Abnormal Behavior In The Middle Ages

Progress in understanding abnormal behavior over the centuries has not been easy. The steps have been unsettling , with great gaps in between.. The dominant social, economic, and religious views of the times have had a big influence over how people view abnormal behavior. In the ancient world, superstitions were followed by the emergence of medical concepts in places such as Egypt and Greece; many of these concepts were developed and refined by Roman physicians. With the fall of Rome near the end of the fifth century (AD), superstitious views dominated popular thinking about mental disorders in Europe for more than a thousand years. The more scientific aspects of Greek medicine survived only in the Islamic counties of the Middle East. As late as the 15th and 16th centuries it was still believed, even by scholars, that some mentally disturbed people were possessed by a devil, and the primary treatment for demonic possession was for an exorcism to be

Great strides have been made in our understanding of abnormal behavior. For example, during the latter stages of the Middle Ages and early Renaissance, a spirit of scientific questioning reappeared in Europe, and several noted physicians spoke out against inhumane treatments. There was a general movement away from superstitions and “magic” toward reasoned,