The crippled German unique, at whose missing feet Europe fell (6 photos)

If beauty is important for happiness, but still secondary, then health for a comfortable and successful life is an important factor, if not basic.





But this courageous man, whose height was less than a three-year-old kid, proved the opposite by his example. Matthias was born in 1674 in Germany near Nuremberg, became the ninth in the family child, and the hope that such a dwarf baby without arms and legs will survive is not was. But he did.



Matthias Buchinger

The child had a congenital malformation - hands that looked like fins, only to the elbows. The lower legs were also missing. To avoid ridicule and threat to the whole family (after all, the child could be considered the result devilish tricks) Matthias Buchinger parents hid up to 20 years.

While his siblings were leading their normal childhood lives, playing and played pranks, he, deprived of such an opportunity, figured out how to profitably spend time. And acquired various useful skills.

As a result, he so trained his underdeveloped flippers that left the custody of his parents and began to perform at fairs: threw knives, shot, drew, carved wood, played for everyone possible tools, showed tricks.



Matthias' work

Mattias masterfully mastered micrography - a drawing technique, in the implementation of which the lines are made of tiny letters. Works the men are kept in the museum and surprise visitors. After all, for that time and a healthy person could not so skillfully cope with writing, and what can we say about a cripple?

At the age of 30, the talented dwarf went on tour to show the world your skills. He visited Augsburg, Hannover, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Paris. Arrived in 1717 in London, being firmly convinced that King George II would grant him a pension for his many-sided talents and leave it at the court.



True, the monarch only paid a generous reward ambitious little man, but did not leave him in the service. However, this is not especially upset Mattias. He continued to do what he had to. From Buchinger's self-promotion:

This little man works miracles like never before. no one did. He plays different musical instruments Delight. He designs machines capable of reproducing almost anything types of music. He is no less an outstanding writer, he draws coats of arms with a pen and pictures from nature. He also plays cards and dice, performs tricks with cups, balls and live birds. He plays skittles brilliantly and arranges other performances to the great delight of all spectators.



And this is an excerpt from the notes of a witness to one of Mattias' speeches:

He did with his stumps what many could not do hands and feet as good as he is. He played cards, dice, skittles... He carved bizarre figures out of paper. He wrote, composed accounts and very beautifully painted. He combed and powdered very well your wig; loaded the gun and fired, always hitting the target. Just as accurately, he threw knives, and from a very long distance ... And did a lot of other weird things.

Dwarf and his women



At the same time, the crippled, but resilient little man literally bathed in female attention. According to surviving evidence, he four times married, had 14 children (this is only officially recognized). Army mistresses of a talented dwarf, according to various sources, ranges from 40 to 70, and among them were noble aristocrats.

After the conquest of England, Matthias traveled through Scotland, where had no less success, and then settled in Ireland. Where did you buy the house lived with his last wife until the age of 65. Despite the physiology, he becomes a worthy member of society, get rich, and not drag out a miserable existence immobilized cripple living on alms. In your quest to be Useful Mattias went to the end and even bequeathed his body to science.