Terms

Sanatorium A hospital specialized in treating certain illnesses and in convalescence, common from the late nineteenth century to the early twentieth. Tuberculosis patients were housed in high places, with pure air and open balconies, and were given rest and good food.... Tuberculosis An infectious disease, above all of the lungs, whose bacterium was identified by Robert Koch in 1882. It causes chronic cough with blood in the sputum, fever, night sweats and weight loss. Before antibiotics, the treatment was rest in sanatoriums, and around... Deck Chair A reclining chair in which the patient spent several hours a day lying outdoors, on balconies or in open galleries. It was part of the rest cure (in German, Liegekur), the standard treatment for tuberculosis from the nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth,... Pneumothorax A treatment for pulmonary tuberculosis in which the doctor deliberately caused the collapse of the diseased lung, which was called putting the lung at rest. The idea was to deprive the bacterium, which depends on oxygen, of what it needs to multiply. It was... Viaticum In the Catholic Church, the Eucharist (Communion) given to a person who is dying, as spiritual food for the passage from life to death. For this reason the consecrated bread is kept for the sick. It may be brought to the bedside by a priest, deacon or... Carbonaro A member of the Carbonari, a network of revolutionary secret societies active in Italy between roughly 1800 and 1831. It gained strength in the Kingdom of Naples and advocated a constitutional monarchy or a republic, against absolutism and the clergy. It... Walpurgis Night A German festival held on the night of April 30 to May 1, which celebrates the arrival of spring and commemorates Saint Walburga, an English abbess and missionary of the eighth century. According to popular belief, it was the night when witches gathered on... Danse Macabre An allegorical art genre from the end of the Middle Ages on the universality of death: Death, or the dead, summons people of every condition, such as the pope, emperor, king, child and laborer, to dance their way to the grave. The oldest visual record is a... Jesuit A member of the Society of Jesus, a Catholic religious order founded by Ignatius of Loyola and confirmed by Pope Paul III in 1540. Jesuits profess poverty, chastity and obedience, with a special obedience to the pope, and founded schools throughout Europe.... Pietà A theme of Christian art in which the Virgin Mary holds the dead body of Jesus on her lap. The Italian word means piety or compassion. The theme arose in Germany around 1300, where it was called Vesperbild, and reached Italy around 1400. Many... Freemasonry A fraternal association that traces its roots to the medieval guilds of stonemasons, with lodges, three degrees of initiation (apprentice, journeyman and master) and its own rituals. The first Grand Lodge was founded in London in 1717. It spread Enlightenment...