{"id":1187,"date":"2026-02-11T13:07:41","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T13:07:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/memoria.esfirum-clients.com.ua\/?p=1187"},"modified":"2026-02-11T13:07:41","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T13:07:41","slug":"morbus-et-qualitas-mortis-praktyky-zapysu-prychyn-smerti-u-czerkovnyh-metrychnyh-knygah-greko-katolykiv-galychyny","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rodovody.com.ua\/en\/blog\/morbus-et-qualitas-mortis-praktyky-zapysu-prychyn-smerti-u-czerkovnyh-metrychnyh-knygah-greko-katolykiv-galychyny\/","title":{"rendered":"MORBUS ET QUALITAS MORTIS: practices of recording causes of death in the church metric books of the Greek Catholics of Galicia"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The main source for studying the causes of death in Galicia in the 19th century are church registers. They began to be kept en masse in Latin at the end of the 18th century, after the annexation of these territories to the Austrian Empire. Such documents had a standard form and contained the following information:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Dies mortis, Mensis<\/strong>: Year, month and day of death;<\/li>\n<li><strong>Nrus<\/strong><strong>. <\/strong><strong>Domus<\/strong><strong>:<\/strong> House number where the deceased lived;<\/li>\n<li><strong>NOMEN MORTURI<\/strong><strong>:<\/strong> The name of the deceased. If it was a child, then their parents were indicated (in early records it was often just the father). If it was an adult, their marital status was mentioned. For example, &quot;Theodora, wife of Stanislav Pavlyshyn&quot; or &quot;Maryana Vovkunykha, widow (<strong>vidu<\/strong>)\u00bb;<\/li>\n<li><strong>Religion<\/strong><strong> \u2013 <\/strong><strong>Catholic<\/strong><strong>\/<\/strong><strong>Auto<\/strong> <strong>other<\/strong>: Religion \u2013 Catholic\/other;<\/li>\n<li><strong>Sex<\/strong><strong> \u2013 <\/strong><strong>Masc<\/strong><strong>.\/<\/strong><strong>Foemina<\/strong>: Gender \u2013 male\/female;<\/li>\n<li><strong>Dies<\/strong> <strong>Life<\/strong>: Number of years at the time of death;<\/li>\n<li><strong>DISEASE AND QUALITY OF DEATH<\/strong>: Cause of death.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1188 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/rodovody.com.ua\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/deth-record.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"1168\" height=\"478\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rodovody.com.ua\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/deth-record.webp 1168w, https:\/\/rodovody.com.ua\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/deth-record-300x123.webp 300w, https:\/\/rodovody.com.ua\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/deth-record-1024x419.webp 1024w, https:\/\/rodovody.com.ua\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/deth-record-768x314.webp 768w, https:\/\/rodovody.com.ua\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/deth-record-18x7.webp 18w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1168px) 100vw, 1168px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Fragment of a typical sheet of a metric book of death records from Galicia, early 19th century (Artasiv village, 1813)\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The authors of the records were local parish priests, and therefore it was mainly their knowledge of medicine that was used to base conclusions about the causes of death of parishioners. Towards the 20th century, it is increasingly possible to come across mentions that a doctor helped diagnose certain diseases.<\/p>\n<p>In the metric books of the beginning of the century, the most common cause of death was probably &quot;\u00ab<strong>ordinary<\/strong>\u00bb&quot;, that is, &quot;ordinary death.