Mens sana in sano corpore: The nobility of Grand Duchy of Lithuania travels to spa from 16th to 18th centuries Milda Kvizikevičiūtė (Vilnius University, Lithuania)
Introduction THE ROMAN POET Juvenal once told that a healthy mind lives in a healthy body. Health and health repair was always a very important, if sometimes very tiresome, process. There were no exceptions among noblemen from Grand Duchy of Lithuania – they were anxious to try new methods of treatment and tried to fix their health problems in every possible way. One of the most popular methods in early modern period was taking the water, going to the baths, and so on. The most informative sources for personal experiences at the hot spring resorts, terme or spas—two terms used synonymously in the paper—are personal writings, such as diaries and correspondence. In the context of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the most appropriate chronological frame is the period between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries. The sixteenth century marks the beginning of personal writing, which was not common until the mid-seventeenth century, when writing was understood as a means for personal expression (Tereškinas 2002, 175). From that point on, the number of diaries, memoirs, autobiographies grew, albeit gradually. Consequently, part of medical tourism found its place in personal writing.
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