Anorexia mirabilis
Encyclopedia
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
who would starve themselves, sometimes to the point of death, in the name of God. The phenomenon is also known by the name inedia prodigiosa ("prodigious fasting").
Differences from anorexia nervosa: Continuity or Discontinuity?
Anorexia mirabilis differs from the more modern, well-known anorexia nervosaAnorexia nervosa
Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by refusal to maintain a healthy body weight and an obsessive fear of gaining weight. Although commonly called "anorexia", that term on its own denotes any symptomatic loss of appetite and is not strictly accurate...
in several distinct ways.
In anorexia nervosa, people usually starve themselves to attain a level of thinness, as the disease is associated with body image distortion. By contrast, anorexia mirabilis was frequently coupled with other ascetic
Asceticism
Asceticism describes a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from various sorts of worldly pleasures often with the aim of pursuing religious and spiritual goals...
practices, such as lifelong virginity
Virginity
Virginity refers to the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. There are cultural and religious traditions which place special value and significance on this state, especially in the case of unmarried females, associated with notions of personal purity, honor and worth...
, flagellant
Flagellant
Flagellants are practitioners of an extreme form of mortification of their own flesh by whipping it with various instruments.- History :Flagellantism was a 13th and 14th centuries movement, consisting of radicals in the Catholic Church. It began as a militant pilgrimage and was later condemned by...
behavior, the donning of hairshirt
Hairshirt
A hairshirt is a cilice, an uncomfortable shirt worn by some Catholics and, earlier, by Jews as a sign of penance. This may also refer to:*Hairshirt , a 1998 motion picture starring Dean Paras, Chris Hogan, Evan Glenn and Neve Campbell...
s, sleeping on beds of thorns, and other assorted self-mutilations. It was largely a practice of Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
women, who were often known as "miraculous maids".
Whether or not there is historical continuity between anorexia mirabilis and anorexia nervosa is a matter of debate within medieval historiography. Some have argued that there is historical continuity between the two conditions, while others maintain that anorexia mirabilis should be comprehended as a distinct medieval form of female religious piety within the historical context of such societies
Historical instances
Both Angela of FolignoAngela of Foligno
Angela of Foligno was a Christian author, Franciscan tertiary, and mystic. She was noted not only for her spiritual writings, but also for founding a religious order.-Early life and conversion:...
(1248–1309) and Catherine of Siena
Catherine of Siena
Saint Catherine of Siena, T.O.S.D, was a tertiary of the Dominican Order, and a Scholastic philosopher and theologian. She also worked to bring the papacy of Gregory XI back to Rome from its displacement in France, and to establish peace among the Italian city-states. She was proclaimed a Doctor...
(1347–1380) were reportedly anorexia mirabilis sufferers. They both refused food, but drank the pus
Pus
Pus is a viscous exudate, typically whitish-yellow, yellow, or yellow-brown, formed at the site of inflammatory during infection. An accumulation of pus in an enclosed tissue space is known as an abscess, whereas a visible collection of pus within or beneath the epidermis is known as a pustule or...
from the sores of the sick. Angela of Foligno is reported to have said it was as "sweet as the Eucharist", and also to have eaten the scabs
Wound healing
Wound healing, or cicatrisation, is an intricate process in which the skin repairs itself after injury. In normal skin, the epidermis and dermis exists in a steady-state equilibrium, forming a protective barrier against the external environment...
and lice from those same patients, though precious little else.
Many women notoriously refused all food except for the holy Eucharist
Eucharist
The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...
, signifying not only their devotion to God and Jesus, but also demonstrating, to them, the separation of body and spirit. That the body could exist for extended periods without nourishment gave people of the time a clear picture of how much stronger, and therefore how much more important, the spirit was. It mattered not in popular opinion that the reported periods of female fasting
Fasting
Fasting is primarily the act of willingly abstaining from some or all food, drink, or both, for a period of time. An absolute fast is normally defined as abstinence from all food and liquid for a defined period, usually a single day , or several days. Other fasts may be only partially restrictive,...
were impossibly long (from months to many years) and simply added to the allure of this very specifically female achievement.
The most famous case of anorexia mirabilis is Catherine of Siena
Catherine of Siena
Saint Catherine of Siena, T.O.S.D, was a tertiary of the Dominican Order, and a Scholastic philosopher and theologian. She also worked to bring the papacy of Gregory XI back to Rome from its displacement in France, and to establish peace among the Italian city-states. She was proclaimed a Doctor...
, who purportedly ate nothing but a spoonful of herbs a day, aside from the Eucharist. Any additional food she was forced to eat she would expunge with a twig or small branch pushed down her throat.
