[Elements of Spanish psychiatry].

The development of a psychiatric science in Spain took place on various levels. To this end an examination was made as to the cultural-historical side with the Christian and stoical tradition as well as to the ethnologic-psychological side, especially with the aspect of inferiority and pride taking into consideration the reflection of these problems in the so-called "generation of 1898". Furthermore, linguistic aspects were taken into consideration as the example of the Spanish term ""gana" and the expressions of the Valencian dialect in the Middle Ages show. The "forerunner"-psychiatry as well as the significance of the first European Christian mental hospital in 1409 were described. The examination comes to the conclusion that whilst the Spanish psychiatry, after comparatively late maturity, followed the German phenomenological school, it still succeeded in enriching this school with conceptions of its own, such as the vital fear (López Ibor) and physiodynamic factors.