Hofzeremoniell und Gebärstuhl. Zur Bedeutung von Ritualen bei den Entbindungen Maria Theresias (1717–1780)

Abstract

Ceremonial and a birthing chair. The significance of rituals during the childbirths of Maria Theresia (1717–1780)

Maria Theresia (1717–1780), Archduchess of Austria, Queen of Bohemia and Hungary, delivered sixteen children in twenty years. The following seminar paper aims to reconstruct the deliveries of Maria Theresia in order to give an insight into childbirths of royals in the 18th century. It covers the childbirth itself as well as the following activities to understand the importance of rituals and ceremonials surrounding the deliveries, considering that children were equivalent to the continuity of the monarchy and the Habsburg dynasty. To this end, the paper analyses letters written by Maria Theresia herself as well as records of her master of ceremonies.