&quot; It was used in various cases - the death of infants, middle-aged and elderly people, as well as in the case of death from an unknown disease. The term &quot;\u00ab<strong>n<\/strong><strong>nature<\/strong>\u00bb&quot;, when it came to natural death, and sudden death - &quot;\u00ab<strong>s<\/strong><strong>kill<\/strong>\u00bb&quot; and &quot;\u00ab<strong>repent<\/strong> <strong>death<\/strong>\u00bb.<\/p>\n<p>The situation changed in the case of the mass spread of infectious diseases - they could be identified quite accurately. Most often, the following diseases were involved:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Varicella<\/strong><strong>, <\/strong><strong>pox<\/strong> \u2013 Smallpox<\/li>\n<li><strong>Cholera<\/strong> \u2013 Cholera<\/li>\n<li><strong>Typhus<\/strong> \u2013 Typhus<\/li>\n<li><strong>Rubella<\/strong> \u2013 Cyrus<\/li>\n<li><strong>Scarlet fever<\/strong> \u2013 Scarlet fever<\/li>\n<li><strong>Whooping cough \u2013 <\/strong>Whooping cough<\/li>\n<li><strong>Diphtheria<\/strong> \u2013 Diphtheria<\/li>\n<li><strong>Influenza<\/strong> \u2013 Flu<\/li>\n<li><strong>Phthisis<\/strong> \u2013 Tuberculosis<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1189 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/rodovody.com.ua\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/tussi.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"1006\" height=\"343\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rodovody.com.ua\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/tussi.webp 1006w, https:\/\/rodovody.com.ua\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/tussi-300x102.webp 300w, https:\/\/rodovody.com.ua\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/tussi-768x262.webp 768w, https:\/\/rodovody.com.ua\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/tussi-18x6.webp 18w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1006px) 100vw, 1006px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>Records in which the cause of death is literally stated as cough, although it could actually have been whooping cough, pneumonia, or tuberculosis. Village of Ulichno, 1809. Central Institute of the History of the Ukrainian SSR, fund 201, description 4a, file 5744, sheets 78\u201379.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>There is a description of the accompanying symptoms of the disease, according to which the cause of death is indicated. This is &quot;\u00ab<strong>f<\/strong><strong>ebris\u00bb<\/strong> \u2013 fever, \u00ab<strong>t<\/strong><strong>humor\u00bb<\/strong> \u2013 tumor, \u00ab<strong>m<\/strong><strong>&quot;orbus comitialis&quot;\u00bb<\/strong>\u2013 epilepsy, \u00ab<strong>i<\/strong><strong>inflammation\u00bb<\/strong> \u2013 inflammation, \u00ab<strong>pain<\/strong> <strong>head<\/strong>\u00bb \u2013 headache. We also find precise indications of the disease, for example \u00ab<strong>apoplexy<\/strong>\u00bb \u2013 stroke or asthma \u2013 \u00ab<strong>asthma<\/strong>\u00bb.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1190 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/rodovody.com.ua\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/dovidka-smert.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"641\" height=\"827\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rodovody.com.ua\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/dovidka-smert.webp 641w, https:\/\/rodovody.com.ua\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/dovidka-smert-233x300.webp 233w, https:\/\/rodovody.com.ua\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/dovidka-smert-9x12.webp 9w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 641px) 100vw, 641px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Certificate from 1873 about the death from asthma of nineteen-year-old Kateryna Kukharska from the town of Kulikov. Central Institute of the History of the Ukrainian SSR, fund 201, description 