Madness, Demonic Possession, and Methods of Categorization

Sari Katajala-Peltomaa

Jump to Content

Chapter 10 Madness, Demonic Possession, and Methods of Categorization

In: A Companion to Medieval Miracle Collections

Author:

Sari Katajala-Peltomaa

Sari Katajala-Peltomaa
Search for other papers by Sari Katajala-Peltomaa in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed

Type:: Chapter

Pages:: 206–225

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004468498_012

Purchase instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):

€42.00€35.00 excl. VAT

Add to Cart

Redeem Access Token

In the medieval world, the diving line between an illness and spiritual state, demonic possession, was not always evident and many of the symptoms were similar. Both of them could be seen as outer forces attacking a victim. In some canonization processes an undisputable proof was required to categorize the disorder as supernatural, while in other hearings such a categorization seem to have been accepted quite willingly by the inquisitorial committee. A third group was constituted by those processes, where the diving line was not clear and apparently not important. Deliveries from malign spirits were never the most numerous manifestations of saintly powers. The societal changes during the late Middle Ages, like medicalization, reformation and clerical attempts to control the miraculous had their effect on the categorizations, but demonic possession was not one uncomplicated category -- to discern lived realities and personal experiences, to fully understand the phenomenon, one has to be sensitive to the nuances of various cases and contexts.

Citation Info

Save
Cite
Email this content

Share link with colleague or librarian

You can email a link to this page to a colleague or librarian:
Email this content
or copy the link directly:

https://brill.edhh.ma/abstract/book/9789004468498/BP000011.xml
The link was not copied. Your current browser may not support copying via this button.

Link copied successfully

Collapse
Expand

A Companion to Medieval Miracle Collections

Series: Reading Medieval Sources, Volume: 5

E-Book ISBN:: 9789004468498

Publisher:: Brill

Print Publication Date:: 27 Aug 2021

Subjects

Front Matter

Back Matter

Metrics

	All Time	Past 365 days	Past 30 Days
Abstract Views	4826	849	197
Full Text Views	80	17	1
PDF Views & Downloads	146	23	1

African Studies	Education	Media Studies
American Studies	History	Middle East and Islamic Studies
Ancient Near East and Egypt	Human Rights and Humanitarian Law	Musicology
Art History	International Law	Philosophy
Asian Studies	International Relations	Religious Studies
Biblical Studies	Jewish Studies	Slavic and Eurasian Studies
Biology	Languages and Linguistics	Social Sciences
Book History and Cartography	Life Sciences	Theology and World Christianity
Classical Studies	Literature and Cultural Studies

Subjects

Authors

Open Access

Product Information

Company

Contact

Chapter 10 Madness, Demonic Possession, and Methods of Categorization

Citation Info

Share link with colleague or librarian

A Companion to Medieval Miracle Collections

Table of Contents

Metrics

Metrics