Saint Veronica
Saint Veronica
Saint Veronica or Berenice, according to the "Acta Sanctorum" published by the Bollandists , was a pious woman of Jerusalem who, moved with pity as Jesus carried his cross to Golgotha, gave him her veil that he might wipe his forehead...
fasted extensively for three-day periods, and would chew five orange seeds, representing the five wounds of the crucified Jesus.
Marie of Oignies
Marie of Oignies
Marie of Oignies was a Beguine, known from the Life written by Jacques de Vitry, for Fulk of Toulouse. This account helped gain papal approval for the Beguines....
(1167–1213) reportedly lived as a hermit, wore only white, cut off pieces of her body to expunge her desire, and both she and Beatrice of Nazareth
Beatrice of Nazareth
Blessed Beatrice of Nazareth or in Dutch Beatrijs van Nazareth was a Flemish Cistercian nun. She was the very first prose writer using the Dutch language, a mystic, and the author of the notable Dutch prose dissertation known as the Seven Ways of Holy Love...
claimed that not only did the smell of meat make them vomit, but also that the slightest whiff of food would cause their throats to close up entirely.
A gang of would-be rapists got as far as removing the clothing of Columba of Rieti
Columba of Rieti
Columba of Rieti was an Italian female Dominican tertiary mystic. She was renowned for her spiritual advice, devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, and the fantastic miracles attributed to her....
(1467–1501), but they retreated as she had mutilated her breasts and hips so thoroughly with spiked whipping chains that they were unable or unwilling to continue. Columba did eventually starve herself to death.
Perceived benefits
Many of these women claimed that they possessed at least some measure of spiritual enlightenment from their asceticism. They variously claimed to feel "inebriation" with the holy wine, "hunger" for God, and conversely, that they sat at the "delicious banquet of God."Margaret of Cortona
Margaret of Cortona
Saint Margaret of Cortona, T.O.S.F., was an Italian penitent of the Third Order of St. Francis. She was born in Laviano, near Perugia, and died in Cortona...
(1247–1297) believed she had extended communications with God himself. Columba of Rieti believed her spirit "toured the holy land" in visions, and virtually every one of these women was apparently possessed of some level of psychic prowess. These women's exercises in self-denial and suffering did yield them a measure of fame and notoriety. They were said to alternately be able to make a feast out of crumbs, exude oil from their fingertips, heal with their saliva, fill barrels with drink out of thin air, lactate even though virginal and malnourished, and perform other Miracle
Miracle
A miracle often denotes an event attributed to divine intervention. Alternatively, it may be an event attributed to a miracle worker, saint, or religious leader. A miracle is sometimes thought of as a perceptible interruption of the laws of nature. Others suggest that a god may work with the laws...
s of note.
The practice of anorexia mirabilis faded out during the Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
, when it began to be seen by the church as heretical, dangerous socially, or possibly even Satanically inspired. It managed to survive in practice until nearly the 20th century, when it was overtaken by its more popularly known counterpart, anorexia nervosa.
Contemporary accounts of Anorexia mirabilis do exist, most notably that of a fundamentalist Christian girl in Colombia, as reported by Medical Anthropologist Carlos Alberto Uribe.
See: Virginidad, Anorexia y Brujería: El Caso de la Pequeña Ismenia
ANTÍPODA | Revista de Antropología y Arqueología Nº 3, Julio-Diciembre 2006
http://antipoda.uniandes.edu.co/view.php/39/1.php
Further reading
- Fasting Girls: The History of Anorexia Nervosa, Joan Jacobs Brumberg (Vintage; Subsequent edition, October 10, 2000)
- Holy Feast and Holy Fast: The Religious Significance of Food to Medieval Women, Caroline Walker Bynum (University of California Press; New Ed. edition, January 7, 1988)
- Holy Anorexia, Rudolph M. Bell (University Of Chicago Press, June 15, 1987)
- From Fasting Saints to Anorexic Girls: The History of Self-Starvation, W. Vandereycken (NYU Press, July 1, 1994)
See also
- Anorexia nervosaAnorexia nervosaAnorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by refusal to maintain a healthy body weight and an obsessive fear of gaining weight. Although commonly called "anorexia", that term on its own denotes any symptomatic loss of appetite and is not strictly accurate...
- Bulimia nervosaBulimia nervosaBulimia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by binge eating and purging or consuming a large amount of food in a short amount of time, followed by an attempt to rid oneself of the food consumed, usually by purging and/or by laxative, diuretics or excessive exercise. Bulimia nervosa is...
