Melchior Goldast Von Haiminsfeld: Collector, Commentator and Editor

Melchior Goldast was a Swiss scholar, editor and lawyer, born near St. Gallen in 1578, who, in his early years, was engaged in publishing many manuscripts and documents relating to the history and literature of his native land. This study begins with an account of the background and circumstances into which he was born, and a short biography of Goldast. The work focuses on two of his publications: the Paraeneticorum Veterum Pars 1 (1604), in which early printing of texts from the Codex Manesse appeared, and the Scriptores Rerum Alamannicarum (1606), a collection of historical texts and other documents important to the history of the early German language. It also examines the reception of these works by German scholars up to 1750, and Goldast’s influence on the understanding and appreciation of early German texts.