History for Everyone 2/2016

Hana HABJAN

Alenka HREN MEDVED

Gorazd STARIHA

Irena CELIN

Stanislav JUŽNIČ

CHOCOLATE SOUP AND CUTLERY IN A CASE: THE CULTURE OF EATING IN 18TH-CENTURY CARNIOLA

“MY LITTLE DARLING IS THE SOLE ALARM CLOCK THAT RINGS; AWAY GO THE DREAMS THE MOMENT IT SINGS. NO MORE THAN A CRY OR A FAINT MOAN DOES IT TAKE – OH GOD! – FOR AN INFANT TO MAKE YOU AWAKE.”

“FIRE VICTIMS WANDER AROUND PALE AS THE WALL, WITHOUT CLOTHING, WITHOUT FOOD!”

“SOON, ALMOST NO GIRL IN OUR VILLAGE WILL STILL BE UNABLE TO PRAY WITH THE PRAYER BOOK!”

LOWER STYRIAN AND PREKMURJE JESUIT MATHEMATICIANS AND PHYSICISTS

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Hana HABJAN
CHOCOLATE SOUP AND CUTLERY IN A CASE: THE CULTURE OF EATING IN 18TH-CENTURY CARNIOLA
The article describes the development of eating habits among Carniolan nobility in the 18th century and is based on an analysis of heritage inventories in Carniola between 1771 and 1780. The author shows what cutlery, kitchenware materials and vessels for various warm drinks were used by Carniolan nobility. In addition, dining and food serving methods are presented, together with the differences among the various serving methods for individual guests; an insight into cookery books is also provided.

Alenka HREN MEDVED
MY LITTLE DARLING IS THE SOLE ALARM CLOCK THAT RINGS; AWAY GO THE DREAMS THE MOMENT IT SINGS. NO MORE THAN A CRY OR A FAINT MOAN DOES IT TAKE – OH GOD! – FOR AN INFANT TO MAKE YOU AWAKE.
The Early Years of Johann Gabriel Seidl’s Family Life in Celje between 1829 and 1832
Johann Gabriel Seidl, Austrian poet, writer, historian and ethnographer was a teacher at the Celje grammar school from 1829 to 1840; he also resided in the town with his family. Between 1830 and 1832, he kept a diary dedicated to his firstborn son Karl. He described in great detail his and his wife’s experiences, their habits and concerns after the child’s birth, the parents’ care for the child and its development. The diary thus presents the intimate life of an educated citizen, who in our part of the world represented a more ideal role model than the reality for and the customs of the rest of the population.

Gorazd STARIHA
“FIRE VICTIMS WANDER AROUND PALE AS THE WALL, WITHOUT CLOTHING, WITHOUT FOOD!”
Revenge Arson in the Pre-March Era
The article describes arson trials at the Carniolan regional court in Ljubljana in the first half of the 19th century. A few cases of arson were the work of confused, resentful and mentally unstable individuals; at that period revenge arson committed by outlaws was a common occurrence. In contrast to others, these outlaws did not stop at empty threats but did indeed set the roofs of “traitors” ablaze.
However, outlaws were not the only arsonists. The ranks of arsonists also included people with other motives. The article presents a case involving an insulted prostitute and an old retired farmer. A special case was the category of unstable arsonists, who today would receive different treatment than in the past. In the pre-march period, judges were already obliged to consider the mental disturbance factor; however, proving it was considerably more challenging than it is today.

Irena CELIN
“SOON, ALMOST NO GIRL IN OUR VILLAGE WILL STILL BE UNABLE TO PRAY WITH THE PRAYER BOOK!”
The Development and Significance of Girls’ Schools in Austria-Hungary: the case of the Notre Dame girls’ convent school in Trnovo at Ilirska Bistrica
The article describes the development of girls’ schools in Austria-Hungary, using an example from a small, mostly rural area. Emphasis is on the presentation and analysis of the education of girls, who were often in an inferior position compared to boys. In addition, the author examines the differences between the education of less affluent girl students who lived outside the convent and those from richer families who resided in it. In addition to the literature, the study is based on preserved school catalogues. Data from the school and the convent chronicles were compared with other (oral) sources from the local environment, which helped us reconstruct the life at the school in more detail and dismiss incorrect interpretations from the past. The analysis showed that there were differences between the two types of students; nor were their destinies the same. The outcome was dependent on the completion/non-completion of education. However, the institution had an impact well beyond providing mandatory education. Besides engaging with the local community, the convent hosted social events, in particular during the many visits of dignitaries, and was a charitable institution.

Stanislav JUŽNIČ
LOWER STYRIAN AND PREKMURJE JESUIT MATHEMATICIANS AND PHYSICISTS
Lower Styria and Prekmurje were part of the Austrian Jesuit Province. Politically, Lower Styria belonged to Inner Austria, where Graz was the center for the Jesuits. Because it was part of Hungary, Prekmurje had closer ties with the university in Trnava in today’s Slovakia.
The Inner Austrian milieu was one of the main centers of Bošković’s science at the end of the Jesuit period, with Hungary following close behind. A century later, the same Hapsburg milieu widely endorsed the atomistic and statistical physics of Jožef Stefan, who was born in the suburbs of Klagenfurt, and his disciple Ludwig Boltzmann, who married a half-Slovenian wife.
The contributions by Lower Styria and Prekmurje mathematicians-physicians were studied in detail for the first time. The Jesuit professors in Inner Austria and south of it concentrated their knowledge in Graz and at the same time disseminated it skillfully across the province and beyond it in the missions.