The Catholic pedagogue and theologian Johann Michael Sailer (1751-1832), who was even described by Pope John Paul II as the "Doctor of the Church of Europe", is a key witness to the fundamental upheavals in the transitional phase between the Enlightenment, Romanticism and the beginning of the Restoration and had a decisive influence on these transitions. With his writings and his extensive network of pupils and friends, Sailer crossed various boundaries: This applies with regard to subject discipline (pedagogy, philosophy, literary studies), denomination (ecumenical theology developed communicatively in a cross-denominational circle of scholars), geographical areas (southern and central Germany, Switzerland, Russia and others), linguistic area (translations from and into other European languages) and practical action (political influence in the ecclesiastical as well as cultural reorganisation of Bavaria).
Prof. Dr August Laumer (Augsburg) and Prof. Dr Peter Scheuchenpflug (Regensburg) are responsible for the creation of a digital edition of Sailer's works. The aim is to enable a deeper understanding of the effectiveness of Christian practice in a phase of fundamental social change.
To this end, in a first phase, holdings from the Regensburg episcopal central library will be digitised by the Regensburg University Library and transcribed with the help of the text capture programme "Transkribus". The edition thus presents not only the digitised copies of the historical printed texts, but also transcribed versions of the texts that are suitable for further use. This project is financially supported by the Volker Nechleba Foundation (external link, opens in a new window), funds from August Laumer and private donations from Peter Scheuchenpflug.
Image rights:
- Sailer as professor in Dillingen (left): Portrait by Tiberius Wocher, Liebenau Foundation
- Sailer as professor in Landshut (centre): ZHB Lucerne Special Collection
- Sailer as Bishop of Regensburg (right): Episcopal Central Archives Regensburg
Edition