Léčba, nebo náprava? Choromyslní kněží v první polovině 19. století. Pražský špitál milosrdných bratří

• Authors: Eva Hajdinová

Title variants

EN

Treatment or correction? Insane priests in the first half of the 19th century. Brothers of Mercy Hospital in Prague

• Languages of publication: CS

Abstracts

EN

The article presents a hitherto neglected and empirically unprocessed topic of institutional care for insane priests in the Bohemian lands in the late 18th and the first half of the 19th centuries. The study presents the results of archival research from the special hospital ward for insane priests, which was established in 1783 in the Prague Convent and Hospital of the Brothers of Mercy. For more than 120 years, an original and unique institution for clergy was thus created, which accepted priests from Bohemia coming also from outside the Prague Archdiocese. Among its most famous patients were eminent enlightened scholars, priests Josef Dobrovský and Ignaz Cornova. The aim of this study is to describe the functioning and limits of this institution, to present who were its patients, and to examine the extent to which the practice of social discipline was applied in this ward. Furthermore, the existence of the Prague Priesterhaus at the Merciful Brothers also illustrates to some extend the pre-March Catholic Restoration’s attempt to critically come to terms with the legacy of the late Enlightenment clergy. In several cases, the reason for hospitalization of the clerks was their problematic discipline, most often caused by existential worries, problems with alcohol or disrespect for superiors. These factors together with the subsequent isolation in the convent, had a strong impact on the psyche of the interned priests, leading to serious incidents and escapes.

Keywords

EN

insanity; Hospital of the Brothers of Mercy in Prague; Catholic clergy; social discipline; psychiatric treatment; first half of the 19th century

Discipline

• HISTORY: HISTORY

• Publisher: Institute of History, Czech Academy of Sciences
• Journal: Moderní dějiny: sborník k dějinám 19. a 20. století (Modern History: Studies into 19th and 20th century history)
• Year: 2024
• Volume: 32
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 9-54
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Eva Hajdinová

• Historický ústav AV ČR, v. v. i., Prosecká 809/76, 190 00 Praha 9, Czech Republic