Verbotene Sexualität in frühneuzeitlichen Hospitälern. Beiträge zur Rechtsgeschichte Österreichs|Beiträge zur Rechtsgeschichte Österreichs Band 1 / 2019|

In early modern hospitals, it was generally the case that only married couples were allowed to be sexually active, but those responsible feared that particularly younger women and men could have children for which the hospital would have had to provide. It is very difficult to find archival sources relating to this topic, which suggests that there was usually a negative view of generally life-affirming sexuality. Under the guise of secrecy, sexual activities largely had to take place in the privy, in stables, in the field and the grass, in church, etc. and those involved had to make sure that nobody was watching them. As they could get caught in the act, they often kept their clothes on and the sexual act had to take place quickly. This contribution uses examples to demonstrate that not only sexuality played a significant role in hospitals – which also pertains to penitentiaries, for instance – but that love was also quite important. It should not be denied that many inhabitants were raped and abused, particularly women with disabilities. If a man and a woman wanted to get married, they were usually prevented from doing so because they did not have any possessions and because of their lack of material goods. If inhabitants wanted to marry someone in the hospital, they had to give up their benefices. Sex between unmarried inhabitants in the hospital could cause a scandal, which could lead to a reduction of alms for the entire house. Despite the negative view of sexual activities in the hospital outlined in this paper, it can be assumed that pleasurable sexual intercourse took place both between the inhabitants as well as between the inhabitants and the staff

Spital als Lebensform, Band 2

The voluminous publication edits 203 such items covering all of the Austrian territories from the Late Middle Ages to the 19th century. Hospital rules, instructions for hospital staff, job descriptions, special rules as, for example, prayer orders and dietaries, but also inventories were meant to channel the way of life of inmates and staff. Each of the edited sources is accompanied by a survey on the history of the hospital and a comment contextualising the contents, which necessitated pioneering archival research in many cases where no serious scholarly treatment of the hospitals’ history was available. First volume: http://e-book.fwf.ac.at/o:799Die Edition von 203 Spitalquellen von Vorarlberg bis Burgenland (Spätmittelalter bis 19. Jahrhundert) bietet einen breiten Einblick in das Spitalwesen: Spitalregeln, Instruktionen für Spitalbedienstete, Gebetsordnungen. Neben einer breiten Einleitung wird jedes Stück in den Kontext der jeweiligen Spitalgeschichte gestellt, was umfangreiche Archivrecherchen erforderte. Band 1: http://e-book.fwf.ac.at/o:79

Spital als Lebensform, Band 2

The voluminous publication edits 203 such items covering all of the Austrian territories from the Late Middle Ages to the 19th century. Hospital rules, instructions for hospital staff, job descriptions, special rules as, for example, prayer orders and dietaries, but also inventories were meant to channel the way of life of inmates and staff. Each of the edited sources is accompanied by a survey on the history of the hospital and a comment contextualising the contents, which necessitated pioneering archival research in many cases where no serious scholarly treatment of the hospitals’ history was available. First volume: http://e-book.fwf.ac.at/o:79