Representing Mental Illness in Late Medieval France.

Name: Representing Mental Illness in Late Medieval France.
Brand: D.S.Brewer
Availability: OutOfStock
Rating: 5 (1 reviews)

By Julie Singer

0 - Default Title

Description

At the turn of the fifteenth century it must have seemed to many French people that the world was going mad. King Charles VI suffered his first bout of mental illness in 1392, and he underwent intermittent bouts of frenzy, melancholy and ever-scarcer lucidity until his death in 1422. The king's scarcely mentionable malady was mirrored at every level of social experience, from the irrational civil war through which the body politic tore itself apart, to reports of elevated suicide rates among the common people. In this political environment, where affairs of state were closely linked to the ruler's mental state, French writers sought new ways of representing the psychological dynamics of the body politic. This book explores the innovative mix of organic and inorganic metaphors through which they explored the relationship between mind, body and government at this period; in particular, it considers texts by such authors as Alan Chartier and Charles d'Orléans which describe mental illness and intellectual impairments through the notion of "rust." Julie Singer is Associate Professor of French at Washington University, St. Louis.

Product details

Edition:: illustrated
Number of Pages:: 376
Release Date:: 2018-10-19
Publication Date:: 2018-09-21
Publisher:: D.S.Brewer
Languages:: Original: English
ISBN10:: 1843845121
ISBN13:: 9781843845126
GPSR Manufacturer Reference:: [email protected]
Weight:: 728 g
Height:: 161 cm
Width:: 240 cm
Thickness:: 25 cm

Buy on Amazon

Currently sold out