Eighteenth-century Europe Research Articles

The Powers and Perils of Solitude: Perspectives from Eighteenth-Century French Literature, Religion, and Medicine

This article examines various meanings of solitude in eighteenth-century Europe, with emphasis on French thought and culture. Part 1 is a survey of literary representations of solitude and contemplation. Part II is devoted to the Jansenist convulsionnaires, Catholic dissidents who took part in a larger appeal against the repressive Unigenitus Bull of 1713. Although the convulsionary movement sought to attract crowds and publicity, it was also grounded in a Jansenist tradition of spiritual retreat that was emulated by the movement’s de facto patron saint, the appellant deacon François de Pâris. Part III features writings by Zimmermann and Tissot, who medicalized solitude for three reasons: belief in the ethos of sociability, concern over the pathogenic powers of the imagination, and suspicion towards the passions that drove some people to fix their minds exclusively on certain ideas. To show solitude’s harmful consequences for those who spent too much time absorbed in ideas, they made intriguing connections between secular knowledge-seekers and the religiously devout. The Jansenist convulsionnaires were one of the dangerously zealous groups whom they cited to illustrate their arguments.

Emergency medicine: a global perspective on its past, evolution, and future.

Emergency Medicine (EM) has continuously evolved since its origins on the battlefields of eighteenth-century Europe. Adapting to emerging challenges in healthcare, it has, in the past 70years, developed to become a critical safety net for society. Despite its resilience and many accomplishments, EM still faces significant challenges, including workforce attrition, resource constraints, and the need for ongoing innovation. This paper explores the various adaptations EM has implemented to meet the demands of healthcare systems globally. By examining these factors and challenges, the paper outlines a future roadmap for EM, emphasizing global equity, interdisciplinary collaboration, and sustained investment to ensure that EM remains robust in addressing future healthcare challenges.

"Frequent Self-Examination Is the Duty of All": Practical Religion, Moral Improvement, and Transatlantic Protestantism

Abstract: Practicing Protestants sought moral perfection through innovative means of self-development during the eighteen and early nineteenth centuries. The philosophical, cultural and religious changes that emerged from the Protestant Reformation and Enlightenment influenced transatlantic Protestantism. Evangelical religion and new sectarian groups appeared simultaneously and dialectically to the emergence of liberal thought, democratic politics and scientific advancement. The high-level musings of prominent philosophers of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Europe trickled down to common practitioners, who engaged in new patterns of religiosity. Through spiritual performances, habitual methods, and regimented schedules, Protestants customized their individual programs for moral progress and spiritual enlightenment. Pictorial and published works served as devices to evoke, maintain and advance their faith through reading, prayer, meditation, and diet. Recording their activities and assessing their successes and failures, the individual plans detailed here were part of a continuum of spirituality and rationality to perform piety on one's own terms and for the benefit of others. These Protestants combined Christian concepts with Enlightenment ideals to pursue autonomous, aspirational, and tailored approaches to self-discipline and spiritual insight.

Decorative stone techniques of Italian masters

Italian mastery of decorative stones can be traced through a variety of techniques, from the period of the Roman Empire through to the nineteenth century at least. Roman mosaic work was found across the Roman Empire, and the remains of mosaics are widely admired. In Roman Britain, artisans adapted their classic stone palette through the use of local stones, delivering greys, green and browns. Post‐Roman artistry is seen through the reuse of broken stones known by Cosmati mosaicists; the Cosmati pavement in Westminster Abbey, London is one of the best known of its type. Hardstone work—Pietre Dure—employing many stones in intricate detail, was brought back from Italy by all those on the Grand Tour in eighteenth century Europe are to be found in many grand houses. Finally, the incredible ledger stones of the Knights of St John in Malta are yet another example of the high art and craft of the Italian masters of decorative stone.

