ABSTRACT
This chapter explores how early modern biographies and commemorations (vitae and elogia) created a collective history of scholars throughout Europe. It highlights the importance of geography, showing how scholarly identity was shaped by local, national, and transnational factors. The chapter examines how scholars and chroniclers negotiated regional identities alongside the ideal of a universal Republic of Letters. Key examples demonstrate how confessional and political shifts influenced the inclusion of certain scholars, revealing that the concept of a pan-European scholarly community was sustained, even as national identities emerged.
