Katholische Kuriositäten: Aufarbeitung der Bedeutung und Funktion von Kuriositäten mit katholischem Hintergrund in der frühen Neuzeit, anhand der Sammlung der Bürgerbibliothek im reformierten Winterthur

Abstract

This article presents an inquiry into the topic of catholic coded curiosities in protestant owned curiosity collections in the early modern period. The specific object of this investigation is the curiosity collections of the Library of Winterthur in Switzerland during the 17th and 18th century. This collection contained several objects of catholic origins, which didn't seem to distinguish themselves threw rarity, exoticism or value, like other curiosities typically would. Therefore, the question arose why these objects were part of the collection. This article tries to answer this question by the following argumentation: The protestant reformation brought with it a new ethos of education. Literacy and learning were promoted, so the believers could read and understand the bible. This new ethos, which saw education as a religious good, also led to the founding of libraries in many protestant cities. This reframes the catholic objects. If the library is seen as a place of education closely tied to religious goals, the catholic objects appear as part of the protestant educational project. Therefore, the catholic curiosities can be understood as pedagogical tools to teach the protestant citizens about the “false” teachings of catholicism as well as the history of the reformation.