Popular belief vs. reality or science, a study of beliefs in the Middle Ages
“ ‘Let the churches ask themselves why there is no
revolt against the dogmas of mathematics though there is one against the dogmas
of religion. It is not that mathematical dogmas are more comprehensible. The
law of inverse squares is as incomprehensible to the common man as the
Athanasian Creed. It is not that science is free form legends, witchcraft,
miracles, biographic boosting of quacks as heroes and saints, and of barren
scoundrels as explorers and discoverers. On the contrary, the iconography and
hagiology of Scientism are as copious as they are mostly squalid.’ ” Medieval Minds pg. 39
Being a medievalist, we seem to be
attracted or notice the oddities or subtle details in TV shows and various movies. In fact, I am drawn to the historical points
or even inaccuracies in modern story telling, probably more often than not. While watching “DaVinci’s Demons”, this
fascinating show struck a very interesting bit with my perception and knowledge
of what we know about faith versus reality or science in the Middle Ages. The series is based around the earlier years
of Leonardo DaVinci and his struggles to find a benefactor for his works. The
show also has its setting in the middle of the vast conflicting and complex
world of the Italian Renaissance. In
watching the show, I can see perfectly where Shakespeare got his inspiration
for “The Merchant of Venice” and “Romeo and Juliette.” Feuding and backstabbing, gain a new meaning
in this show, yet the idea of science versus religious doctrine and the belief
of the average medieval mind is hard to ignore.
Now it is time for me to be the historian. What
does this tell us about medieval society? A few things actually. It shows how
easily, even a somewhat educated population can be convinced of a popular
notion by a powerful entity. This is the devil’s work so they were told and
there cannot be a scientific explanation; it was God’s will. The goal of the church at this time was to
keep the pennies coming in on Sundays, install fear, and get motivation for
people to avoid sin. In short come to
church, pray, give offerings, and be protected from demons or other temptations.
Back at the convent, Leonardo and his scientific knowledge eventually proves the
cause of the demonic possessions is red ergot poisoning, which is has a fungus
called Claviceps
purpurea which also caused ergotism, on the
statue. It is that fungus which is
causing the nuns to become ill and causing their altered mental state. It is also noted that this problem with red
ergot poisoning was also responsible for other outbreaks of similar
circumstances in the Middle Ages. Notable outbreaks such as one in the 12th
century recorded by Geoffroy du Breuil of Vigeois in France. Previous outbreaks gave the disease the name
“St. Anthony’s Fire” named after the monks of St. Anthony who had been known to
successfully treat the condition. When
one is ill with this ailment, symptoms arise such as convulsive symptoms, seizures,
mania, psychosis and headaches. In
addition there are gangrenous symptoms from the poisoning that affect the
poorly vascularized structures of ones body such as their toes, and fingers,
loss of feeling and peeling of the skin.
It is noted that this poisoning was responsible for the explanation of witchcraft,
which would have been why the church’s exorcist was called in. (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ergotism)
In addition, there was a general fear that
by denying someone’s means to salvation, was just about the quickest way to get
any person to follow the word of God. The common peasant isn’t going to think
of a cause for an illness or an event like Leonardo did; but they will believe
the misfortune that falls upon them as a result. Because most of the population was not
educated to what we would think of today, convincing a popular belief was quite
simple and easy to manage. This is the
same concept if one looks at mental illness, which the poisoning did cause and
also shows this relationship.
It was well known Henry VI of England, had
bouts of insanity and psychosis. His turbulent lifestyle and political unrest of
his country didn’t help his condition. The stress of his position contributed
to break downs especially in the summer of 1453. This breakdown would start, that would later
leave him in total withdrawl, total mental and physical psychosis. Reports
stated that he was completely oblivious to the world around him, thus unfit to
rule. This was when Richard of York was
named Lord and Protector of England. Family
and familiar faces were unknown to him and even with the birth of his son
Edward, brought no change in his demeanor or condition. Yet even in this state, he was cared for in
the best of care partly because he was a man of office or high station. The
regular person or peasant would not have had this luxury and the conditions
were not even close as far as treatment. There is record that physicians at the
time tried medications, syrups, potions, and bloodletting and even shaved his
head believing that it would “purge him and rid the brain of its black bile and
so restore the balance of the humors.” “The humors” it was thought if
unbalanced caused such conditions. The
theory that they had to be balanced was highly practiced and believed during
the middle ages. The humors were four
basic principals of medieval medicine: blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black
bile. All were essential for one to be in harmony and in good health. Some of the medical treatments on King Henry
VI exhibit this notion and seek to find a balance of these humors which were
thought to be unbalanced and causing his illness, such as blood letting. But the king’s madness was not as simple as poisoning
from a fungus found in bad grain or wheat nor was it able to be balanced out by
bloodletting; it had more than likely a genetic component.
As historians we research, we dig and
sometimes we find something that links the puzzle together. In the case of King Henry IV, we just follow
the family tree and surprise! Family history of a similar illness and across
the straight to France our trail leads.
