Abstract
This chapter focuses on early uses of footnotes (as one category of annotations) in Central Europe during the second half of the seventeenth century. Attention is also accorded to what can be regarded as an institutional context for these early footnotes: the precursors of the Humanities (mainly: Ancient Languages and Literatures) as well as the roles of academic disciplines and interdisciplinarity at Central European academic institutions during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. That institutional context is used to call attention to issues pertaining to (inter-)disciplinarity in our time and the relevance of these issues to collaboration between colleagues in the Humanities and the Digital Humanities. Mentioned is the possibility that innovative uses of footnotes (often along with other forms of annotations) during the late seventeenth century by little known authors might serve as a catalyst for innovation in the Digital Humanities.
