Schultheisz Emil: Traditio Renovata. Tanulmányok a középkor és a reneszánsz orvostudományáról / Orvostörténeti Közlemények – Supplementum 21. (Budapest, 1997)

24. Short history of epidemics in Hungary until the Great Cholera Epidemic of 1831

SHORT HISTORY OF EPIDEMICS IN HUNGARY UNTIL THE GREAT CHOLERA EPIDEMIC OF 1831* The role of epidemics in Hungary, reaching once from the Adriatic sea to the Carpathian mountains, is particularly important, quite far-reaching and exploration of their history may also lead to a novel explanation of quite a series of phenomena, which have not been valued properly before. Recent research work has already made a breach in the wall of absence of interest and particularly publications of a demographic character offer valuable data for getting acquainted with fatal losses in men and goods caused by the epidemics. But even if they have penetrated down to the level of demographic analyses, their results only supply the raw material, they may represent the necessary link for still more far-reaching, more comprehensive synthetic research work, whose aim is already to examine the complex effects of epidemics, their influence on the social and political history of Hungary. The most important roads of world trade did not pass through the area of Hungary either in the Middle Ages or in modern times, it possessed only a short littoral sector and could in fact never be called a seaside country; owing to its geographical situation and the peculiar evolution of its history it still offers a most interesting picture of problems and relationships connected with the outbreak of epidemics and with their influence bearing practically on everything. The special importance of epidemics in Hungary is increased by the circumstance, which can be called decisive, that it had been during the XVIth and XVIIth centuries, but also before and after those times, though to a lesser extent, a permanent theatre of war in Europe, a real passage of armies coming from all parts of the world, of Turks, Tartars, Italians, Walloons, but not seldom also of Scots and Englishmen. All this points to the fact that within the universal history of epidemics in Europe special, interesting results may be expected from research of the Hungarian relationships. We cannot undertake in this short paper to deal even sketchily with all aspects of this theme to treat it from the historical, sociological viewpoints and that of cultural history. We must be satisfied with presenting a few characteristic images of the origin of the epidemics, their character and historical course, of the mutual action of the epidemics and of the frequently occurring famines, of their social-economic causes and rather important repercussions in Hungary. I The denomination "pestilence" found in the chronicles and other historical works of reference is very misleading and has led to many erroneous descriptions i.e. interpretations * Pub , in: Centaurus 11. (1966) no. 4. 279—301.