Literarisches Leben in Melk
ein Kloster zur Zeit Josephs II. im kulturellen Umbruch ; mit unveröffentlichten Briefen von A. Blumauer, G. A. Dietl, G. Leon u.a.
eng: This thesis in the field of territorial literary historiography aims at analyzing the condition under which the Enlightenment was received and dealt with in Melk. Under the influence of the Counter Reformation a largely independent monasterial...
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eng: This thesis in the field of territorial literary historiography aims at analyzing the condition under which the Enlightenment was received and dealt with in Melk. Under the influence of the Counter Reformation a largely independent monasterial culture had developed in Melk. One of the decisive cultural factors was the constituting of a representative public: Melk put its position as a clerical institution on display. The works of art that were printed for this purpose were financed by the monastery's patronage and the monks had to face internal censorship. Due to the influence the state under Maria Theresia and Joseph II. exerted on clerical institutions Melk's previous reading and writing traditions went out of practice. A new generation of clergymen took a role in public enlightened institutions such as magazine subscription clubs and the Freemasons and also supported the imperial reforms. The ideal of enlightened conviviality (aufklärerische Geselligkeit) was expressed through the poetic paradigm of the 'jocular' (das Scherzhafte) which remained influential in Austria for a long time. This new ideal of conviviality transformed the correspondence of the clergy too. Together with the new type of public life the concept of authorship changed as well. A modern form of responsible authorship, going beyond patronage and representation, had received input from Emperor Joseph's censorship reforms and was also tried out by the clergy in Melk. The controlled and censored reading in Melk came to an end and those monks interested in literature became 'extensive' readers that knew about the literary public's current debates. With more books being owned privately monasteries turned into new markets for secular literature. This change in writing and reading habits in the monastic sphere was permanent, as can clearly be demonstrated in the case of Brother Ulrich Petrak, who continued to participate actively in the restricted literary public even after Joseph II. had died.
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