Abstract (eng)
This thesis consists of a transcription and commentary of the scholarly correspondence conducted in Latin between the Cistercian monk Chrysostomus Hanthaler (1690–1754) of Lilienfeld Abbey and the brothers Bernard and Jerome Pez of the Benedictine Melk Abbey. Hanthaler was a historian, numismatist and engraver. The 27 letters are preceded by a biographical and critical introduction. After describing Hanthaler's legal and theological studies in Salzburg, this study takes us through the milestones of his monastic life as a Cistercian (librarian, novice master, superior in Klostermarienberg, secretary to Abbot Chrysostomus Wieser). There follows a description of Hanthaler's relationship to the Pez brothers.
The introduction concentrates on Hanthaler's forgeries. The author identifies a development in concepts of historiographical authenticity from baroque times into the present. Since Hanthaler's works and reputation as a forger have consistently appeared in Austrian research, the changing perceptions of him constitute their own reception history into the 21st Century.
The letters and accompanying scholarly apparatus, never before published, will be included in the complete edition of the Pez Brothers' letters of which the first volume appeared in 2010. Each letter is divided into thematic units, preceded by a careful summary of its contents (in German) and followed by an explanation of its historical and biblical references.
Finally, this paper contains the most comprehensive bibliography on Hanthaler to date. It is divided into four sections: 1. published words (17 entries), 2. lost publications (4 entries), 3. manuscripts in the Lilienfeld Abbey Archives (49 entries) and 4. secondary publications (51 entries).