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Mystics, Demoniacs, and the Physiology of Spirit Possession in Medieval Europe

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 April 2000

Nancy Caciola
Nancy Caciola
Affiliation:
University of California, San Diego
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Abstract

In the late thirteenth century, Ida of Louvain scandalized her community. The daughter of a prosperous wine merchant, Ida already had refused marriage and become a recluse in a small cell within her parents' home. One day, however, it seemed that she went mad. Casting aside even the simple clothes she now wore, Ida wrapped herself in a dirty rag and draped a mat over her shoulders for warmth. Aggressively seeking out the most crowded plazas and market places, she preened and “strutted about if mad or a fool, offering a monstrous spectacle of herself to the people.”Vita Venerabilis Idae Virginis. In Acta Sanctorum. (Paris and Rome, 1865) vol. 11 (13 April): 163. Hereafter cited as AASS. Townspeople murmured that Ida was in a frenzy, out of her mind; eventually she was tied up to prevent her from harming herself or others.

Type
Research Article
Information
Comparative Studies in Society and History , Volume 42 , Issue 2 , April 2000 , pp. 268 - 306
Copyright
© 2000 Society for Comparative Study of Society and History

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Footnotes

Portions of this paper were delivered at the Annual Medieval Studies Conference in Leeds, UK, in June 1999; and at the conference “Demons, Spirits, Witches: Popular Mythology and Christian Demonology” Budapest, Hungary, in October 1999. I benefitted greatly from conversations with colleagues at these events, especially Joanna Cannon, Gábor Klaniczay, and Moshe Sluhovsky.