Mental Illness, Retardation, and Homelessness in Medieval England

While driving yesterday, I encountered a homeless woman begging in the middle of the street. She only had one leg, and was sitting in a very old wheelchair. After giving her a little money, the light changed and the jerk behind me blew his horn. This got me thinking about how homeless, mentally ill, and retarded people may have been treated during Richard's time. Where they cared for by their families and church? It probably depended on how wealthy their individual families were. There must have been many negative sterotypes. How well did people in that age understand the mind and how it works? Any thoughts about this subject?

the church cared for the poor, disabled and mentally ill, if their family would or could not. the most famous of the sanctuaries/institutions is bedlam.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bedlam_Hospital
 
often the mentally ill were thought to be possessed and/or saintly. i.e. h6.
 
roslyn

--- On Sat, 1/8/11, KristineW <krisanne712@...> wrote:


From: KristineW <krisanne712@...>
Subject: Mental Illness, Retardation, and Homelessness in Medieval England
To:
Received: Saturday, January 8, 2011, 9:55 AM


 



While driving yesterday, I encountered a homeless woman begging in the middle of the street. She only had one leg, and was sitting in a very old wheelchair. After giving her a little money, the light changed and the jerk behind me blew his horn. This got me thinking about how homeless, mentally ill, and retarded people may have been treated during Richard's time. Where they cared for by their families and church? It probably depended on how wealthy their individual families were. There must have been many negative sterotypes. How well did people in that age understand the mind and how it works? Any thoughts about this subject?

addendum..birth defects, i.e. physical deformity were considered evil. this very likely why richard was labelled a hunchback or crouchback. this labelling may have been a reactivation of some propaganda brought forward from the time of richard ii.
 
Chronicles of the Revolution, 1397-1400, edited by Chris Given-Wilson - pages 195-196
"Many men have been misled, and are still greatly confused, upon the following point: they claim that Edmund, earl of Lancaster, Leicester and Derby, was the elder son of King Henry III, but, being hunchbacked, was unable to become king, as a result of which his younger brother Edward became king with his consent; this is alleged by some to be supported by an untrue chronicle which was fabricated during the time of King Richard II by John of Gaunt duke of Lancaster, whereby he hoped to make his son Henry king, when he saw that he might not be chosen as King Richard's heir apparent. Yet I, John Hardyng, the author of this book, heard the earl of Northumberland, who was killed at Bramham Moor in the time of King Henry IV, say that this same King Henry, on the feast of St. Matthew before he became king [21 September 1399], advanced the claims of this same chroinicle, thereby asserting his title to the crown by descent from the said Edmund. Whereupon all the
chronicles of Westminster and of all the other well-known monasteries were brought in to the council at Westminster and examined by the lords, and it was proven by reference to all these chronicles that the said King Edward was the elder brother, and Edmund the younger brother; nor was he hunchbacked or in ony other way crippled, but the comeliest person in England apart from his brother Edward. Whereupon that chronicle which King Henry had produced was rejected and discounted."
 
john of gaunt's decendent, h7 and his propagandists may well of tried to play the hunchback card with regards to richard iii. (i.e. not fit to be king because of physical deformity) richard's great great grandmother was maria padilla who consorted with pedro the cruel. below recites a folk legend with regards to hunchbacks.
 
Remedy against hunchbacks
When we meet a hunchback in the morning, who can make our business affairs go badly, Saint Cyprian says that we should proceed like this:
"Porpoise, hunchback, who twists to the front, go, go quietly, and leave me in peace, Porpoise, Porpoise do not pursue me; here goes a figa (a closed hand), do not look back."
Then you should make a figa with your left hand, and put out your right arm with the hand open, as if you were trying to catch a butterfly.
Then keep walking with your hand closed, until you meet any of the following
people:
A hunchback--a policeman--a white horse--a cripple--a one armed man--a black cat--a black dog--an albino man.
As soon as you meet any of these people open your hand saying outloud:
"Go away, in the name of Maria Padilha, and all her family, so that you don't bother either rich or poor, or anyone under the sky. Amen.
This spell is infallible; we have used it on several occasions and we have always avoided the crossing of hunchbacks, who are fatal for those who see them, although they are not to blame for this.
 
http://www.portcult.com/SAINT_CYPRIAN.03.htm
 
r3 was referred to as a crouchback by someone in yorkshire. it is believed that richard was being mocked as a crusader. richard was quite religious/pious. crouchback was also a term used to describe the red cross on the white background often worn by knights/nobles on crusade. meanwhile, the hunchback legend may well have been born because of a religious slur.
 
roslyn
 


--- On Sat, 1/8/11, fayre rose <fayreroze@...> wrote:


From: fayre rose <fayreroze@...>
Subject: Re: Mental Illness, Retardation, and Homelessness in Medieval England
To:
Received: Saturday, January 8, 2011, 10:01 AM


 



the church cared for the poor, disabled and mentally ill, if their family would or could not. the most famous of the sanctuaries/institutions is bedlam.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bedlam_Hospital
 
often the mentally ill were thought to be possessed and/or saintly. i.e. h6.
 
roslyn

--- On Sat, 1/8/11, KristineW <krisanne712@...> wrote:

From: KristineW <krisanne712@...>
Subject: Mental Illness, Retardation, and Homelessness in Medieval England
To:
Received: Saturday, January 8, 2011, 9:55 AM

 

While driving yesterday, I encountered a homeless woman begging in the middle of the street. She only had one leg, and was sitting in a very old wheelchair. After giving her a little money, the light changed and the jerk behind me blew his horn. This got me thinking about how homeless, mentally ill, and retarded people may have been treated during Richard's time. Where they cared for by their families and church? It probably depended on how wealthy their individual families were. There must have been many negative sterotypes. How well did people in that age understand the mind and how it works? Any thoughts about this subject?

  I only know that in Shakespeare's time, around a 150 years or so later, they were tying people up and putting them in dark rooms as a cure.  Sounds like the opposite of what most people need.  I think it was supposed to quiet all the humors that were out of balance.
Sheffe

--- On Sat, 1/8/11, KristineW <krisanne712@...> wrote:

From: KristineW <krisanne712@...>
Subject: Mental Illness, Retardation, and Homelessness in Medieval England
To:
Date: Saturday, January 8, 2011, 9:55 AM







 









While driving yesterday, I encountered a homeless woman begging in the middle of the street. She only had one leg, and was sitting in a very old wheelchair. After giving her a little money, the light changed and the jerk behind me blew his horn. This got me thinking about how homeless, mentally ill, and retarded people may have been treated during Richard's time. Where they cared for by their families and church? It probably depended on how wealthy their individual families were. There must have been many negative sterotypes. How well did people in that age understand the mind and how it works? Any thoughts about this subject?