Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online

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Executive editor of the English version: Andrew Colin Gow

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The Encyclopedia of Early Modern History is the English edition of the German-language Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. This 15-volume reference work, published in print between 2005 and 2012 and here available online, offers a multi-faceted view on the decisive era in European history stretching from ca. 1450 to ca. 1850 ce. in over 4,000 entries.
The perspective of this work is European. This is not to say that the rest of the World is ignored – on the contrary, the interaction between European and other cultures receives extensive attention.

New articles will be added on a regular basis during the period of translation, for the complete German version see Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit Online.

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Vacuum

(1,850 words)

Author(s): Siebert, Harald
1. ConceptA vacuum (from the Latin vacuus, “empty”) is a space entirely devoid of matter or air. Spaces containing a thin atmosphere are also known colloquially as vacuums.Harald Siebert2. Scholasticism and RenaissanceThe existence of vacuums in nature was considered an impossibility at medieval European universities, with their heavy reliance on Aristotelian philosophy (Aristotelianism). Although the Bishop of Paris, Étienne Tempier, admitted in 1277 that God in his omnipotence must be capable of creating a vacuum, the…
Date: 2023-11-14

Vagabond

(725 words)

Author(s): Wadauer, Sigrid
The English term vagabond or  tramp (French  vagabond, German  Landstreicher) represents a multi-faceted category that can refer to a variety of practices in the early modern world. In the first instance, it denotes someone who roams or wanders about (from Latin  vagari). Vagrancy (or vagabondage) combined mobility, foreignness, lack of a permanent residence and of recognized work or an employment relationship (“masterless men”; Unemployment), and indigence [2. 4]. Especially after the Reformation, people assumed that vagabonds had no real destination a…
Date: 2023-11-14

Value, monetary

(2,377 words)

Author(s): Metz, Rainer
1. DefinitionThe term  money and value are closely related, since money is something that has value (note the German  Geld, “money” from the verb  gelten, “have value”;  Geld ist, was gilt, G. Schmölders). The question of the nature and value of money has been examined since Aristotle in the context of the theory of money (Money, theory of). It took on increased importance in the 12th and 13th centuries, when the urban economy developed and long-distance trade expanded (Trade, Long-distance). Over the course of cent…
Date: 2023-11-14

Vampire

(996 words)

Author(s): Nifl Heim, Nordian
1. Vampirism and vampire maniaA vampire is a revenant who after death haunts the living to harm them and steal their life force by sucking their blood. The belief, rooted in age-old and widespread traditions about bloodthirsty monsters, in the existence of the undead, shaped an assortment of manifestations of this polyvalent demon in the various cultural spheres of Europe. One early modern prefiguration of the vampire in the German-speaking lands was the Nachzehrer (after-feeder), a troublesome ghost of a close relative (and not originally one prone to bloodsucki…
Date: 2023-11-14

Vanitas

(874 words)

Author(s): Ewen, Jens
In the narrower senses, the word  vanitas (Latin “emptiness,” “illusion,” “vanity”) denotes a theme in graphic art, literature, and music, used to symbolize the transience, finitude, and nullity of human existence and human works. In the broader sense, it stands for the idea represented by these symbolic displays, the idea of the  vanitas mundi (vanity/transience of the world). This idea, rooted in Hebrew Scripture, was transmitted primarily in the context of Christian theology (“All is vanity”; Eccl 1:2), but it has roots in antiquity and i…
Date: 2023-11-14

Variation, musical

(771 words)

Author(s): Bork, Camilla
1. ConceptThe etymology of the word “variation” (from the Latin  variatio, “difference,” “change”) reveals a three-fold meaning. It relates to (1) an aesthetic ideal (variegation); (2) a musical form and compositional technique of making variations on a given theme; (3) a performance situation or practice in which these changes are made audible.Camilla Bork2. Aesthetic ideal in musicVariation in ancient rhetoric was one of the fundamental stylistic tools of a good orator. In the 17th century, this rhetorical tradition found its way into writings o…
Date: 2023-11-14

Vassal

(801 words)

Author(s): Kühner, Christian
In the context of feudalism, a feudatory who received a fief (Latin  beneficium) from his feudal lord ( seniordominus) was called a vassal ( vassusvasallus), although there were also vassal relationships without fiefs. The lord and vassal owed each other loyalty. In addition, there were different obligations of both parties: while the vassal was obligated to provide consilium et auxilium (council and aid), the feudal lord was obligated to furnish “protection and guardianship” [3]. As a rule, the vassal received a fief, which could consist of land but also a…
Date: 2023-11-14

Vaudeville

(901 words)

Author(s): Grosch, Nils
1. ConceptThe term “vaudeville” (French  voix de ville, “voice of the city”) denotes a genre of popular song that first emerged in France in the 15th century; from the late 18th century onwards, it also denotes a genre of French popular musical theater, which was then continued in the 19th century under the same name in American urban popular theater [1]. Ultimately, the song genre and the theater genre remained interconnected, as popular songs were incorporated into stage works, and as a result of the performance traditions of the song genre in the…
Date: 2023-11-14

Vaulting

(1,199 words)

Author(s): Becchi, Antonio
1. SurveyVaulting, which also includes arched structures (such as bridges) and the construction of domes, is an important branch of architecture. All forms of overhead construction with a curved profile can be considered “vaulted.” Until the end of the 18th century, however, the term had been limited to structures built using stone, brick, mortar, or  opus caementicium, a building material similar to concrete used by the Romans (Stone construction). In this sense, vaulting includes forms of contruction in which lateral forces act on the supports…
Date: 2023-11-14

Veduta

(1,008 words)