Medieval France is a country with a good share and history of “mad”
kings. First we have Clovis II in the 5th
century, his great grandson Childreic III, known as “the idiot” and then later
Charles IX, (1550-1574) was mentally unstable, known to be a sadist with mad
rages. He had two sisters as well, who
were noted to be “ill mannered and spoiled beyond redemption.” Perhaps the most
famous mad king was Charles VI (1368-1422) who was Henry VI’s
great-grandfather. Careful researching and back tracking has led
many to find the source of his illness, from a line of family from his mother.
This suggests that it was a hereditary disease in the family and had been for
sometime, passing itself on down generation after generation.
From what we know today, schizophrenia or bipolar disorder could have also been passed down, and it has a very varied and large genetic component as far as heredity is concerned. It is also suggested that the disease porphyria was another diagnosis. Porphyria has been noted to be diagnosed in his relatives. It is a rare hereditary disease that has symptoms such as inflammation of the bowels, painful weakness of the limbs and sometimes loss of feeling. Some bouts of the disease can even bring on visual and auditory disturbances, causing delirium and later lead to senility or dementia. The close relations in families as well did not help the pool of genetic variation, thus the maladies of mental illness became more apparent as a result and continued to occur and be passed down.
It is also suggested that Charles might have had encephalitis, which could have led to many of the bizarre symptoms described. It is this theory that many have tried to make sense of his April 1392 illness. Typhus has also been suggested. The suggested evidence that it could have been encephalitis was the occurrences of fever, hair and nails falling out, behaving incoherently, bizarre behaviors such as killing four of his own men as a result of a dropped lance, all hold suggestion. Accounts read by a modern historian with a medical background such as myself, suggest that the following the mania, he had a psychotic break of fit, or maybe even a seizure. Then he suffered from heavy psychosis or coma for two days. To any medieval man, educated or not, watching the events unfold it would be completely feasible that one would think the king was in fact possessed.
He had another incident in 1393 where
surgeons actually drilled his head (trepanning) with holes to release pressure or the
cloudiness of thought he was said to have suffered, in his brain. This was
followed again by a relapse in 1395. Then finally, a historic account of the
most common belief; it was eventually believed by churchmen and university doctors
that Charles was a victim of sorcery. They attempted to exorcise him in 1398,
during which he was noted to have cried out:
“If
there is anyone of you who is an accomplice in this evil I suffer, I beg him to
torture me no longer but let me die.”
What we know of today, is that many of
these so called demonic possessions which the church would have tried to exorcised
say in the case of Charles VI, were in fact biologically, or genetically
caused. Interestingly noted during the
Middle Ages, most the European societies gave the mentally ill their freedom,
which we see with Henry VI and Charles VI, unless they are a danger. This became
the case with Charles VI after he killed four of his men. To the common
medieval man, people with these disorders, were often pegged as witches and or
possessed by demons. As time went on,
the medieval and renaissance societies started to isolate mentally ill people
out of fear of unknowing how to treat them and fear from harm from the
individual. At times, a mentally ill
patient would be locked up in a dungeon in chains, as inhumane as it sounds, it
happened. (source: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/nash/timeline/)
Modern story telling, as seen with film and
other venues, do help us teach history at level that is both easy accessible to
the viewer and to the general public.
The example given in the beginning of this discussion with DaVinci’s Demon’s
accomplished this. It gave us a glimpse
of a very important topic in medieval society, which is the notion of popular
belief versus reality or scientific cause. In this case, demonic possessions
versus a scientific cause of a condition, causing temporary insanity and how
this was translated to the general public.
In addition to this one cannot help but notice the closeness of the
church and secular society were intertwined in the Middle Ages. It is because of this these ideas were
developed and continued on in society. As
discussed, some of the sources of these interpretations have roots much earlier
in society, especially within the ruling class.
Finally, if we look how these conditions were treated back then and
compare the practices to today, it shows how a society we have evolved to not
just believe what is said, but to look and delve for the answers that we cannot
necessary see but to look for the scientific cause not just the will of God in
the sakes of our salvation.
1. Graham, Thomas F. Medieval Minds,
Mental Health in the Middle Ages. George Allen & Unwin Ltd., London, UK
c. 1967
4. http://www.medievalists.net/2013/12/04/saint-francis-of-assisi-an-exorcist-of-demons/
By Andrea C. McMillin - B.A. Medieval Studies from University of California at Davis
A California native, Andy obtained her Bachelors of Arts degree in Medieval Studies from UC Davis in 1998. She has done graduate work in History in the past and is currently taking film and medical classes locally in Salt Lake City, Utah. She hopes to finish her degree at the University of Edinburgh via their online History MA program in 2015. When not writing/researching or working, she enjoys cooking, creating artwork, photography, and actively competes with her horses.
Her blog can be found here: http://medievalessays.blogspot.co.uk/
