Trauma
Lost
- Apr 3, 2022
- 44
The mentally ill were treated with much more compassion once upon a time.
Treatment of autistics in the middle ages, explained with a few stories :
"The first story comes from the early Middle Ages, the time of the Anglo-Saxon scholar Bede around 700 AD. Bede wrote about his saintly bishop St John of Beverley, that one day the bishop met a mother and son, the latter being nine years old and unable to speak. We don’t know whether this boy was autistic, but a lack of speech is a common enough condition among autistics, and the treatment of this boy probably tells us something about how autistic children might have been seen in the early Middle Ages.
Bishop John stopped and prayed for the boy. Then he spent some time after the prayer, teaching the boy to say the Anglo-Saxon words for “yes” and “no”. Once he had accomplished that, he passed the boy on to his retinue (accompanying priests and deacons) to teach the boy more.
Some of the things I notice here are: his parents had cared for him for nine years, despite his lack of speech — he was valued. Second, the bishop did not see him as anything other than an object for kindness — someone to bless and to help. He not only took time to teach the boy himself, but provided for further teaching and care. The Anglo-Saxon world does not seem to have been heartless in its treatment of obviously disabled children who might well have been autistic."
Now I wish I was living in that time.
Second story :
"A second story comes from later in the Middle Ages, from the time of St Francis of Assisi (early 1200s). Francis, having given up his career as a soldier and become a friar, accumulated a group of followers, spiritual brothers. One of these — Brother Juniper — is sometimes thought to have been autistic (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232936472_Asperger's_Syndrome_and_the_Holy_Fool_The_Case_of_Brother_Juniper). Brother Juniper was noted for unusual behaviour: single-minded, perhaps rigid, not always seeing the other person’s point of view, but very deeply committed to following St Francis. Especially if he was in fact autistic, he fitted a common medieval trope of the “fool for God”. It was expected of saintly people that their behaviour would appear odd by secular standards, and that was accepted. The saintly autistic person might then be accepted, with all their autistic “oddities” (from the non-autistic point of view), because they were holy.
This, by the way raises a further reflection. The Middle Ages had many opportunities for autistic people: monastic life, for example. There was no social pressure to get a girlfriend or boyfriend (quite the reverse in fact). You lived in seclusion, in a very structured routine of daily work and prayer. You might even have a vow of silence, at least no frivolous talk — so small talk was not required. Your work might be the meticulous and even artistic copying of manuscripts, something that quite a few autistics would excel at. You might be taught to read and research the classics held in your monastic library. It might be more autistic-friendly than the modern social world of “be popular, sell yourself."
These people found acceptance within their communities despite all their disabilities, and they lived good lives.
Now the real question, how are autistics treated now?
Fuck this world.
Treatment of autistics in the middle ages, explained with a few stories :
"The first story comes from the early Middle Ages, the time of the Anglo-Saxon scholar Bede around 700 AD. Bede wrote about his saintly bishop St John of Beverley, that one day the bishop met a mother and son, the latter being nine years old and unable to speak. We don’t know whether this boy was autistic, but a lack of speech is a common enough condition among autistics, and the treatment of this boy probably tells us something about how autistic children might have been seen in the early Middle Ages.
Bishop John stopped and prayed for the boy. Then he spent some time after the prayer, teaching the boy to say the Anglo-Saxon words for “yes” and “no”. Once he had accomplished that, he passed the boy on to his retinue (accompanying priests and deacons) to teach the boy more.
Some of the things I notice here are: his parents had cared for him for nine years, despite his lack of speech — he was valued. Second, the bishop did not see him as anything other than an object for kindness — someone to bless and to help. He not only took time to teach the boy himself, but provided for further teaching and care. The Anglo-Saxon world does not seem to have been heartless in its treatment of obviously disabled children who might well have been autistic."
Now I wish I was living in that time.
Second story :
"A second story comes from later in the Middle Ages, from the time of St Francis of Assisi (early 1200s). Francis, having given up his career as a soldier and become a friar, accumulated a group of followers, spiritual brothers. One of these — Brother Juniper — is sometimes thought to have been autistic (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232936472_Asperger's_Syndrome_and_the_Holy_Fool_The_Case_of_Brother_Juniper). Brother Juniper was noted for unusual behaviour: single-minded, perhaps rigid, not always seeing the other person’s point of view, but very deeply committed to following St Francis. Especially if he was in fact autistic, he fitted a common medieval trope of the “fool for God”. It was expected of saintly people that their behaviour would appear odd by secular standards, and that was accepted. The saintly autistic person might then be accepted, with all their autistic “oddities” (from the non-autistic point of view), because they were holy.
This, by the way raises a further reflection. The Middle Ages had many opportunities for autistic people: monastic life, for example. There was no social pressure to get a girlfriend or boyfriend (quite the reverse in fact). You lived in seclusion, in a very structured routine of daily work and prayer. You might even have a vow of silence, at least no frivolous talk — so small talk was not required. Your work might be the meticulous and even artistic copying of manuscripts, something that quite a few autistics would excel at. You might be taught to read and research the classics held in your monastic library. It might be more autistic-friendly than the modern social world of “be popular, sell yourself."
These people found acceptance within their communities despite all their disabilities, and they lived good lives.
Now the real question, how are autistics treated now?
Man who was blasted as a creep online 'has autism and is harmless'
A man who was publicly shamed online for being a 'creep' that 'intimidated multiple young women' by waving his hand in their faces on a Melbourne tram is reportedly autistic and likes to high-five strangers.
www.dailymail.co.uk
Why autistic kids make easy targets for school bullies | CNN
Bullying can lead to depression, low grades, even physical illness — and kids with autism may be suffering the brunt of the harm.
edition.cnn.com
Fuck this world.