Medizinische Wissenschaftspflege im Benediktinerkloster Admont bis 1500

The Benedictine monastery of Admont (Styria, Austria) was founded around 1074. In the course of the 12th century it became a centre of religion, culture and learning in the East Alpine region and remained so throughout the Middle Ages. Its library of medieval manuscripts has survived almost without losses until today. These and a catalogue of manuscripts dating from 1376/1380, which was compiled by Peter of Arbon, provide an excellent basis for research in the history of Admonts medieval library. The Austrian historian Alphons Lhotsky developed a method for investigating the cultivation of scientific literature. In the presented study this method is applied to illustrate the scope of medical texts that can be proved to have already existed in the medieval library of Admont. The age of the manuscripts and the approximate time of their acquisition serves to show the speed, in which new medical texts came to be known at Admont. Very important in this respect is the activity of abbot Engelbert of Admont, who had studied in Padua and obviously brought manuscripts with him to Admont and was also responsible for the production of manuscripts - containing also medical texts - in Admont at the end of the 13th and the beginning of the 14th century. The interpretation and analysis of marginal notes, medical recipes and the composition of compound manuscripts offer an insight into the practical usage of medical manuscripts in Admont. Finally, the results of the study are compared to those of an earlier investigation of the medieval medical mansucripts of the Augustinian canons at Klosterneuburg (Lower Austria).