Madness, Religion and the State in Early Modern Europe - A Bavarian Beacon

Informationen zum Autor David Lederer is Lecturer at the National University of Ireland. His research focuses on early modern central Europe! the history of psychiatry and suicide studies. Klappentext From the ideological crucible of the Reformation emerged an embittered contest for the human soul. In the care of souls, the clergy zealously dispensed spiritual physic; for countless early modern Europeans, the first echelon of mental health care. During its heyday, spiritual physic touched the lives of thousands, from penitents and pilgrims to demoniacs and mad people. Ironically, the phenomenon remains largely unexplored. Why? Through case histories from among the records of over 1,000 troubled and desperate individuals, this regional study of Bavaria investigates spiritual physic as a popular ritual practice during a tumultuous era of religious strife, material crises, moral repression and witch hunting. By the mid-seventeenth century, secular forces ushered in a psychological revolution across Europe. However, spiritual physic ensconced itself by proxy upon emergent bourgeois psychiatry. Today, its remnants raise haunting questions about science and the pursuit of objective knowledge in the ephemeral realm of human consciousness. Zusammenfassung This is a regional study of psychology during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries! before the emergence of professional psychiatry. It explores the treatment of mental illness in society and the use of spiritual remedies to deal with physical and mental ailments from melancholy to demonic possession. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1. On the soul; 2. Sackcloth and ashes; 3. Bavaria Sancta; 4. Spiritual afflictions; 5. the decline of religious madness; 6. confinement and its vicissitudes; 7. The legacy of spiritual physic.

Product details

• Authors: David Lederer, Lederer David
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press Academic
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 04.05.2006
• EAN: 9780521853477
• ISBN: 978-0-521-85347-7
• Dimensions: 160 mm x 235 mm x 27 mm
• Series: New Studies in European Histor; New Studies in European History
• Subjects: Education and learning > Teaching preparation > Vocational needs; Non-fiction book > Psychology, esoterics, spirituality, anthroposophy > Psychology: general, reference works; HISTORY / Europe / General, HISTORY / Social History, MEDICAL / History, PSYCHOLOGY / Mental Health, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Human Services, History of Medicine, Care of the mentally ill, 17th century, c 1600 to c 1699, Social and cultural history, Early modern history: c 1450/1500 to c 1700, Care of people with mental health issues, 16th century, c 1500 to c 1599, Modern Period, C 1500 Onwards