Michael Schwarz

1986
born in Weimar

2007 - 2010
Bachelor studies of History (major) and Economics, Law and Social Sciences (minor) at the University of Erfurt

2010 - 2012
Master's degree in History at the University of Erfurt

Since 2013
Doctoral candidate with the research topic "Studies on Military Cultures of Knowledge in Central Germany in the 17th and 18th Century. The example of the Duchy of Saxony-Gotha-Altenburg".

• Historical Anthropology
• New Military History
• Relationship between military and religion in FNZ
• Relationship between military and knowledge in FNZ

Studies on Military Cultures of Knowledge in Central Germany in the 17th and 18th Centuries. The Example of the Duchy of Saxony-Gotha-Altenburg

The project is dedicated to the investigation of the changing circulation of military knowledge during the early modern period. This is done using the example of the Duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg in the 17th and 18th centuries, focusing on the period from 1670 to 1770. This selection is appropriate for several reasons. First, this territory had a very large number of soldiers in relation to its own population during this period, so that by 1700 it had even reached a higher level of militarization than Brandenburg-Prussia. Second, the dukes of Saxony-Gotha-altenburg did not use their military power to wage war themselves, but instead engaged in subsidy trade on an international level from the late 17th century under Frederick I until the 1760s under Frederick III, meaning the surrender of their own troops to other states for financial or political support. Third, focusing on such a relatively manageable territory within a time span that is not too broad allows for a better analysis of the various actors and practices in the changing circulation of military knowledge.

In this context, it is also assumed that, due to the rearmament of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg as well as the practice of subsidy trade related to it, greater dynamics are tangible in this period with regard to the relations between territorial state military affairs and early modern knowledge cultures. The presentation of these far-reaching and diverse interactions between early modern military and various forms and modes of knowledge form the central component of this thesis. The mutual influence of scholarly, everyday as well as administrative knowledge for military necessities and expectations plays a role as well as the knowledge transfers from the courtly center over the (residential) urban space to the rural periphery. In addition, certain military knowledge cultures of the court, the (residential) city and the country can be described and put into relation with each other. Thus, this project connects the 'new military history' with the 'new history of knowledge' in a hitherto unique way.

Edited volumes

together with Oliver Kann (ed.): Militär und Gesellschaft in der Frühen Neuzeit. Themenheft: Militärisches Wissen vom 16. bis zum 19. Jahrhundert, Potsdam 2021.

Articles

Introduction: Militärisches Wissen vom 16. bis zum 19. Jahrhundert, in: Michael Schwarz, Oliver Kann (ed.): Militär und Gesellschaft in der Frühen Neuzeit. Themenheft: Militärisches Wissen vom 16. bis zum 19. Jahrhundert, Potsdam 2021, S. 5 - 16.

Die Genese von Militärreglements. Das Beispiel des Wirtschaftsreglements der sachsen-gotha-altenburgischen Regimenter um 1750, in: Michael Schwarz, Oliver Kann (ed.): Militär und Gesellschaft in der Frühen Neuzeit. Themenheft: Militärisches Wissen vom 16. bis zum 19. Jahrhundert, Potsdam 2021, S. 51 - 85.