heiBOOKS

The development of historical research in German universities over the last twenty years has been strongly influenced by the academic fields of cultural and social history, and by gender issues.  There exist, therefore, along with individual studies and several comprehensive comparisons of doctoral and the “Habilitation” (postdoctoral lecture qualification) qualifications as “specifically German”, also studies of gender-specific opportunities for access to university education and research careers. Until now, there has been no broad investigation into the work of early women in research and teaching in the context of Heidelberg University. The aim of this volume, developed by a small group of history students, is to close this gap.

The year 2021 marks the 300th anniversary of the birth of Elisabeth Augusta of the Palatinate (1721–1794). As the eldest granddaughter of Elector Carl Philipp, she was married to the heir to the electoral dignity, Carl Theodor, on her 21st birthday in Mannheim Castle. Her younger sister, Maria Anna, was married on the same day to Clemens Franz von Paula, Duke of Bavaria. Elisabeth Augusta and Clemens Franz had fallen in love with each other in the run-up to the marriages and maintained a close, intimate and also erotic relationship for many years. Their correspondence reflects their close relationship, their duties and limits, their boredom and hopes, their occasional weariness with court life and their understanding of their princely role. It is not an exchange of scholarly content or serious commentary on political developments, but a glimpse into the prince's everyday life, a piece of normality. Nevertheless, it is precisely this that appears all the more exciting, as the private scope of action of princely persons and the hidden language of love and passions are also revealed here.