Szpitale w diecezji poznańskiej w świetle akt wizytacji kościelnych z XVII i XVIII wieku

Abstrakt

The records of canonical inspections are the most important and indispensable source for the research on hospitals. They make it possible to assess not only the exact number of hospitals, but also to get to know the life of their patients, the condition and appearance of hospital buildings as well economical and financial bases of their functioning and their executive board. Briefly speaking, these sources show the actual state of social care at that time as it was perceived and described by the inspectors in the 17th and 18th cent. They permit also to know to what extent the real image of the hospital management corresponded to that propounded by the Church and their internal organization. The general value of these sources is not shaken by the fact that the 17th-century records are incomplete and not so tho rough as those from the 18th cent. From the point of view of their reliability the records should be valued highly as being useful for the research on hospitals, which is particularly true in the case the 18th cent. The numerous and diverse problems connected with the completeness and reliability of information which occur in almost all a inspectors create a need to have a critical and individual view on almost every piece of information within the framework of particular inspections.