Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index
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Record Number:
7289
Author(s)/Creator(s):
Caciola , Nancy.
Contributor(s):
Title:
Mystics, Demoniacs, and the Physiology of Spirit Possession in Medieval Europe
Source:
Comparative Studies in Society and History 42, 2 (April 2000): Pages 268 - 306.
Description:
Article Type:
Journal Article
Subject
(See Also)
:
Body
Demoniac Possession
Demoniacs
Demons
Discernment of Spirits, Determining Whether a Holy Person was Inspired by Jesus Christ or by the Devil
Gender
Hagiography
Human Behavior
Identity
Lay Piety
Mystics
Spirituality
Women in Religion
Award Note:
Geographic Area:
General
Century:
13- 14- 15
Primary Evidence:
Illustrations:
Table:
Abstract:
Nancy Caciola finds, in the lives of medieval women saints, that authorities disagreed about whether “inspired women” were inspiredby Christ or the Devil. Medical notions of the time had it that only God can enter the heart, the Devil only the intestines; but theyoffered no reliable method for “the discrimination of spirits,” which remained the unresolved problem of detecting female sainthood.This changed in the sixteenth century, when a calm demeanor became the sign of divine inspiration. “As the discernment of spiritsbecame a discernment of bodies, the female body increasingly was defined as a habitation for demons, rather than a locus of indwellingdivinity.” Performative eccentricity and loss of control not only ceased to be routes to sainthood for women, they came to be identifiedwith its opposite and were treated by exorcism. [Reprinted with the permission of Cambridge University Press.]
Related Resources:
Author's Affiliation:
University of California, San Diego
Conference Info:
- , -
Year of Publication:
2000.
Language:
English
ISSN/ISBN:
00104175