Praktiken des Zitierens in der vormodernen Wissensliteratur

The article deals with formal and functional aspects of reported speech in printed natural history texts from the late Middle Ages to the early modern period from a pragmatic point of view. The topos of authority played a crucial role in medieval and early modern non-fictional literature and served to legitimize the knowledge offered by the author. Originally, direct or indirect citation proved knowledge of the authorities, a means by which the author claimed the truth for his statements. In the course of time, direct and indirect speech in scientific texts became more and more a formal and functional tool for positioning one’s own way of thinking in opposition to other opinions.