Blut und Brevier: Familiengeschichte und Frömmigkeit in Lessings Nathan der Weise

Starting from the few passages representing applied religion in Lessing’s Nathan the Wise this article retraces the consistent connection between family history and piety as presented in this most important German text pertaining to religious tolerance. It is shown with reference to earlier representations of the ‘noble Jew’ that in Nathan the Wise the levelling of religious differences leads to a reinforcement of blood relationships as can be traced in a prayer book, a connection that is hardly coincidental. (FM; in German)