The scale of two cities: the geographies of Paris and London in the 1720s

This essay considers an early eighteenth-century quarrel about the geographical dimensions of Paris and London. The dispute involved representatives of the Académie Royale des Sciences in Paris and the Royal Society in London. The three participants—Guillaume Delisle (1675–1726), Jean-Jacques Dortous de Mairan (1678–1771) and Peter Davall (?–1763)—were French, the first two resident in Paris, the third an exiled Huguenot based in London. From an initial, relatively trivial, confusion about trigonometrical calculations, this inconclusive debate ultimately embraced several wider questions about the nature of cities in classical antiquity and early eighteenth-century Europe, the changing meaning of urban life on the eve of the industrial age, the relationship between population size and urban space, and the relative economic, political and cultural vitality of Catholic absolutist France and Protestant Hanoverian England. Informed by rival claims promoted by Cartesians and Newtonians in London and Paris, the dispute also reflected a pre-existing tension within the Paris Academy about the remit of established and emerging scientific disciplines, specifically astronomy and geography. Subsequent cartographic representations of these two cities, including the Plan Turgot of Paris in the 1730s and the Rocque map of London in the 1740s, can be re-considered with reference to this now forgotten controversy.

Hidden in the Archive of Gender and Science: The Agonistics of Knowledge and Learning

ABSTRACT In this article the author looks at processes of becoming a woman philosopher and scientist in eighteenth-century Europe, by focusing on educational experiences, discourses and practices revolving around the Italian mathematician, scientist and philosopher Maria Gaetana Agnesi. The author uses the Arendtian notion of agonism as a lens through which she reads Agnesi’s manuscripts at the Ambrosiana Biblioteca in Milan, by pointing to the non-discursive affects that these documents emanate. By tracing women mathematicians’ historical emergence as subjects of knowledge, as well as creators of philosophy and culture, the author proposes a reconsideration of the history of women’s science education as an agonistic process that has left traces in various archives of gender and science.

‘What was moderate about the enlightenment?’ Moderation in eighteenth-century Europe

ABSTRACT : What does it mean to refer to the enlightenment as ‘moderate’? One answer to this question, and the one which abounds in historiography of enlightenment in the past two decades, is that of Jonathan Israel. For Israel, the ‘moderate enlightenment’ is the half-baked counterpart to the ‘Radical Enlightenment’. Where the Radical Enlightenment, in Israel’s version of events, was the crucible within which progressive modernity was forged, the ‘moderate enlightenment’ was the regressive vehicle for accommodating elements of this agenda within the social, political and intellectual structures of the ancien regime. This essay, and the special issue it introduces, seeks alternative ways to understand the prospect of a moderate enlightenment by inviting reflection on currents of moderation in eighteenth-century Europe. Turning the tables on moderate enlightenment, and framing it as an episode in a history of moderation, it proposes a range of lenses onto the intellectual culture of eighteenth-century Europe.

Covid-19 Pandemic and the Freedom-Security Tension: Calibrating their Fragile Relationship

Grounded in a will to adapt to dangers, and espouse both responsibility and resilience, voluntary measures have largely replaced one of the oldest public health strategies, quarantine. The Covid-19 pandemic, however, elicited a broad sweep of tactics from the archive of public health armoury. On a general level, this review essay addresses the common measures rolled out by various authorities against the pandemic - the lock-downs, reopening process, financial support and vaccination. By relating these measures to 1) the “plague-stricken town”, deployed during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in Europe by the Polizeistaat; 2) the “self-regulation strategy” that emerged with liberal ideas at the end of the eighteenth century; and 3) the “minimum security” programmed by neoliberal governmentality in the second half of the twentieth century, it is suggested that tensions between freedom and security during, and after, the pandemic can be better understood. To end, the essay noticed that the pandemic has enforced tensions in the administration and calibration of individual wishes and collective wellbeing, creating a fragile “freedom-security relationship” and new problem space for self-regulation.

