Bartholomew on Madness

Excerpted from De proprietatibus rerum 7.5

Introduction by Juris Lidaka

Ancient Medical Theories, Medieval Applications
The Middle Ages are often viewed as a period when people explained madness just as result of demonic possession. But as David and Christine Roffe showed in 1995, common sense attitudes toward insanity were widespread in the Middle Ages. Authors like Bartholomew, but also Gilbert the Englishman and Bernard of Gordon, summarized ancient medicinal theories for their thirteenth-century contemporaries.

Bartholomew relies on works by Arabic authors translated for him by scholars like Constantine the African. In this passage he is indirectly citing Ishaq ibn ‘Imran. But he also cites Platearius, an Anglo-Norman physician who belongs to the Salernian (from the famous medical school at Salerno, Italy, which flourished from the 11th-13th centuries) medical tradition of the twelfth century.

As the Roffes indicate, medieval physicians recommended “dietary, herbal, and surgical regimens.”  Modern medical advice also refers to diet, medications (sometimes processed “herbal” materials), and even surgery as methods to combat depression and other mental disturbances.

So, what does Bartholomew say? He takes his definition of madness, or rather mindlessness, from Platearius. His anatomy of the cerebrum comes from Constantine the African, On Melancholy, who held that different kinds of madness affect different parts of the brain. 

• melancholy-inducing foods
• strong wine that disrupts the humors
• bad air
• anxiety and overwork
• infection from a poisonous bite
• disorderly humors

Bartholomew lists varying behaviors and treatments, though he is clear that the mad must be controlled so they do not hurt themselves or others. If you look at what he says, do you see any mention of demonic possession? This shows that common popular views that suggest medieval physicians attributed madness to demons exclusively are exaggerated and misleading.  Among the cures for madness that Bartholomew suggests are restraints and surgery, but also music, moderate exercise, and freedom from anxiety. He emphasizes most of all (maxime) a convalescence free from fear.

Melancholy
One important word in Bartholomew's text is “melancholy.” In modern usage it can be a synonym for sadness.  In earlier times it referred to severe mental depression and included other mental illnesses as well.  It was used so much more that in the mid-seventeenth century Robert Burton produced a very lengthy discussion of it, entitled The Anatomy of Melancholy.

The word “melancholy” comes orginally from the Greek words for “black bile,” one of the four humors. It passed through the centuries into Latin, French, and then to English. In the process it lost its connection to humoral theory and became a more general term for depression and mental illness.

"In the popular mind the Middle Ages was a period of unreason in which belief in possession was a commonplace, and indeed the perception has coloured many scholarly examinations of insanity in former centuries...In recent years several studies have shown that common sense attitudes to insanity were widespread. Classical notions of humoral imbalance were probably never entirely lost in the West, and by the 13th century they had become the standard explanation of a host of psychiatric conditions in medical treatises and encyclopaedias. In England works by Gilbert Anglicus, Bartholomew Anglicus, and Bernard de Gordon, which summarised ancient learning on the subject as it was transmitted through Islamic scholars, were widely known and read by academic doctors and physicians alike. In intractable conditions like epilepsy, spells and incantations were halfheartedly, perhaps at times sarcastically, stipulated, but the recommended treatments were otherwise the typical dietary, herbal, and surgical regimens of classical medicine." (David and Christine Roffe, “Madness and Care in the Community: A Medieval Perspective,” British Medical Journal, 311 (1995) 1708-1712.)

Excerpt

Etymology Exercise I

1. After staying up all night doing homework, Donny’s level of sleep deprivation significantly impaired his ability pay attention in class.
2. The head of any given state usually resides, fittingly, in the state capitol.
3. While admitting that there was no reason she hated them, Michelle still held strong to her irrational hatred of peas.
4. Though the defendant was accused with emotionally charged crimes, the jury was asked to evaluate the evidence fairly and dispassionately.
5. Julie didn’t like to walk home alone because of the reports of an axe-wielding maniac roaming the streets of her town.

Etymology Exericse II

1. Since the company’s new system used its own proprietary software, other firms found it difficult to copy their style.
2. Skin lesions are a symptom of many diseases – here’s hoping you don’t have Leprosy!!!
3. Despite the neighbors’ complaints, the incessant hammering done by the impolite tenant would not cease.
4. Drinking prune juice is supposed to have a purgative effect on the digestive system… unfortunately, it tastes awful!
5. Everyone agreed the new quarterback was mediocre – neither dazzling the crowd nor throwing away games.

Grammar I: Reading Comprehension

Which factors, according to the passage, cause madness?  Check all that apply.

1. mad dogs
2. too much work
3. severe burns       
4. strong wine        
5. annoying people 
6. pestilential air  
7.  sadness  
8.  passionate animals
9.  emotions of the spirit
10. foods  
11. brave potions  
12. altered animals  
13. fear
14. being alone  
15. lack of humor 

Grammar II: Principal Parts of First Conjugation Verbs

Give the four principal parts of the following verbs.