regina
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: German
• Published: Stuttgart Franz Steiner Verlag 01.07.2017
• Subjects: Courts; History; Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm, Freiherr von (1646-1716); Louis XIV, King of France (1638-1715); Roman civilization; Royalty; Studies; War; Holy Roman Empire; France
• ISSN: 0039-3185; 2366-228X
• DOI: 10.25162/SL-2017-00010

Leibniz's stay in Vienna from May 1688 to January 1689 was mainly devoted to genealogical research in the Vienna archives for the history of the Guelphs. Leibniz's request to the Hanoverian ministers to grant him access to the imperial court was at first answered only hesitantly. Additional research was deemed unnecessary. However, Leibniz's ties to the imperial court made it possible to establish unofficial contacts between the Duke of Hanover and the Emperor. The growing tensions between the Holy Roman Empire and France, as they were already apparent before the beginning of the Palatinate War, brought the Duke in distress: a secret treaty, which did not come into force, made the Duke appear as an ally of France. Leibniz's hitherto unknown letter of November 1688 to Johann Christoph von Urbich is evidence of Leibniz's close contact with the authors of the imperial response to the French declaration of war. In addition, this letter enables, among other things, a reconstruction of Leibniz's efforts of accommodation between the Hanoverian court and the Emperor at the turn of the year 1688/89.