The Tagzettel and Diaries of Cardinal Ernst Adalbert von Harrach

Abstract

Between 1630 and 1667 Cardinal Ernst Adalbert von Harrach wrote down—in Italian and German—various events of his life and thus documented the political and cultural development of his time. The result was a personal testimonial which is a singular specimen of historical writing in German speaking areas during this period, owing to its size, the diverse range of its contents and the specific circumstances of its origin. Over the last years, an interdisciplinary team at the University of Vienna comprising historians and a philologist have worked on making this comprehensive source accessible to the scientific community. This article, based on the findings of the project team, aims to introduce the author of these documents, to portray their historical context and to draw attention to the potential of this source.