Medieval Disease That Feels “Like a Glass Vase”

“I am broke” I think the term should be used mostly for people experiencing this delusion. A psychological disorder known as the glass delusion convinced people in the Middle Ages that they were made of glass and could be broken.

Especially This discomfort seen in the upper strata of society, Although it sounds very strange, it seems to have been adopted by many. In fact, King of France IV. This disease was also detected in Henri. You will be even more surprised as you learn the details.

Information about this delusion was found in the case books of Andre Du Laurens, known as the doctor of the royal family.

The doctor who wrote the findings on the glass hallucination, King of France IV. HenryHe wrote that ‘is also a lord who has this ailment. As a matter of fact, the king did not have any ailments or mental disorders. He underlines that the royal lord, who acts rationally in all other matters, does not approach people with the thought that he may be “offended”.

Laurens, along with other medical theorists, argued that the cause of the glass hallucination lay in the cause of all other diseases.

Bethlem Asylum in London, 1814

According to ‘Humarol Pathology’, which is based on 4 elements and associated with diseases occurring in the human body by ancient Greek and Roman physicians, the human body of the four humours allegedly occurred. Accordingly, the body; It produces certain fluids such as blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile. When one of these fluids is disturbed, the balance of the person is also disturbed; To heal, the humors need to be rebalanced.

Each fluid was associated with a mental state.

These humours are just not with physical health; was also associated with mental health. For example, an excess of black bile was considered to be linked to melancholy, that is, to present-day depression. The glass hallucination was also associated with melancholy by Doctor Laurens, a symptom of excessive black bile. It was said that because black bile was in a dense and dark form, it could easily penetrate the patient’s imagination.

This made them susceptible to the manifestation of melancholy, and it was called the glass hallucination.

British scientist Robert Burton Anatomy of Melancholy He said in his work, The Glass Delusion is a manifestation of melancholy, but underlined that this delusion is also a form of fear. burton, people suffering from melancholy He said that they often get paranoid and that they affect the glass hallucination worse.

Leaving aside scientific studies, this situation is actually explained to us in fictions. The short story The Glass Graduate by Miguel de Cervantes is an example of this. The hero in the story is poisoned while eating a quince, which is supposed to be an aphrodisiac. The trauma created by the event in the hero turns into a glass hallucination.

Were there any people whose names we heard or knew, had this delusion?

King Henry IV of France

Considering that he is seen in the upper strata, there must be a few famous victims whose names we have heard. This was thought to affect more educated men. Poet, philosopher, or people interested in academia. susceptibility to melancholy The hallucination had a connection with intellectuals as a result.

Why did people suffer from such an ailment?

If we leave all the theories aside and focus on the issue, only one question comes to our agenda. Why and how did it originate?

Glass was a relatively new material in the 17th century. Glass was often assumed to be a magical substance, as people had trouble understanding how a substance such as sand could be turned into glass. This fascination with glass was created by the German alchemist. Johann Becherin Physica Subterranea”man, like all animals, is glass and can turn to glass“ It caused him to form sentences. Moreover, he suggested that the creature in glass form had its own color. For example, we humans were made of milky-white glass.

This may be called the “glass delusion” because people have sensitivities that are afraid of being broken.

Dutch psychiatrist Andy LameijinWhen he wondered whether this disease was encountered in contemporary times and researched, he came across such a case in the hospital where he worked. A man brought to his clinic in Leiden in 1964 claimed it was made of glass.

The disease did not actually disappear in the 1830s.

Contains references to the glass hallucination, recorded in the archives of a mental institution in Edinburgh. A conference dated 1883 was found. The records are surprising: one of the patients claimed that his legs were made of glass. After a few more records were recovered, it became clear that this disease was not limited to the Middle Ages.

Today’s society is exposed to a possible manifestation of pressure and anxiety This disease, understood as; It also shows that people develop this disease against possible situations in the period they are in. We are sure that while you are reading this article, there are many unnamed people who are struggling with this disease without realizing it.