Demonic Possession In The Medieval Ages

The premise of my research paper is dealing with demonic possession in the Medieval Ages. Specifically, my focus is on how people felt and thought about demonic possession during the Medieval Ages, the role demonic possession played in society, and who was affected by demonic possession. In the first part of my paper, the intention is to set up the historical background of demonic possession. In other words, I plan on exploring the Church’s role in demonic possession, the views of demonic possession from the perspective of the lay and everyday people, and finally the role gender plays with demonic possession. It becomes clear that the Church is deeply intertwined with demonic possession because the “cure” to possession could only be accomplished

through the church. In addition, it becomes clear that while both men, women, and children were susceptible to being possessed by demons, women in particular, were affected and diagnosed with demonic possession more frequently. This demonstrates the attitudes that the Medieval people had towards not only demonic possession, but also women and their role in society. Also, what’s fascinating is that demonic possession has deep roots in the field of psychiatry and that medicine and religion were closely connected. My goal is to not only give ample background information to help clarify and support the second half of my paper which will follow various scholars and their works, but to also illustrate the topic of demonic possession is complex and is multifaceted. In other words, one cannot discuss demonic possession without talking about the Church, gender roles, sociology, history, and psychiatry. In many ways, the topic is multi-disciplinary and different scholars and authors have taken different approaches to the topic of demonic possession.
The second part of my paper will follow a historiographical approach.

I will look at scholars such as; Nancy Caciola, Sari Katjala-Peltomaa, Edelgard Dubruck, and Kieckhefer who all explore demonic possession. I will analyze their viewpoints and scholarship to help situate each author within the conversation of demonic possession in the Medieval Ages and talk about how their arguments and scholarship is expanding and changing the way we think about demonic possession. For example, Sari Katjala-Peltomaa, a researcher at University of Tampere, discusses the role of children in demonic possession and argues that religious rhetoric was offered a means of explaining unwanted behavior in children. Her argument helps shed light on how the Church and religion intersects with family matters and also social norms. In addition, Edelgard Dubruck, a professor at Marygrove College, discusses Thomas Aquinas’ viewpoints on witchcraft, magic, and also demons. Thomas Aquinas is a crucial scholar when it comes to discussing demons and demonology because while he never addresses possession explicitly, he writes about miracles, women’s role in society, and that demons work with the special permission of God. Dubruck’s argument is that Thomas Aquinas’ views were limited yet, were arguably acceptable given the views of society at that time. I also will be looking at Nancy Caciola who has extensively researched the Medieval Supernatural. I will be looking at her book, Discerning Spirits: Divine and Demonic Possession in the Middle Ages as well as her article, “Mystics, Demoniacs, and the Physiology of Spirit Possession in Medieval Europe”. I will be extensively looking at the arguments each author makes, and put them in conversation with one another. In addition, I will be observing how the pieces work together to support one another and where there might be disagreement among the scholars. Together with the background information in the first part of the paper, I hope to demonstrate the

ways scholars today are approaching the topic of demonic possession and how they are adding new insights into this unique subject matter.