Résumé
Scientific life in 18th-century Montpellier was very active, dominated by the ancient medical university founded in 1220, which included the Jardin des Plantes (Botanical Garden) founded in 1593 and which was supplemented during the century by a Royal College of Surgery, on the one hand, and by the Royal Society of Sciences, founded in 1706, on the other. In addition to its strictly medical work, the medical university made important advances in botany and played a key role in the systematization of vitalism, the dominant medical philosophy in Europe at the end of the century. The Royal Society of Sciences, in conjunction with the university, was interested in the natural sciences, but also in mathematics, physics, and astronomy. It would include a chair of chemistry for J.A. Chaptal and of physics for Abb & eacute; Bertholon. These scientific institutions were part of a vibrant social life involving the Estates of Languedoc, salons, Masonic lodges, and brotherhoods of Penitents. The 18th-century scientific community in Montpellier was characterized by both its extremely broadly conceived medical academic tradition and its full involvement in the Enlightenment movement.