Hôtel-Dieu di Parigi — Primo Laboratorio Magnetico/en
The Hôtel-Dieu of Paris is the historic site where animal magnetism made the transition from the aristocratic salon to the public medical institution — thanks to the initiative of Baron du Potet starting in 1820.
The Fundamental Transition
Until 1820, magnetism was practiced mainly in private homes, aristocratic salons, and semi-secret circles such as the Sociétés de l'Harmonie. Mesmer himself operated in a salon context. Du Potet was the first to bring magnetism before academic physicians, in a verifiable and documentable hospital setting.
The experiments conducted at the Hôtel-Dieu — where du Potet was called to induce the state of somnambulism in sick patients before academic physicians — caused, according to Donato, "an enormous uproar" and forced the Academy of Medicine to take a position.
The Second Academic Commission (1826–1831)
It was du Potet who "provoked the examination" (Donato's words) — that is, he forced the Academy of Medicine to appoint an official commission to evaluate magnetism. The Second Commission (1826–1831), led by M. Husson, after 5 years of work officially recognized certain magnetic phenomena. Its report — the Husson Report — was included by du Potet in his Manuel de l'étudiant magnétiseur (1840, then 1850), using academic legitimation as a pedagogical tool.
The Historical Symbolism
The Hôtel-Dieu is not just a physical place: it is the symbol of a paradigm shift. Before: magnetism was secret, elitist, domestic. After: it becomes (at least partially) public, verifiable, medical. This transition paves the way for du Potet's school (1828), then Lafontaine, then — through Braid — to the clinical hypnotism of the late nineteenth century.
Primary Sources
Anti-hallucination system: Dossier estratti ISI-CNV.
- Donato, Le Magnétisme Triomphant — Google Doc — «expériences à l'Hôtel-Dieu par le baron Du Potet, appelé à mettre des malades en somnambulisme, firent un bruit énorme. C'était le baron du Potet qui avait provoqué l'examen» (sez. III) | PDF
- Paret, History of Hypnotism — Google Doc — du Potet section; Husson Report Academy 1831 | TXT
- Du Potet, Manuel de l'étudiant magnétiseur (1850) — includes the Husson Report (Second Commission) as part of the text
See also
- Baron du Potet de Sennevoy — Il Magnetizzatore di Parigi
- Du Potet e il Magnetismo Scientifico — Genealogia e Commissioni
- Manuel de l'étudiant magnétiseur — Scheda
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