[From Count Gustav Chorinsky (1868) to King Ludwig II. of Bavaria (1886) : Cyanide, progressive paralysis &...

In retrospect, expert opinions-such as those in the case of Ludwig II.-are frequently called into question, particularly when the pervasive Zeitgeist of an era is disregarded.

Drawing upon two cases that appear to be entirely unrelated, this study explores the influence of prior personal experience and prevailing contemporary trends on the expert assessment of mental disorders.

Available information from historical media reports, archival records, and scientific literature in the fields of medicine and cultural studies was systematically analysed.

In 1867, Julie von Ebergenyi poisoned the wife of her lover, Count Gustav Chorinsky, at his behest. Bernhard Gudden deemed Chorinsky to be criminally responsible, whereas Benedict Augustin Morel diagnosed "moral insanity" and predicted the manifestation of general paralysis with rapid deterioration-a prognosis promptly confirmed by further observation. In 1886, Gudden and other experts with similar prior experience were commissioned to assess king Ludwig II.; they described signs indicative of a severe illness and impending deterioration which mirrored those observed in the earlier case. Over a long period of time, new clinical observations and concepts on general paralysis of the insane along with new insights into its aetiology were overshadowed by Morel's predominant doctrine of degeneration; this theory inspired both Naturalism and Decadence and seemed to be empirically verified time and again.

An examination of prior experience and the broader cultural context may improve our understanding of historical diagnostic and prognostic assessments.