Zdraví a nemoc očima barokního aristokrata. Zdravotní stav knížete Waltera Xavera z Ditrichštejna ve 20. letech 18. století

• Authors: Lenka Maršálková

Title variants

EN

The Health and Illness Viewed by the Baroque Aristocrat. The health condition of Prince Walter Xaver of Dietrichstein in the 1720s

• Languages of publication: CS

Abstracts

EN

The essay focuses on the count and later prince Walter Xaver of Dietrichstein (1664–1738) especially as regards his poor health and its potential unfavourable influence on his life and career, manifestations of this influence and the chosen treatments - the researched sources are viewed through Patientengeschichte optics. This High Baroque aristocrat has not been attracted much attention of the researchers up to now, most likely because of his failure to acquire a higher court position, working only in the land offices (especially in the Margraviate of Moravia). Although he had almost ideal conditions to establish himself in the court society from a certain time, he refrained from this opportunity. It may have been caused by predestination of a spiritual career, but also by his health problems, from which he had suffered since his early childhood (he suffered from headaches, waves of melancholy and serious eye problems). Extant sources documenting the health condition of the Prince of Dietrichstein mainly cover the 1720s. They are deposited in the Moravian Land Archives in Brno and represent originals and concepts of letters exchanged between the prince and the doctors, his relatives and friends as well as detailed medical recommendations and advice. However, we can find sporadic reports on his health condition in letters written at his young age or correspondence with Aloys Thomas Raimund von Harrach dated the 1720s and 30s deposited in the Viennese Allgemeines Verwaltunsgsarchiv.

Keywords

EN

Aristocracy; early modern period; 18th century; health and illness Patientengeschichte; Walter Xaver of Dietrichstein

Discipline

• HISTORY: HISTORY

• Publisher: Institute of History, Czech Academy of Sciences
• Journal: Folia historica Bohemica
• Year: 2015
• Volume: 30
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 171-195

Contributors

author

Lenka Maršálková

• Ústav historických věd Fakulty filozofické Univerzity Pardubice, Studentská 84, 532 10 Pardubice, Czech Republic