4a, file 49, sheet 128<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Deaths related to childbirth were common. Stillborn babies were referred to as &quot;\u00ab<strong>n<\/strong><strong>dead man<\/strong>\u00bb&quot;, and those who were weak and lived for a few days - &quot;\u00ab<strong>d<\/strong><strong>born able<\/strong>\u00bb&quot;. There are frequent references to the death of the mother during childbirth - &quot;\u00ab<strong>a<\/strong><strong>d childbirth<\/strong>\u00bb&quot;, or due to postpartum fever - &quot;\u00ab<strong>f<\/strong><strong>puerperal fever<\/strong>\u00bb.<\/p>\n<p>We single out atypical causes of death in a separate category. Crop failures and poverty led to starvation \u2013 \u00ab<strong>inedia<\/strong>\u00bb&quot;. Mental illnesses were referred to by different terms \u2013 &quot;\u00ab<strong>insane<\/strong>\u00bb, \u00ab<strong>delirious<\/strong>\u00bb, \u00ab<strong>dementia<\/strong>\u00bb&quot;. People who drowned accidentally were recorded as &quot;\u00ab<strong>a<\/strong><strong>who is drowning<\/strong>\u00bb&quot;, but suicides - &quot;\u00ab<strong>suicide<\/strong>\u00bb&quot;. If the deceased was murdered, then the cause of death is seen as &quot;\u00ab<strong>homicide<\/strong>\u00bb&quot;. Another designation for violent death is &quot;\u00ab<strong>violent death<\/strong>\u00bb. In cases where the cause of death was particularly rare and the priest did not know how to translate it into Latin, the records were kept in Polish or Ukrainian. As an example, the record \u00ab<strong>Lasu<\/strong> <strong>d<\/strong><strong>\u0105<\/strong><strong>b<\/strong> <strong>zabi<\/strong><strong>\u0142<\/strong>\u00bb&quot;, which apparently referred to deaths during logging.<\/p>\n<p>In some metric books you can see records exclusively in Ukrainian. In some metric books you can see records only in Ukrainian. As an example, let&#039;s share some of the most common terms used by the parish priest of the village of Ulychno, Ivan Kotovych, in the second half of the 19th century. His records described in detail the causes of death - ordinary (\u00ab<strong>naturally<\/strong>\u00bb, \u00ab<strong>\u0437<\/strong><strong>elders<\/strong>\u00bb, \u00ab<strong>\u0437<\/strong><strong>weaknesses<\/strong>\u00bb&quot;), young children and their mothers (&quot;\u00ab<strong>on a stick<\/strong>\u00bb,\u00ab<strong>weak since Christmas<\/strong>\/ <strong>weak type<\/strong>\u00bb,\u00ab<strong>at the slide<\/strong>\u00bb&quot;) and due to various diseases(&quot;\u00ab<strong>for fever<\/strong>\u00bb, \u00ab<strong>for cough<\/strong>\u00bb, \u00ab<strong>for tuberculosis<\/strong><strong>\u044b<\/strong>\u00bb, \u00ab<strong>on the angina<\/strong>\u00bb, \u00ab<strong>for natural measles<\/strong>\u00bb, \u00ab<strong>for typhus<\/strong><strong>\u044a<\/strong>\u00bb, \u00ab<strong>for a water tumor<\/strong>\u00bb, \u00ab<strong>whooping cough<\/strong><strong>\u044a<\/strong>\u00bb, \u00ab<strong>on internal weakness<\/strong>\u00bb,\u00ab<strong>on the throat<\/strong>\u00bb, \u00ab<strong>on the desertion<\/strong><strong>\/dysentery\/ for dysentery<\/strong>\u00bb, \u00ab<strong>for cough with colic<\/strong>\u00bb, \u00ab<strong>for cough with hoarseness<\/strong>\u00bb, \u00ab<strong>on the pleura<\/strong>\u00bb, \u00ab<strong>on inflammationfat<\/strong>\u00bb, \u00ab<strong>for heart inflammation<\/strong>\u00bb, \u00ab<strong>on the corner<\/strong>\u00bb&quot;). More detailed descriptions are also found, such as &quot;\u00ab<strong>frozen snowdrifts<\/strong>\u00bb, \u00ab<strong>trapped in the forest<\/strong>\u00bb, \u00ab<strong>for reinsurance<\/strong>\u00bb, \u00ab<strong>about infinity<\/strong><strong>drinking vodka in the morning<\/strong>\u00bb&quot; or &quot;\u00ab<strong>When the Selskaya River was blocked, he fell from the bridge and drowned.<\/strong>\u00bb.