Sebastian Kneipp

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File:Sebastian Kneipp by Bischoff, 1890.jpg

Kneipp in 1890

Sebastian Kneipp ({{#invoke:IPA|main}}; 17 May 1821 – 17 June 1897) was a German Catholic priest and one of the forefathers of the naturopathic movement. He is most commonly associated with the "Kneipp Cure" form of hydrotherapy (often called "Kneipp therapy" or "Kneippism"<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>), the application of water through various methods, temperatures and pressures, which he claimed to have therapeutic or healing effects, thus building several hospitals in Bad Wörishofen.

Although most commonly associated with one area of nature cure, Kneipp was the proponent of an entire system of healing, which rested on five main tenets:<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Hydrotherapy – The use of water to treat ailments
Phytotherapy – The use of botanical medicines was another of Kneipp's specialties
Exercise – Promoting health of the body through movement
Nutrition – A wholesome diet of whole grains, fruits, and vegetables with limited meat.
Balance – Kneipp believed that a healthy mind begets a healthy person

Early lifeEdit

Kneipp was born in 1821 in Stephansried in the Kingdom of Bavaria.<ref name="Hoolihan2008">Template:Cite book</ref> His father was a weaver, and Kneipp trained as a weaver until he was 23 when he began training for the priesthood.<ref name="Hoolihan2008"/> Matthias Merkle, a priest in Grönenbach began instructing him, but Kneipp fell ill with tuberculosis in 1847.<ref name="Kneipp's book">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Thus Shalt">Template:Cite book</ref> Kneipp was so ill that he was visited by a physician around 100 times in each of his last two years of study.<ref name="Kneipp's book"/> While Kneipp was ill, he began reading many books and found his illness described in a book about water cures.<ref name="Kneipp's book"/> In 1850, Kneipp met a student in the Georgianum seminary in Munich that was also ill and shared water cures with him.<ref name="Kneipp's book"/> Both Kneipp and his friend at the Georgianum recovered from their illnesses and with his renewed health Kneipp was able to complete his studies.<ref name="Kneipp's book"/> He was ordained as a Catholic priest in 1852.<ref name="Hoolihan2008"/>

HistoryEdit

BackgroundEdit

File:Bad Wörishofen - Kneippbrunnen am Kurpark (2013-08-28 1669).JPG

Fountain at the spa gardens of Bad Wörishofen, dedicated to pastor Sebastian Kneipp for his 76th birthday

In the 19th century, there was a popular revival in the application of hydrotherapy, instigated around 1829 by Vincent Priessnitz, a peasant farmer in Gräfenberg, then part of the Austrian Empire.<ref name=Hydropathy8thed/><ref name=Metcalfe1898/> This revival was continued by Kneipp, "an able and enthusiastic follower" of Priessnitz, "whose work he took up where Priessnitz left it",<ref name=Metcalfe1898p117/> after he came across a treatise on the cold water cure.<ref name=Metcalfe1898p120/><ref name=Kneipp/> At Wörishofen, while serving as the confessor to the monastery, he began offering treatments of hydrotherapy, botanical treatments, exercise and diet to the people who lived in the village.<ref name="Hoolihan2008"/> Some of his suggested treatments included "ice cold baths and walking barefoot in the snow" and other "harsh" methodologies.<ref name="Sinclair2007">Template:Cite book</ref> In 1893, M. E. Bottey described Kneipp's water cures as "dangerous in most cases".<ref name="Corporation1896">Template:Cite journal</ref> Wörishofen became known as a place with a reputation for spiritual healing.<ref name="Hoolihan2008"/> In addition to "peasants", Kneipp's clients also included Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his father, Archduke Karl Ludwig as well as Pope Leo XIII.<ref name="Sinclair2007"/> Others took Kneipp's processes back to their home countries to found alternative therapy spas and colleges.<ref name="Sinclair2007"/>

HydrotherapyEdit

Kneipp began developing his healing methods in 1849 after contracting tuberculosis and experimenting with the water treatments developed by Sigmund Hahn.<ref name="Locher and Pforr">Template:Cite journal</ref> After being ordained in 1852, he continued to experiment with water treatments in his parish.<ref name="Locher and Pforr" /> Kneipp began working with the cures developed by Vincenz Priessnitz but developed a more complicated and gentle method.<ref name="Locher and Pforr" /> His gentle cures contrast the earlier water cures that he referred to as horse cures for their strenuous nature.<ref name="Kneipp's book" /> Kneipp's treatment of patients also contrasted that of hospital medicine because it was personalized and took into account the patient's individual strengths and weaknesses.<ref name="Kneipp's book" />

Kneipp's approach comes from his theory that all diseases originate in the circulatory system.<ref name="Kneipp's book"/> This theory is similar to humoral theory. Like those who believed in humoral theory, Kneipp asserted that breathing miasmatic or excessively hot air would lead to disease.<ref name="Kneipp's book"/> While it may deal with one humor instead of four, his theory still asserts that an imbalance in the blood whether it be circulation or foreign matter is the root of disease.<ref name="Kneipp's book"/> Under Kneipp's depiction of disease, water cures work by affecting the blood.<ref name="Kneipp's book"/> They dissolve foreign matter, cleanse the blood of this matter, aid in circulation, and strengthen the body as a whole.<ref name="Kneipp's book"/>

LifestyleEdit

In addition to specific cures, Kneipp had prescriptions with regard to food, drink and clothing.<ref name="Kneipp's book" /> He believed that food should be dry and simple and should not be spicy.<ref name="Kneipp's book" /> He also believed that people should drink primarily water but also allowed consumption of alcohol in moderation.<ref name="Kneipp's book" /> As for clothing, Kneipp preferred self-spun clothing made of linen or hemp over wool.<ref name="Kneipp's book" />

Personal ideologyEdit

Kneipp's approach to medicine was not independent of his Catholic faith.<ref name="Thus Shalt" /> His focus on water and herbs stems from the idea that remedies are naturally provided by God.<ref name="Thus Shalt" /> His emphasis on plain food, drink, and clothing comes from the theory that humans should live in accord with nature.<ref name="Thus Shalt" /> He used scripture as well as references to Roman practice to support the reasoning behind his cure and admitted that his treatments did not fall in line with current scientific understanding.<ref name="Thus Shalt" /> The fact that his treatments were not based in scientific theory did not bother Kneipp because they were seen as able to succeed where scientific medicine could not.<ref name="Thus Shalt" />

Sebastian Kneipp had a particular dedication to helping the poor and those that physicians can't help.<ref name="Kneipp's book"/> His suffering early in life caused Kneipp to develop a deep sympathy for those less fortunate than him.<ref name="Kneipp's book"/> He turned down many patients that could feasibly recover on their own but claims to have never refused to treat a patient that is poor or untreatable by other methods.<ref name="Kneipp's book"/>

PublicationsEdit

Kneipp's book My Water Cure was published in 1886 with many subsequent editions, and translated into many languages. He also wrote "Thus Shalt Thou Live", "My Will", and The Care of Children in Sickness and in Health.Template:Citation needed

LegacyEdit

Kneipp expanded the definition of health to include a more holistic view which included mental, social, and spiritual aspects.<ref name="Locher and Pforr"/> Toward the end of his life and after his death, various organizations were created to teach his methods. In 1891, he founded Kneipp Bund, an organization that promotes water healing to this day.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In America, Kneipp Societies were founded, which, under the influence of Benedict Lust, changed their name to Naturopatic Society of America.<ref name="WengellGabriel2008">Template:Cite book</ref> Today there are 600 organizations that are a part of Kneipp Worldwide and there are approximately 1000 members of the International Society of Kneipp Physicians.<ref name="Locher and Pforr"/> After his death, his treatments became part of mainstream medicine in Germany.<ref name="Locher and Pforr"/>

Archduke Josef dedicated his medical atlas to Kneipp.<ref name="SkrypzakBuenger2003">Template:Cite book</ref> Kneipp's likeness was featured on a stamp.<ref name="Kneippbrødets historie" /> His recipe for whole wheat bread, called Kneippbrød, is the most commonly eaten bread in Norway.<ref name="Kneippbrødets historie">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>