Corpus and Kinesis: Multidisciplinary Contextualisation in the Dr. Ivan Merz Manuscript Legacy

Abstract

This article is first to present the results of the analysis of Blessed Dr. Ivan Merz's unpublished manuscript entitled »The Human Body and Physical Education in the Light of the Catholic Church«. The aim of this examination is to study and analyse the aforementioned material and so to determine Merz's contribution to philosophical and theological discourse on the human body and physical education, that is of physical culture. This scholarly research is based primarily on a complete examination and study of the legacy kept in the Ivan Merz Archives, particularly of the unpublished manuscript cited above, as well as articles and other writings devoted to physical culture and to the work of the Croatian Eagle Federation. Results of this research have revealed the multidisciplinarity of the manuscript and Merz's considerable contribution to the popularisation and new contextualisation of physical education and have provided a clearer understanding of his work in the area of physical culture and the Croatian Eagle Federation. The Merz approach to physical culture mirrors certain features of culture as a whole, especially its purpose and importance in educating the whole person and imprinting the stamp of spirituality. Thus it goes beyond the limits of kinesiology by elevating physical culture to a higher level, setting forth new guidelines and giving it new merit.