“To tame their ferocious character”: The noble cadet corps, École royale militaire, and the circulation of educational models in eighteenth-century Europe

“To tame their ferocious character”: The noble cadet corps, École royale militaire, and the circulation of educational models in eighteenth-century Europe

Enlightenment at Court: Patrons, Philosophes, and Reformers in Eighteenth-Century Europe ed. by Thomas Biskup et al. (review)

Enlightenment at Court: Patrons, Philosophes, and Reformers in Eighteenth-Century Europe ed. by Thomas Biskup et al. (review)

Neither Duchess of Burgundy nor Archduchess of Austria, but Princess of Asturias: Louis XV of France and the Marriage of his Granddaughter Marie-Louise of Parma

This article analyses the behaviour and interference of Louis XV of France in the face of a possible marriage between his granddaughter, Marie-Louise of Parma, and the Archduke Joseph of Austria, heir to the Empress Maria Theresa. The aim is to discern whether the moral arguments put forward by the French monarch were merely a political excuse to avoid this union or if the fears he expressed were genuine. Other cases of royal marriages prior to this one are examined in order to assess this question, as is the extent to which the sovereign used his role as head of the House of Bourbon to impose his will. The negotiation of the engagement of the princess of Parma reveals how dynastic interests still had a strong presence in eighteenth-century Europe, at a time when the ‘national interest’ prevailed as the dominant political element.

Eighteenth-century architectural schools in Germany

Despite the fact that today there is a fairly comprehensive material on the architecture of Western Europe in the 18th century and a significant amount of research conducted regarding the outstanding architects of that time. There is not a lot of information available regarding the formation of architectural education in Germany, as a system of educational institutions, or at least this information has not been synthesized to give a clear picture of the processes that took place in this timeframe. The main aim of this article is to outline a complete chronological picture of the events that took place and to enable the reader to trace the challenging path of the development of architecture from a craft to the academic discipline. Given the turbulent political processes in eighteenth-century Europe, particularly in Germany, the article highlights some political developments which, in turn, had a huge impact on the development of culture, education and social life in the country. The main achievement of the 18th century in the field of education was the introduction of a compulsory state examination to obtain a certificate of higher education. A mandatory special training requirement for construction majors was also introduced. During this period, several textbooks were developed and published. The academies were actively gaining and consolidating their influence in both in education and science. The first debates about the importance of art and science in the training of architects appeared at this time, which is up-to-date in contemporary debates as well.

Experimenting with Humans and Animals: from Aristotle to Crispr, second edition

Experimenting with Humans and Animals: from Aristotle to Crispr, second edition

Jedwabne tafty drukowane i malowane z XVIII wieku. Technologia wytwarzania na przykładzie wzorzystej tafty

The article concerns silk clothing fabrics with hand-painted patterns. They were fashionable in eighteenth-century Europe. The original design of these fabrics competed with silk fabrics with woven patterns. Painted silks were produced in China (for the European market) and in Europe. They were more or less in the chinoiserie style. Examples of these fabrics and costumes made of these materials have survived. The article focuses on taffeta with a painted pattern. One of the fabrics is subjected to a deeper analysis in terms of the manufacturing technique.

Exceptional women in science education? Émilie Du Châtelet and Maria Gaetana Agnesi

ABSTRACT In this paper the author considers the educational experiences and ideas of Émilie Du Châtelet and Maria Gaetana Agnesi, two women mathematicians, scientists and philosophers in eighteenth-century Europe. By tracing their historical emergence as subjects of scientific knowledge, as well as creators of philosophy and culture, the author argues that we need to revisit the history of women’s science education and deconstruct the image of “the exceptional woman”. In doing so the author proposes the notion of the event as a useful theoretical lens through which we can understand women’s historical constitution as mathematicians, philosophers and scientists.

