Madness in medieval law and custom / edited by Wendy J. Turner.

• TeilnehmendeR: Turner, Wendy J. 1961-
• Year of Publication: 2010
• Language: English
• Series: Later medieval Europe, v. 6; Later Medieval Europe 6.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (261 p.)
• Notes: Description based upon print version of record.

This collection of essays opens a new discussion about the mind, body, and spirit of the mad in medieval Europe. The authors examine a broad spectrum of mental and emotional issues, which medieval authors point out as ‘unusual’ behavior. With the emerging field of medieval disability studies in mind, the authors have carefully considered legal and cultural descriptions for insight into the perception and understanding of mental impairment. These essays on madness in the Middle Ages elucidate how medieval society conceptualized mental afflictions. Individually, the essays cover aspects of mental impairment from a variety of angles to unearth collectively medieval perspectives on mental affliction. Contributors are James R. King, Kate McGrath, Irina Metzler, Aleksandra Pfau, Cory James Rushton, Margaret Trenchard-Smith, and Wendy J. Turner.

Table of Contents

Preliminary Material / Wendy J. Turner -- Introduction / Wendy J. Turner -- Town and Country: A Comparison of the Treatment of the Mentally Disabled in Late Medieval English Common Law and Chartered Boroughs / Wendy J. Turner -- Insanity, Exculpation and Disempowerment in Byzantine Law / Margaret Trenchard-Smith -- The Mysterious Case of the ‘Mad’ Rector of Bletchingdon: The Treatment of Mentally Ill Clergy in Late Thirteenth-Century England / James R. King -- Silent Testimony: Emotional Displays and Lapses in Memory as Indicators of Mental Instability in Medieval English Investigations / Wendy J. Turner -- Crimes of Passion: Emotion and Madness in French Remission Letters / Aleksandra Pfau -- Royal Madness and the Law: The Role of Anger in Representations of Royal Authority in Eleventh- and Twelfth-Century Anglo-Norman Texts / Kate McGrath -- The King’s Stupor: Dealing with Royal Paralysis in Late Medieval England / Cory James Rushton -- A Cure for the King means Health for the Country: The Mental and Physical Health of Henry VI / Wendy J. Turner -- Afterword / Irina Metzler -- Bibliography / Wendy J. Turner -- Index / Wendy J. Turner.