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Conspiracy
(2,746 words)

1. Concept

The Latin coniuratio became the now-obsolete “conjuration” (Johnson's Dictionary of the English Language: “A plot; a conspiracy”) in early modern English. The German equivalent, Verschwörung, in 18th-century usage as reflected in Zedler's Universal-Lexicon, denoted “an unlawful compact against the authorities” (“die unrechtmäßige Zusammenschwörung wieder [sic] die Obrigkeit”) [1. 980]. The Encyclopédie of Diderot and d'Alambert also makes conjuration a compact between peopl…

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Vogel, Christine, “Conspiracy”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 19 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_COM_029668>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20170206



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