Madmen and a Melancholic: Allusions to Health and the Anointing of the Sick in Polemics of the Hussite Period
Madmen and a Melancholic: Allusions to Health and the Anointing of the Sick in Polemics of the Hussite Period

Summary/Abstract: Hussitism regarded as heresy was perceived in terms of a disease in the healthy body of the Church. In particular, raids by Hussite troops were interpreted in the category of madness, as furor Hussitarum. However, the Hussite side also saw controversies regarding health issues. John of Borotín, a physician and Utraquist, made a long-distance diagnosis of the psychiatric condition of his Hussite adversary, John of Capistrano. Reformist radicals considered the principles of the Anointing of the Sick and pondered whether the rite was a sacrament or not. Although medical and health allusions were not the main rhetorical tool used in the religious disputes, such examples can be found there

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