Empirie im Monchsgewand

The work examines the interaction of scientific practices and religious lifestyle using the example of southern German monasteries in the second half of the 18th century. Monastic natural research formed an inward-looking scientific culture, the specific characteristics of which essentially resulted from the pragmatic connection between monastic life and research practice. However, the effect of monastic natural research went well beyond the borders of the monastery. Religious scholars played a key role in shaping the scientific landscape in southern Germany, especially with regard to collective working methods and standardization. The study closes an important gap in the understanding of early modern scholarship by including the monasteries, which have so far received little attention alongside universities and academies, as places of knowledge production. In doing so, she not only focuses on handwritten source material from astronomical observations and physical experiments, but also takes into account the material culture of the measuring devices and demonstration experiments.