Medieval and Early Modern Visions and Voices: Contexts and Approaches

Powell, Hilary; Saunders, Corinne

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-52659-7_1

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

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“…The importance of religious belief led to the protection of various societal elements and, along with them, the phenomenon of AVH. Henceforth recognized as a matter for the religious and pontifical authorities, voice hearers considered as deviant were progressively labelled as heretics and hunted down by the Church as it sought to combat the deviance it had criminalized ( Powell and Saunders, 2021 : 15–44). Suspects were examined for signs of the Devil ( Daneau, 1564 ) and often sentenced to death or life imprisonment, as was the case with Thomas of Apulia ( Ternon, 2016 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neither saintly nor psychotic: a narrative systematic review of the evolving Western perception of voice hearing

Evrard,

Beauvais,

Essadek

et al. 2024

Hist Psychiatry

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We present a social-historical perspective on the evolution of the voice-hearing phenomenon in Western society. Based upon a systematic search from a selection of nine databases, we trace the way hearing voices has been understood throughout the ages. Originally, hearing voices was considered a gifted talent for accessing the divine, but the progressive influence of monotheistic religion gradually condemned the practice to social marginalization. Later, the medical and psychiatric professions of secular society were instrumental in attaching stigma to both voice hearers and the phenomenon itself, thereby reinforcing social exclusion. More recently, the re-integration of voice hearers into the community by health authorities in various countries appears to have provided a new, socially acceptable setting for the phenomenon.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%