Suicide in the Habsburg monarchy in the Early Modern Age has hitherto received almost no attention. This text considers attitudes to suicide in the context of questions of sin, conscience and individualization. It traces the changing perceptions of the meaning of these phenomena through theological and moral-philosophical texts, and does so on four levels: (1) suicide as a theme (or non- theme) in 17th and 18th century theology and homiletics; (2) suicide in the reformist theology of the late 18th century; (3) the question of penance; (4) the "good death" and individual responsibility for the salvation of the soul. The author shows that in the last three decades of the 18th century, when more notice began to be paid to the phenomenon of suicide, discourse on the subject assumed a more psychological tone, with theologians and philosophers increasingly drawing attention to the harm done by certain religious and meditative techniques which in their view overexcited the imagination and could result in melancholy and despair. This shift might well be called the secularization of the discourse on suicide., Tomáš Malý., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy
The study presents an empirical analysis of the risky practice of illegal marriage and baptism among Huguenots in 18th century France, drawing on contemporary pamphlets to trace the problematic evolution of French Calvinist inheritance law - a process that played a decisive part in efforts to relegalize Calvinism in the kingdom. Agitators for the reformed church pursued two main lines of argument: Calvinist pastors, both within the country and in exile, made increasingly active use of Enlightenment philosophical discourse that condemned religious intolerance. At the same time, especially from the 1760s on, pamphleteers emphasized the social and economic importance of the Huguenot upper class. Together, these arguments helped overcome received ideas about the risk of an anti‐state "protestant conspiracy" organized by the exile community ("conjuration de l’étranger Huguenot"), which was in turn linked to the financial power of the Huguenot banking families that had been a leitmotif of criticism since the 16th century. Instead, a positive image of the Calvinists’ social contribution was presented, stressing their usefulness and loyalty to state and sovereign. Among their supporters at court were the lawyers and ministers de Breuil and de Malesherbes, who eventually succeeded in pushing through reforms., Eva Hajdinová., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy
The paper examines origin and professional background of the scribes of the 18th century Bohemian manuscripts and follows the changes in the social structure of their readers, using the information from several hundred handwritten books and documents. Received data show that the number of scribes is rising immensely in the last decades of the 18th century. The most distinct growth might be observed within the number of scribes working in the rural areas. In the first half of the 18th century the most productive group of scribes are monks. In the last quarter of the century this role goes to teachers and parish priests. Their production, however, often has commercial or official character. Besides in the late period of the century strongly increases representation of craftsmen and farmers among the scribes. Also growth of the number of readers living in the countryside, especially women, might be observed. These changes seem to be the results of educational, administrative and Church reforms performed by Maria Theresa and Joseph II in the late 18th century., Dmitrij Timofejev., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy
The contribution explores the Prague origines of the first Prague and Austrian female author of the Enlightenment, Maria Anna Sager, born Rosskoschny (1719-1805). The reconstruction of the carreer of her father Anton Ferdinand Rosskoschny (1679-1734) at the Böhmische Statthalterei - he ended as "Registrator" and "Expeditor" - proves his social ambitions. On the other hand egodocuments of him conserved in the National Archives at Prague reveal the sorrows and the "stress" of the wellestablished fonctioner, not only his fear in front of the people, but also for his reputation, his family and his soul., Helga Meise., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy
A major reform in the reign of Joseph II was the establishment in 1786 of the provincial building directorates, through which the court aimed to regulate all public building works in the monarchy. Although the original aim of unifying building regulations throughout the realm was never achieved, the reform was a success and remained in force, with a few minor amendments, until the revolutionary year of 1848. One reason for its success was the elite corps of civil engineers who staffed these institutions. This study looks at advances in technical education, especially engineering, in the Habsburg monarchy from the beginning of the 18th century and the emergence of the Collegia Nobilia, or elite colleges, where graduates were prepared for a career in the Imperial Army. Besides military architecture, the colleges also taught the fundamentals of civil engineering, turning out some of the best‐trained creators of early modern architecture. The development and nature of this elite engineering training is examined with reference to the engineering academies of Prague, Vienna and Olomouc. In all three cases we stress the colleges’ status within the state framework, and their evolution in the light of changing official doctrine and methods of instruction. In all three cases it is clear that during the latter half of the 18th century the original ‘aristocratic’ colleges began to decline and were slowly replaced by similar state‐controlled establishments. As a first step, the court of Joseph II introduced a specialized course in practical architecture at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts. From around 1800 this model was gradually superseded by the progressive French‐style polytechnic, a modified version of which remains the standard model for technical education to this day., Michal Konečný., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy