Unnatural Causes of Deaths as Recorded in 19th-Century Parish Registers (A Case Study of the Detva Parish, 1861 – 1885)

Fulltext (.pdf)

 

Autor/ Author: Ján Golian  

In: Kultúrne dejiny

ISSN: 1338-2209 (Print)

ISSN: 2989–3313 (Online)

Ročník/ Volume: 17

Číslo/ Issue: Supplement

Strany/ Page Range: 114-147

Rok vydania/ Publication Year: 2026

Jazyk/ Language: Slovak

Vydavateľ/ Publisher: VERBUM – vydavateľstvo Katolíckej univerzity v Ružomberku

Abstrakt/ Abstract: The classification of causes of death in historical populations presents many challenges for contemporary researchers. In modern historical science, several approaches address this research problem. To a large extent, it also depends on the type of sources used as the basis for the research. For 19th-century parish registers, the ICD-10h method has emerged in recent years as a suitable alternative. One category of this methodology focuses on causes resulting from so-called external factors (categories V, W, X, Y). This is a group of causes of death that includes accidental deaths, work-related injuries, household accidents, and deaths resulting from acts of violence. The present text focuses specifically on this group, analyzing the causes of death from the Detva parish database for the years 1861–1885. The text analyzes the statistical impact of the entire group and individual causes and presents options for coding these causes. The research findings are interpreted in the context of historicaldemographic and cultural-anthropological approaches, as well as the history of everyday life. The results are compared with related analyses that map locations across various European countries, as the analysis of causes of death in Slovakia does not have a long-standing research tradition.

Kľúčové slová/ Keywords: Causes of Death, Parish Registers, Unnatural Deaths, 19th Century, Detva Parish, ICD-10h Method.

Citácia/ How to cite:
GOLIAN, Ján, 2026. Neprirodzené príčiny úmrtia ako súčasť matričnej evidencie 19. storočia (prípadová štúdia farnosti Detva, 1861 – 1885). Kultúrne dejiny. Online. Roč. 17, č. Supplement, s. 114-147. ISSN 1338-2209 (Print). ISSN 2989–3313 (Online). Dostupné na:

Toto dielo je publikované pod/ This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Príspevok je podporený z grantového projektu Ministerstva školstva SR VEGA č. 1/0121/25 Pokles úmrtnosti ako prejav meniacej sa slovenskej spoločnosti od polovice 19. do polovice 20. storočia.
This paper was supported by the VEGA grant project of the Ministry of Education of the Slovak Republic No. 1/0121/25, The Mortality Decline as a Manifestation of the Changing Slovak Society from the Mid-19th to the Mid-20th Century.