Armin AderSport, Gesundheit, Erziehung im Zeitalter des Barock

About this book deutschenglish

The study shows sports and physical education in connection with social history in the baroque age and opens up more or less unknown texts and literary sources. In multiple perspective it approaches the historical investigation of everyday culture and adopts from the history of baroque art for instance the term “architectura recreationis”. Castles and palace grounds were intentionally constructed with a view to sports and games as promotion of good health during baroque times, as far as wars allowed. The aristocratic privilege to hunt turned under the influences of wars to a “praeludium belli”. Horse-riding, dancing, fencing, shooting and hunting took on a chivalrous military character at the educational institutions in baroque times, aimed at the representation of trained warriors of the “leisure class”. Underprivileged countrymen and citizens tried to resist injustice and oppression resulting from the privileges of nobility. The higher clergy belonging to the aristocracy participated in these privileges for instance as great hunters, built churches for the people for liturgical use and sacred places for pilgrims and their festive spiritual emotions to forget the strain of everyday life. During feast days and fairs (on more days per year than holidays today), countrymen and citizens would not be deprived of their joy in dancing and sports. Preachers accompanied them every day, supported them, but also warned against exaggeration and abuse. Physicians, poets, philosophers came to understand again the context between sports and health – in the tradition of the famous Galen – and recommended to students and people with little physical exercise a healthy country life with walking, horse-riding, dancing and sports. They even demanded to open the parks of the nobility for the public, and a health education with sports and physical education for everybody. Emancipation continued.