Staging Civilization: A Transnational History of French Theater in Eighteenth-Century Europe by Rahul Markovits (review)

Staging Civilization: A Transnational History of French Theater in Eighteenth-Century Europe by Rahul Markovits (review)

The leviathan and the chimera: Gian Vincenzo Gravina’s Hobbesianism and its limits

ABSTRACT In his political thought, seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Italy’s premier jurist, Gian Vincenzo Gravina, adopted a Hobbesian state of nature, a Hobbesian social contract, and a Hobbesian idea of law as collective will; he fused these ideas with the Roman legal tradition, a tradition that he trained in and later ordered when he wrote his masterpiece, the Three Books on the Origins of the Civil Law. But Gravina was more than a Roman Hobbesian. While he held a Hobbesian view of political legitimacy, he also held an anti-Hobbesian view of human life’s true ends. Gravina set out to restore these true ends – reason, virtue, and internal tranquility – and to do that he turned to Plato. In synthesizing Hobbes’s legal innovations with prior understandings of law, Gravina demonstrates just how far those innovations reached in eighteenth-century Europe.

The first scientific plan of the Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba: Graphic and dimensional analysis of an oil painting from 1741

This research analyzes the earliest located floor plan of the Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba, an anonymous oil painting in 1741, which has not been studied so far. The objective is to know the dimensional accuracy of the most relevant architectural forms drawn, considering the elements referenced in their legend and the graphic symbols used, to assess their documentary interest. It has also been compared with two important plans of the Mosque-Cathedral drawn in 1767 and 1868. The first task was a photogrammetric survey of the oil painting has been carried out. Subsequently, some data has been measured in the monument using a 3D scanner. The orthophoto of the oil painting has been overlapped to the digital model to verify its metric accuracy in a selection of points. For the first time, the legend and labels included in the oil painting have been transcribed. This precise graphic document contains reliable abundant data for future research about the transformations and restorations of a monument that is part of the UNESCO World Heritage List. The oil painting dating from 1741 can be considered as the first scientific plan of the Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba, and as an outstanding architectural survey of eighteenth-century Europe.

On the eve of smallpox vaccination: variolation in the eighteenth century and some examples in Slovenian territory

In some parts of the world, variolation constituted a tested and tried folk method for preventing smallpox infection that passed from one generation to another; however, in the eighteenth-century Europe, it turned into a complicated and costly medical procedure accessible only to the nobility and the wealthy strata of society. Although variolation was also administered in Slovenian territory by the physicians and surgeons Anton Muznik, Anton Makovic, and Vincenc Kern, the procedure did not truly take hold among the Carniolan population, most of which did not even knew it by the name. Nevertheless, it was also here that variolation paved the way towards establishing Jenner’s vaccination, especially because physicians that administered it were quick to recognize the benefits of a simpler and safer vaccination procedure and abandoned variolation by the end of the eighteenth century.

Infrastructural strains on scholarly transnational collaboration in eighteenth-century Europe. The logistics of knowledge in making Thomas Mangey’s Philonis Judaei Opera 1728–42

ABSTRACT This paper analyses the logistics of knowledge in eighteenth-century Anglo-Swedish scholarly collaborative relationships. More specifically, it analyses the making of Thomas Mangey’s Philonis Judaei Opera as a long-distance collaborative project between Mangey and the Swedish scholars Jacob Serenius and Erik Benzelius. The early modern Republic of Letters has commonly been characterised as a collaborative communication system upheld by communitarian norms. This description has however been challenged by several recent studies, which have underlined the commercial aspects of early modern scholarly exchange. Building on such studies, this article highlights how negotiations about the logistics of knowledge circulation – of, e.g. shipping and long-distance financing – were an integral part of early modern transnational scholarly relationships. In the correspondence between the three scholars of 1728–42, we find ample practical details of how they struggled with slow and unreliable regional mercantile infrastructures. The strains of these logistical challenges thoroughly shaped the relationships between the three scholars, and would eventually lead to the collapse of their collaboration.