Supernatural

The Supernatural, as with religion, was omnipresent in the early modern period. Its reality permeated household’s and perhaps surprisingly to some, frequently overcame the contentions of early modern medicine. Often the lines between the natural and the supernatural were blurred and with medical discourses such as psychiatry yet to be established with confidence, the abundance of mental health issues we recognise today were considered to be the work of the supernatural.  

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Blurry Lines and Inner Demons

By Emma Seeley

Warning: this blog post contains graphic descriptions of suicide.

Historians often refer to the blurred lines between the natural and the supernatural in the early modern period, that being the fluidity of thought between natural and supernatural occurrences. Something considered as supernatural in origin could also be considered natural in consequence and vice versa. But did this apply to the idea of mental health as a natural affliction as well? It would seem not!

Psychiatry as a discipline, although arguably derivative from Edward Jorden’s Suffocation of the Mother in which he links the functioning of the brain to hysteria as opposed to solely the womb, was an up and coming discourse little regarded by the average person in the early modern period, who had no line of psychiatric interpretation. [1] Where treatises on melancholy were readily available to provide households with advice on dealing with depression, it seems that psychological disorders in which people lose touch with reality such as psychosis or schizophrenia, were commonly attributed to demonic possession rather than ‘madness’. [2]

The clash of supernatural and psychiatric discourses came to a head in 1603 during the trial of Elizabeth Jackson, accused of causing the possession of Mary Glover via bewitchment. The above illustration taken from a late nineteenth century French medical treatise demonstrates hysteric contortions which seem reminiscent of Mary Glovers fits in 1603. It was described how, like the image, Mary:

was turned rounde as a whoop, with her head backward to her hippes; and in that potition rolled and tumbled, with such violence, and swiftness…thus tossed and tumbled in this circled roundness backward, her body was suddenly turned round the contrary way, that is, her head forward betweene her legs, and then also rowled and tumbled as before.[3]

Mary, her family, various doctors, clergymen, and the judge presiding over Jackson’s witchcraft trial, despite being offered Jorden’s diagnosis of hysteria, instead attributed her illness to bewitchment. What is interesting is that Mary’s parents, as in every other child demoniac case, desperately sought a natural diagnosis before accepting bewitchment yet refused to entertain the idea of hysteria. In this era, supernatural explanation did not supersede a natural explanation, but it did surpass psychiatry.  

It is dangerous territory to attempt retro-diagnoses, we will never know what Mary was really struggling with but those around her at least recognised that although the origin of her affliction wasn’t visible, her struggle was real.

Today our mental struggles are sometimes referred to as our ‘inner demons’, in the early modern era these struggles were manifested into possession narratives to fit early modern religious empiricism, based upon god’s providence. Perhaps even though early moderners were not able to recognise or understand the extent of the psychiatric discourse, they did understand that what was troubling them was within, an inner struggle to be overcome.

When Anne Frank, a nurse servant of John Dee’s household made suicide attempts, Dee recorded in his diary that Frank ‘had long byn tempted by a wyked spirit…it was evident how she was possessed of him’. [4] In his attempts to free her from the inhabiting demon, Dee prayed for God’s deliverance of her and anointed her with holy oil, but the demon prevailed, and Frank succeeded in her suicide attempt by cutting her throat. (For more information see our blog on ‘Self-Murder’)

In early modern terms, Dee as well as those that attended Mary Glover who was later ‘successfully dispossessed’ by an assembly of Puritan preachers, did all that was known and available to them to resolve the mentally ill members of their households. Even if they had accepted mental illness over supernatural causation, what would they have done about it? Jorden’s was the first medical treatise of its kind and was afforded little attention by contemporaries. It accepted witchcraft, although reluctantly, and could provide no natural cure, so why would a religiously dominated society afford more confidence to his work over God’s providence!

When mental illness was accepted, the sufferers faced extreme stigmatism by medieval and early modern populations who often related the affliction to sin, and it was not until the humanism and natural philosophy of the enlightenment period developed that more sympathetic views were taken, and mental health has become an increasingly poignant issue. [5] It is only now that the stigma and prejudices are being broken down. Essentially, it was more acceptable and likely to be a victim of the devil’s earthly compatriots than it was to be institutionalised for ‘madness’.

References:

[1] Edward Jorden, A Breife Discourse on the Suffocation of the Mother (London, 1603); Kristen C. Uszkalo, Bewitched and Bedeviled: A Cognitive Approach to Embodiment in Early English Possession (New York, 2015), p. 12.

[2] Andrew Scull, Madness in Civilisation: A Cultural History of Insanity from the Bible to Freud, from the Madhouse to Modern Medicine (London, 2015), pp. 77, 121.

[3] British Library, Sloane MS 831, fos. 6v – 7r.

[4] John Dee, Diary of Dr. John Dee (1554 – 1600), ed. James Orchard Halliwell, Esq.. F. R. S (London, 1842), p. 35.

[5] Scull, Madness, pp. 122 – 123, 159 – 161.

Further reading:

Michael Macdonald, Witchcraft and Hysteria in Elizabethan London (London, 1991).

