Christoph Haizmann, a seventeenth-century Bavarian painter, suffered from
abnormal religious experiences. Our study considers whether Haizmann’s
case fits the model of schizophrenia through the concept of
‘bizarreness’. Haizmann’s words and actions were
discordant and bizarre even within the religious framework of the seventeenth century.
We propose that ‘bizarreness’ is an expression of relative
deviation from the social and cultural norms of a particular epoch and that
‘bizarreness’ may be an important concept as an indicator of
schizophrenia. In this sense, Haizmann was likely to have suffered from
schizophrenia. Haizmann’s case may offer a good example for the
investigation of schizophrenia in history through the concept of
‘bizarreness’, an approach that can indicate deviation from
ordinariness and commonness even in religious models.
Ackerknecht, E. H.
(1967) Kurze Geschichte der Psychiatrie (
Stuttgart: Ferdinand Enke Verlag
).
2.
Bark, N. M.
(1988)
On the history of schizophrenia: evidence of its existence before 1800
. New York State Journal of Medicine, (July),
374–383
.
3.
Buckley, P.
(1981)
Mystical experience and schizophrenia
. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 7,
516–521
.
4.
Freud, S.
(1923) A neurosis of demoniacal possession in the
seventeenth century (Eine Teufelsneurose im siebzehnten Jahrhundert).
In Collected Papers, Vol. IV (
London: Hogarth Press
), 436–472.
5.
Gilman, S. L.
(1983)
Why is schizophrenia ‘bizarre’?: an historical essay in
the vocabulary of psychiatry
. Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences,
19,
127–135
.
6.
Guiley, R. E.
(1989) The Encyclopedia of Witches and Witchcraft (
New York and Oxford: Facts On Files
).
7.
Hare, E.
(1988)
Schizophrenia as a recent disease
. British Journal of Psychiatry, 153,
521–531
.
8.
Ikegami, S.
(1992) Rekishi to-shite-no shinta: Europe chusei-no shinso o
yomu (The Body as a Historical Message: In Search of the Depth of Medieval
Europe) (
Tokyo: Kashiwasyobou
).
9.
Jeste, D. V.
,
Carmen, R. del
.,
Lohr, J. B.
et al. (1985)
Did schizophrenia exist before the eighteenth century?Comprehensive Psychiatry, 26,
493–503
.
10.
Kroll, J.
and
Bachrach, B.
(1982)
Medieval visions and contemporary hallucinations
. Psychological Medicine, 12,
709–721
.
11.
Leff, J.
(1988) Psychiatry Around the Globe: A Transcultural
View (
London: Royal College of Psychiatrists
).
12.
Lemke, R.
(1958) Psychiatrische Themen in Malerei und Graphik (
Jena: VEB Gustav Fischer Verlag
).
13.
Macalpine, I.
and
Hunter, R. A.
(1956) Schizophrenia 1677: A Psychiatric Study of an
Illustrated Autobiographical Record of Demoniacal Possession (
London: William Dawson and Sons
), 3–145.
14.
Mildelfort, H. C. E.
(1972) Witch Hunting in Southwestern Germany
1562–1684: The Social and Intellectual Foundations (
Stanford: Stanford University Press
).
15.
Moraczewski, A.
(1971)
Psychedelic agents and mysticism
. Psychosomatics, 12,
94–100
.
16.
Otsuka, K.
(2001)
Seishinbunretsubyo ni-okeru kii-na kodo ni-tsuite (On bizarre behaviour in schizophrenia)
. Seishin Igaku, 43,
715–725
.
17.
Roth, G.
(1958)
Über schizophrenen Pseudomystik: ein Beitrag zur
Differential-diagnose moderner Religionspsycho-pathologie
. Confinia Psychiatrica, 1,
159–176
.
18.
Schneider, K.
(1927) Zur Einführung in die
Religionspsychopathologie (
Tübingen: J. C. B. Mohr
).
19.
Schwab, M. E.
(1977)
A study of reported hallucinations in a southeastern country
. Mental Health and Society, 4,
344–355
.
20.
Serouya, H.
(1956) Le Mysticisme (
Paris: Presses Universitaires de France
).
21.
Watarai, Y.
(1999) Majo-gensou (Witch-obsession) (
Tokyo: Tyuoukouron-sya
).
