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This article aims at establishing the real contribution polyhistor Benjamin Hederich (1675-1748) made to the genesis and evolution of the so-called auxiliary sciences of history, at a time when these subjects were being developed and defined. By analyzing the contents of his Anleitung zu den fürnehmsten Historischen Wissenschaften in relation to the rest of his works, we are able to understand his conception of what were to become the auxiliary sciences of history, his achievements in elaborating this category of scientific subjects and what separates his notion of what constitutes the auxiliary sciences from the modern one. The present paper also gives an unprecedented chronology of the history of the text and casts light on various aspects of Hederich's methodology and fields of study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]