J. A. Sharpe, ‘Disruption in the Well-Ordered Household: Age, Authority and Possessed Young People’ in The Experinace of Autrhoirity in Early Modern England, eds Paul Griffiths, Adam Fix and Steve Hindle (Basingstoke, 1996).

Brian P. Levack, The Devil Within Possession and Exorcism in the Christian West (New Haven, 2013).

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Insanire & Skhizein

By Shaikor Paul

Madness is not a term used today to describe a person with mental illness; however, in the Early Modern period, it was used to describe a wide variety of different mental illnesses. Looking into madness in this period, an exciting topic arose on how schizophrenia was perceived in this period.

Schizophrenia caught my attention because there is a blurred line between supernatural and madness. The two in the Early Modern have intertwined and, in some cases, have been associated with God and the Devil. What we may see as a mental illness during Early Modern they saw it as spiritual revelations. It was prevalent throughout Early Modern as there are accounts in Christian scriptures of people receiving these spiritual encounters. For example, in Christianity, it’s the temptation of the devil that leads one to show a mental disorder. Looking into Christian literature, there are countless of stories of Saints tempted by demons and the devil, St. Anthony who was plagued by temptations of the devil as well as, the devil tempted Jesus himself. Joan of Arc is one example of a person who claimed they had received visions of Archangel Michael. Another aspect is mental disorders such as schizophrenia during Early Modern was referred to as possession by the Devil. The devil played a significant role and influenced many outcomes in how people dealt with mental disorders. The literature surrounding the 15th century came to consensus mental disorders were described as a possession; this is mentioned by F. Wallis in Medieval Medicine: A Reader (Toronto, 2010). Although certain cultures throughout the world still believe in the divine spiritual encounter, it is less prevalent in society, which leads to some cases treated as mental illness.

Furthermore, one interesting prominent figure is Charles VI of France, who suffered from bouts of insanity, nicknamed “Charles the Mad.” He believed he was made of glass due to his delusions and often attack his servants. It’s interesting to read about prominent figures in power who suffered from Mental disorders. A leading figure in such a high power who has mental disorders that can de-stabilize a country especially a King of a country

Relating this to actual historical context, a popular method of treating the mentally ill was the practice of exorcism. However, it is clear this isn’t a successful approach and arguably not a treatment of mental health. Moreover, gaining insight on what people thought during Early Modern for example in the 15th century, shows us the Devil inspired it the people’s disorders. Malleus Maleficarum, published in 1487 emphasis that mental disorder was because of witchcraft which is instigated by the devil. The Devil played a significant role in mental illness; the majority of the root of mental disorders in those time was due to the devil’s work. Religion played a significant role in all aspects of life in Early Modern, and it significantly affected mental disorder, from having visions to depression religion played a key role, and it always related to either God or the Devil. Moreover, Burton’s The Anatomy of Melancholie (1621) mentions the possible cause of mental disorders could be the devil. Moreover, the persecution of ‘witches’ can be argued that they may have had schizophrenia hence why they were persecuted. Hallucinations[1] along with conversations alone are symptoms of schizophrenia and the women that were persecuted as witches were simply vulnerable[2]. The use of exorcism on the women due to witchcraft was the only ‘treatment’ available in the 15th century, and even in our time in some places in the world, exorcism is preferred to therapy and medicine. Religious superstition dominated the middle ages.

Another aspect we can look into is the attitudes towards madness that are depicted through stories or Arts, in particular, Shakespeare. Shakespeare’s plays have forms of madness within them; characters who are madly in love eventually lead to despair and death. Ophelia’s is one example from Hamlet where she becomes mad and enters suicidal depression, who was pushed to insanity by love. Moreover, Shakespeare’s writing contains other forms of mental disorders such as dementia. In the play, King Lear has dementia and mentions he is not of perfect mind as well as when he struggles to recognise his daughter. It gives us the insight on what attitudes of society were although, they did not understand why old age impaired a person, they did understand the impact it had in society and convey it in a play.

I felt it was important to see the attitudes of mental disorders in the Early Modern, especially schizophrenia. Also, the role religion played on how some cases of mental disorders were dealt with, and the idea of visions and temptations by the devil had a substantial impact on how people perceived mental illness.

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References:

[1] Briggs R, Witches and Neighbours: The Social and Cultural Context of European Witchcraft. (Oxford, 2002). pp 19.

[2] Almond P. Introduction. In: Demonic Possession and Exorcism in Early Modern England, (Cambridge, 2004) pp. 42

Additional Reading:

Kramer Heinrich, Malleus Maleficarum, (Cologne, 1486)

Burton Robert, The Anatomy of Melancholie (Oxford, 1621)

Wallis F., Medieval Medicine: A Reader, (Toronto, 2010)

Briggs R, Witches and Neighbours: The Social and Cultural Context of European Witchcraft. (Oxford, 2002). p. 19

Almond P. Introduction. In: Demonic Possession and Exorcism in Early Modern England, (Cambridge, 2004) pp.

Shakespeare William, Hamlet, (1604)

Shakespeare William, King Lear, (1605)