Almost two hundred years after his death, allegedly the remains of the great composer Ludwig van Beethoven were transferred to Austria.
These pieces of the skull could possibly help to find out the reasons for his deafness and death.
Almost two hundred years after his death, allegedly the remains of the great composer Ludwig van Beethoven were transferred to Austria.
These pieces of the skull could possibly help to find out the reasons for his deafness and death.
Will scientists ever solve the mystery of Ludwig van Beethoven’s deafness? The alleged skull bones of this classical music genius were donated for this purpose this week in Austria, the country of origin of the musician. It was the American businessman Paul Kaufman who donated these relics to the Medical University of Vienna, the capital of Austria. He inherited them in 1990, to his great surprise, finding them in a bank vault on the Côte d’Azur. “There were many treasures, including this box with “Beethoven” written on the surface.“, he recalls.
The preservation of these bones is a miracle. They are said to have been first exhumed from Beethoven’s tomb in 1863 by a Viennese doctor to study them. The descendants of this explorer, an ancestor of Paul Kaufmann, then passed on the relics from generation to generation, including during the two world wars. The skull pieces even resist several movements, the Jewish family holding them having to flee Nazism when Austria was taken over by the Third Reich.
Lead poisoning?
Finally returned to Austria, these bones, the only ones known to date, have “great importance“, emphasized pathologist Christian Reiter in front of precious objects stored under a glass case. Beethoven died in 1827 at the age of 56, the causes of death have not been established. The reasons for his progressive deafness, which caused so much pain to the author 9ᵉ Symphony. If properly authenticated, these bones could provide scientists with important information about the circumstances of the composer’s disappearance and illness.
For now, all these questions remain a mystery. However, the original study of these cranial fragments did indeed take place in the United States in 2005. They were examined using X-rays, and their analysis suggested a trace of lead poisoning by Beethoven. How to explain, in particular, the digestive problems that the musician suffered from … The latter drank goblets from this metal. In addition, lead or mercury were also often used for treatment at that time.
- Beethoven: Computers tried to finish his last symphony
But another study published last March, based on DNA analysis of strands of his hair, offered a different hypothesis, providing no information about the causes of Beethoven’s deafness. She has been shown to have a strong genetic predisposition to liver disease, as well as infection with the hepatitis B virus late in life.
These two factors likely contributed to his death, most likely from cirrhosis of the liver aggravated by alcohol use. A new study soon to be carried out on the bones handed over to Austria could shed entirely new light on this question…
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Source: TF1