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1191 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/rodovody.com.ua\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/deth-metric-book.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"882\" height=\"630\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rodovody.com.ua\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/deth-metric-book.webp 882w, https:\/\/rodovody.com.ua\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/deth-metric-book-300x214.webp 300w, https:\/\/rodovody.com.ua\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/deth-metric-book-768x549.webp 768w, https:\/\/rodovody.com.ua\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/deth-metric-book-18x12.webp 18w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 882px) 100vw, 882px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u00a0<em>Metric book of the village of Peredrymikha, started in 1764. TsDIAL, fund 201, description 4a, file 4327, sheets 54\u201355<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u041e\u0441\u043d\u043e\u0432\u043d\u0438\u043c \u0434\u0436\u0435\u0440\u0435\u043b\u043e\u043c \u0434\u043b\u044f \u0432\u0438\u0432\u0447\u0435\u043d\u043d\u044f \u043f\u0440\u0438\u0447\u0438\u043d \u0441\u043c\u0435\u0440\u0442\u0456 \u043d\u0430\u0441\u0435\u043b\u0435\u043d\u043d\u044f \u0413\u0430\u043b\u0438\u0447\u0438\u043d\u0438 \u0432 19 \u0441\u0442\u043e\u043b\u0456\u0442\u0442\u0456 \u0454 \u0446\u0435\u0440\u043a\u043e\u0432\u043d\u0456 \u043c\u0435\u0442\u0440\u0438\u0447\u043d\u0456 \u043a\u043d\u0438\u0433\u0438. \u041c\u0430\u0441\u043e\u0432\u043e \u0457\u0445 \u043f\u043e\u0447\u0430\u043b\u0438 \u0432\u0435\u0441\u0442\u0438 \u043b\u0430\u0442\u0438\u043d\u0441\u044c\u043a\u043e\u044e \u043c\u043e\u0432\u043e\u044e \u0432 \u043a\u0456\u043d\u0446\u0456 18 \u0441\u0442\u043e\u043b\u0456\u0442\u0442\u044f, \u043f\u0456\u0441\u043b\u044f \u043f\u0440\u0438\u0454\u0434\u043d\u0430\u043d\u043d\u044f \u0446\u0438\u0445 \u0442\u0435\u0440\u0438\u0442\u043e\u0440\u0456\u0439 \u0434\u043e \u0410\u0432\u0441\u0442\u0440\u0456\u0439\u0441\u044c\u043a\u043e\u0457 \u0456\u043c\u043f\u0435\u0440\u0456\u0457. \u0422\u0430\u043a\u0456 \u0434\u043e\u043a\u0443\u043c\u0435\u043d\u0442\u0438 \u043c\u0430\u043b\u0438 \u0441\u0442\u0430\u043d\u0434\u0430\u0440\u0442\u043d\u0443 \u0444\u043e\u0440\u043c\u0443 \u0442\u0430 \u043c\u0456\u0441\u0442\u0438\u043b\u0438 \u043d\u0430\u0441\u0442\u0443\u043f\u043d\u0443\u00a0\u0456\u043d\u0444\u043e\u0440\u043c\u0430\u0446\u0456\u044e: Dies mortis, Mensis: \u0420\u0456\u043a, \u043c\u0456\u0441\u044f\u0446\u044c \u0456 \u0434\u0435\u043d\u044c \u0441\u043c\u0435\u0440\u0442\u0456; Nrus. Domus: \u041d\u043e\u043c\u0435\u0440 \u0431\u0443\u0434\u0438\u043d\u043a\u0443, \u0432 \u044f\u043a\u043e\u043c\u0443 \u043f\u0440\u043e\u0436\u0438\u0432\u0430\u0432 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1190,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rodovody.com.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rodovody.com.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rodovody.com.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rodovody.com.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rodovody.com.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1187"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/rodovody.com.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1187\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1192,"href":"https:\/\/rodovody.com.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1187\/revisions\/1192"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rodovody.com.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1190"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rodovody.com.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rodovody.com.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rodovody.com.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}