- Eating disorderEating disorderEating disorders refer to a group of conditions defined by abnormal eating habits that may involve either insufficient or excessive food intake to the detriment of an individual's physical and mental health. Bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa, and binge eating disorder are the most common specific...
- EmaciationEmaciationEmaciation occurs when an organism loses substantial amounts of much needed fat and often muscle tissue, making that organism look extremely thin. The cause of emaciation is a lack of nutrients, starvation, or disease....
- FastingFastingFasting is primarily the act of willingly abstaining from some or all food, drink, or both, for a period of time. An absolute fast is normally defined as abstinence from all food and liquid for a defined period, usually a single day , or several days. Other fasts may be only partially restrictive,...
- Fasting girlsFasting girlsFasting girls is a Victorian term for young females, usually pre-adolescent, who, it was claimed, were capable of surviving over indefinitely long periods of time without consuming any food or other nourishment...
- Female hysteriaFemale hysteriaFemale hysteria was a once-common medical diagnosis, made exclusively in women, which is today no longer recognized by modern medical authorities as a medical disorder. Its diagnosis and treatment were routine for many hundreds of years in Western Europe. Hysteria was widely discussed in the...
- InediaInediaInedia is the alleged ability to live without food. The word was first used to describe a fast-based lifestyle within Catholic tradition, which holds that certain saints were able to survive for extended periods of time without food or drink other than the Eucharist.Breatharianism is a related...
- Middle AgesMiddle AgesThe Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
- StarvationStarvationStarvation is a severe deficiency in caloric energy, nutrient and vitamin intake. It is the most extreme form of malnutrition. In humans, prolonged starvation can cause permanent organ damage and eventually, death...
External links
- http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1027393
- http://www.history.vt.edu/Jones/3724_S99/books/brumberg.html
Catherine of AragonCatherine of AragonCatherine of Aragon , also known as Katherine or Katharine, was Queen consort of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII of England and Princess of Wales as the wife to Arthur, Prince of Wales...
- http://www.theanneboleynfiles.com/did-an-eating-disorder-prevent-catherine-of-aragon-having-a-son/7338/
- http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-1326591/Was-Henry-Vllls-wife-anorexic-Catherine-Aragons-secret-problem.html
- http://worldofroyaltyblog.com/2010/11/review-catherine-of-aragon-by-giles-tremlett/
Saint VeronicaSaint VeronicaSaint Veronica or Berenice, according to the "Acta Sanctorum" published by the Bollandists , was a pious woman of Jerusalem who, moved with pity as Jesus carried his cross to Golgotha, gave him her veil that he might wipe his forehead...
- http://books.google.com/books?id=8C-jOdT4LqYC&pg=PA45&lpg=PA45&dq=saint+veronica+orange+seeds&source=web&ots=Kek3KU0vC4&sig=YOZ6b5E7nI4eSK2gAG5AlVii6Hs&hl=en#PPA45,M1
- http://saints.sqpn.com/saintv08.htm
Columba of RietiColumba of RietiColumba of Rieti was an Italian female Dominican tertiary mystic. She was renowned for her spiritual advice, devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, and the fantastic miracles attributed to her....
- http://www.domcentral.org/study/ashley/osanna.htm
- http://saints.sqpn.com/ncd02171.htm
Catherine of SienaCatherine of SienaSaint Catherine of Siena, T.O.S.D, was a tertiary of the Dominican Order, and a Scholastic philosopher and theologian. She also worked to bring the papacy of Gregory XI back to Rome from its displacement in France, and to establish peace among the Italian city-states. She was proclaimed a Doctor...
- http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03447a.htm
- http://saints.sqpn.com/saintc02.htm
Angela of FolignoAngela of FolignoAngela of Foligno was a Christian author, Franciscan tertiary, and mystic. She was noted not only for her spiritual writings, but also for founding a religious order.-Early life and conversion:...
- http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01482a.htm
- http://saints.sqpn.com/sainta27.htm
Margaret of CortonaMargaret of CortonaSaint Margaret of Cortona, T.O.S.F., was an Italian penitent of the Third Order of St. Francis. She was born in Laviano, near Perugia, and died in Cortona...
- http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09653b.htm
- http://saints.sqpn.com/saintm27.htm
Beatrice of NazarethBeatrice of NazarethBlessed Beatrice of Nazareth or in Dutch Beatrijs van Nazareth was a Flemish Cistercian nun. She was the very first prose writer using the Dutch language, a mystic, and the author of the notable Dutch prose dissertation known as the Seven Ways of Holy Love...
- http://cns-web.bu.edu/~satra/kaatvds/bynumpaper.htm