Page - 55 - in Maximilian Hell (1720–92) - And the Ends of Jesuit Science in Enlightenment Europe

55The Making of a Jesuit Astronomer in the Habsburg Provinces A lengthy justification followed, with reference to the growing number of the flock, and the consequent needs in terms of baptismal, funerary, and other services. From the point of view of a family such as the Hölls, a member’s association with (and possibly recruitment in) the Society of Jesus may have been a source of spiritual consolation and pride—besides being an opportunity to equip a bright son with the best education available, and the more mundane advan- tage of having one less mouth to feed. As Joseph Karl was by this time already establishing himself in the footsteps of his father, and the other brothers also seem to have filled positions around the mines, the career prospects there may have become restricted. While receiving a Jesuit education did not necessarily mean a life-long association with the Society, Hell did make the crucial step of applying for membership in the order and was admitted for his two-year novi- tiate in Trenčín on October 17, 1738.50 In terms of the organization of the Society of Jesus, the territory where Hell grew up, pursued his studies, and began his career in the order belonged to the Society’s huge Austrian Province (Provincia Austriae or Austriaca). A map drawn by Johann Baptist Mayr (1681–1757), prelate of the Abbey of Rebsdorf in Bavaria and published by the prolific Augsburg map publisher Matthäus Seutter (1678–1757) around 1727–30 (reproduced in Appendix 1 of this book), shows the extent of the province, with all its main schools and houses, as Hell knew it from his youth until the suppression of the order in 1773. The province extended from Passau and Salzburg through the Austrian lands south of the Danube and the whole of the Kingdom of Hungary (including modern Slova- kia and Croatia), to Transylvania, and even to the missions in the north Bal- kans. Originally, the Austrian province had been part of an even vaster prov- ince of South Germany (Provincia Germaniae Superioris), from which it was separated in 1583. While a Bohemian province had been carved out of the Aus- trian one in 1622, occasional initiatives to create an independent Hungarian province were thwarted.51 Nevertheless, Hungarians and Slavs would be ap- pointed as superiors of the Austrian province besides Germans. Furthermore, the rectors of the larger houses, themselves of very diverse origins, often played roles beyond their normal functions: as the mandatory annual visitation of all 50 Pinzger, Hell Miksa, 1:13. It may be of interest for Hell’s itinerary and mobility in the region that while he graduated from Banská Bystrica, for unknown reasons the application took place—according to the records of the Jesuit residence in Trnava, which Pinzger claims to have used—in the town of Žilina (Zsolna, Solna, Sillein). 51 See László Lukács, A független magyar jezsuita rendtartomány kérdése és az osztrák abszo- lutizmus (1649–1773) (Szeged: Szegedi I. sz. Magyar Irodalomtörténeti Tanszék, 1989).