Author(s): Knopp, Katrin Simona
1. DefinitionVeduta (Italian “view,” pl.  vedute) is the name given to a topographically exact painting or drawing of a town or landscape view. It belongs to the genre of landscape painting. Vedute evolved in the 17th century in the context of the Grand Tour, and reached the height of their popularity in the 18th century. Precursors dating back to the late Middle Ages and Renaissance existed in the form of town images of various kinds (Urban landscape).Katrin Simona Knopp2. Late Middle Ages and RenaissanceTown views are regularly seen in the backgrounds of sacred and p…
Date: 2023-11-14

Vegetable

(1,956 words)

Author(s): Hirschfelder, Gunther | Schaier, Joachim
1. NutritionThe word  vegetable originally meant any plant; today it denotes plants (usually annuals) parts of which are eaten raw or cooked in particular ways to serve as human food. The fruit of perennial plants (fruit, nuts) and the seeds of cereal grains are not called vegetables. Despite their fundamental importance for human nutrition even in the early modern period, little systematic study has been devoted to them, largely because in both rural and urban areas vegetables have been pro…
Date: 2023-11-14

Vegetarianism

(1,648 words)

Author(s): Sieglerschmidt, Jörn
1. DefinitionIn many cultures since antiquity, avoidance of meat consumption has been recognized as a form of theriophily (empathic consideration for animals; see fig. 1) and has occasionally been promoted as a religious or dietary rule (Naturopathy). This avoidance has been extended occasionally to include the use of animal products, for example, for apparel. In early modern Europe, however, it is rare to find evidence for rejection of the use of all animal products (veganism, lacto-ovo-vegetari…
Date: 2023-11-14

Vehmic court

(1,166 words)

Author(s): Lück, Heiner
1. Definition and principlesThe term “Vehmic court” takes its name from the medieval German word  feme (or veme; also given in English as vehm). The meaning of feme  is ambiguous and shifted over time. If we examine the earliest attestations in the sources (1227, Middle High German  vimenoten), it indicated a type of collective association [7]. It also meant a penalty (Punishment), which could be imposed in the form of the death penalty for serious crimes (Middle High German  vemewrogen), albeit not until the end of the 14th century. Finally, feme  was also the name of a special …
Date: 2023-11-14

Velocipede

(1,084 words)

Author(s): Lessing, Hans-Erhard
The velocipede as an ancestor of the bicycle must not be confused with the treadmill to convey muscle power to lifting devices and machines. The  velocipede was the first application of the bicycle principle to land transport. The earliest models were designed by the forestry official and technologist Karl Drais beginning in 1817 (see fig. 1). They were soon called draisines (French  draisiennes or vélocipèdes) after their inventor; in England they were called velocipedes or (ironically) hobby-horses. Other claims of priority in the history of the i…
Date: 2023-11-14

Vendée

(1 words)

See Counter-revolution
Date: 2023-11-14

Veneration of images

(1,122 words)

Author(s): Leinweber, Luise
1. FormsIn the Christian cultural milieu, veneration of images means the ritual or ceremonial adoration of visual representations of God, Mary, and the saints. The Christian veneration of images emerged with the appearance of personal icons (Reglious iconography) in the 4th century; in the years that followed, it found expression in various forms. From its beginnings, we can safely assume that it could involve bowing, genuflection, or proskynesis (prostration) as expressions of veneration. Touching and …
Date: 2023-11-14

Ventilation (mining)

(735 words)

Author(s): Bartels, Christoph | Farrenkopf, Michael
The ventilation of mining operations includes all the physical and chemical reactions and the means employed in the context of mining technology that serve the following purposes: (1) conveying enough breathable air to the miners and animals working underground, (2) safeguarding the air that the mining lamps need for combustion, (3) dilution and removal of the explosive (“pounding”), stifling (“stagnant”), and noxious (“evil”) gases (s0-called mine air), and mitigating excessive heat by supplying cooler air to create a bearable working temperature [5]. Generation of a…
Date: 2023-11-14

Vermin

(1,607 words)

Author(s): Eckart, Wolfgang Uwe | Sieglerschmidt, Jörn
1. TerminologyThe term vermin (French  vermine, German  Ungeziefer) is attested since approximately 1300. The German term goes back to the 12th century, as the OHG root word  zebar became modern German  ziefer (animal). The German root may possibly have meant a sacrificial animal in the narrower sense, so that the double pejorative prefix  un- and  ge- might suggest animals not fit for sacrifice. Synonyms included  Geschmeiß (from MHG  smeiszen and  smîszen; modern Latin  cacare, “smear with dung”), which Martin Luther used figuratively in an anti-Jewish sense ( die Jüden …
Date: 2023-11-14

Vernacular

(1,592 words)

Author(s): Haarmann, Harald
1. IntroductionThe word “vernacular” derives from the Latin  vernaculus  (domestic, indigenous) and denotes the speech variety of a language as distinct from forms of prestige language and their communications media (see also Lingua vulgaris). In the early modern period, the vernacular as used in the everyday speech of lower population strata contrasted with other modes and variants of language (Language, manners of) with specialized functions (e.g. written, official, ecclesiastical, and scholarl…
Date: 2023-11-14

Verse narrative

(977 words)

Author(s): Wesche, Jörg
1. ConceptThe term verse narrative denotes (1) in general, any form of fictional storytelling text in verse. Defining features are the line/verse arrangement and the narrative form, while the various subgenres vary by extent and stylistic level. Verse epic of the 18th century, for instance, may be defined as “poetry of some sophistication and large scale that narrates a plot” (“Handlung erzählende Versdichtung gehobenen Anspruchs und größeren Umfangs”) [4. 3]. This traditionally includes heroic, historical (Heroic poetry), and religious epic. In a stricter s…
Date: 2023-11-14
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