Medical complaints and medical advice in selected letters from the 16th and 17th centuries

Abstract

The article is concerned with selected letters of Polish and Lithuanian magnates that include information on sickness, physicians and advice on cures and a healthy lifestyle. The letters were written by the members of Radziwiłł family: Mikołaj Krzysztof Sierotka, Krzysztof, Janusz and the wives and daughters from the Biržai branch, as well as Krzysztof Opaliński, Krzysztof Dorohostajski and Lew Sapieha. The article takes into account the personal remarks about the health of the writer and their immediate family, their opinions about health resorts and epidemics. Some letters include detailed descriptions of births and deaths. The analysed fragments of correspondence were found in the unknown manuscripts, which allows for the broadening of knowledge about the history of medicine and social culture.