Anorexia mirabilis

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Catherine of Siena Domenico Beccafumi 026.jpg
Catherine of Siena

Anorexia mirabilis, also known as holy anorexia or inedia prodigiosa or colloquially as fasting girls, [1] [2] [3] is an eating disorder, similar to that of anorexia nervosa, [1] [2] that was common in, but not restricted to, the Middle Ages in Europe, largely affecting Catholic nuns and religious women. [3] [4] Self-starvation was common among religious women, as a way to imitate the suffering of Jesus in his torments during the Passion, as women were largely restricted to causing themselves voluntary pain by fasting, whereas holy men experienced suffering through physical punishment. [3]

Contents

Overview

Etymology

Anorexia mirabilis comes from the Latin meaning "miraculously inspired loss of appetite", whereas inedia prodigiosa means "great starvation". [1] [2]

Description

Anorexia mirabilis is primarily characterized by the refusal to eat, resulting in starvation, malnutrition, and oftentimes death, but differs from anorexia nervosa in that the disease is associated with religion as opposed to personal aesthetics, although this behavior was usually not approved by religious authorities as a holy one. [3] Though anorexia mirabilis is, by definition, connected to religion, particularly Catholicism, sufferers have been known to defy the orders of their religious superior to cease fasting and their refusal to eat sometimes preceded their involvement in religious activities. [3] Additionally, sufferers engaged in worrisome and bizarre behaviors designed to cause them pain, so that they might be reminded of Jesus Christ's suffering, and desired to appear unattractive in hopes of avoiding marriage and sexual contact. [3] Inedia refers to the claimed ability for a person to live without consuming food.

The self-starvation practice of anorexia mirabilis was a behavior only adopted by women, particularly in the Middle Age, as a way to imitate the suffering of Jesus in his torments during the Passion, as women preferred to experience this voluntary pain by fasting, whereas holy men experienced suffering through physical punishment. [3] For this reason, they were often colloquially called "fasting girls", as there were no "fasting boys". [2] This colloquial naming became the most common one in the Victorian era, with anorexia mirabilis being the term used only in medical circles. [1]

Documentation exists regarding about two thirds of the holy women officially regarded by the Roman Catholic Church as saints, blesseds, venerables, or servants of God and who lived after 1200 AD showing that more than half of these displayed clear signs of anorexia, with extensive and highly reliable documentation being available for about two dozen of these. [5]

History

The earliest reported sufferer of anorexia mirabilis is St. Wilgefortis, an uncanonized, legendary, Catholic princess who reportedly lived sometime between the 8th century and 10th century in Galicia, who starved herself and took a vow of chastity to avoid an arranged marriage. She asked God to make her ugly. Her suitor rejected her based on her appearance and so, as punishment for sabotaging the union, her father, the king of Portugal, had her crucified. For her suffering, she was unofficially venerated by Catholics. [6]

Though the disorder was most prominent during the Middle Ages, modern cases do exist. Notably, in 2014 medical researchers published an article about the case of an unidentified woman in her sixties, born in Chicago, Illinois, who had suffered from anorexia mirabilis. The woman entered a convent at the age of 13 and began to restrict her eating in hopes of achieving sainthood. [6]

Notable cases

Comparing anorexia mirabilis and "anorexia nervosa"

Anorexia mirabilis has in many ways, both similarities to and clear distinctions from the more modern, well-known "anorexia nervosa". [1] [2] [3]

In anorexia nervosa, people usually starve themselves to attain a level of thinness, as a way of dealing with sexual or other trauma, undiagnosed mental illness, or as a form of self harm. It is also typically, but not always, associated with body image distortion. In comparison, anorexia mirabilis was frequently coupled with other ascetic practices, such as lifelong virginity, flagellant behavior, the donning of hairshirts, sleeping on beds of thorns, and other assorted penitential practices. It was largely a practice of Catholic women, who were often known as "miraculous maids".

The anorexia nervosa of the 20th century has historical correlates in the religiously inspired cases of anorexia mirabilis in female saints, such as Catherine of Siena (1347–1380) in whom fasting denoted female holiness or humility and underscored purity. The investigation of anorexia nervosa in the 20th century has focused on the psychological, physiological, and various other factors. [12]

Medieval scholar Caroline Walker Bynum (Holy Feast and Holy Fast: The Religious Significance of Food to Medieval Women, 1988) argues that anorexia mirabilis, rather than misdiagnosed anorexia, was a legitimate form of self-expression with motives set in contrast to the modern disease paradigm. She considers cases such as that of Julian of Norwich and other Christian anchorites, as using fasting as a legitimate means for communing with Christ. [13]

American social historian Joan Jacobs Brumberg suggests in Fasting Girls: The History of Anorexia Nervosa (1987) that anorexia mirabilis no longer exists not because the motives of those who starve themselves have changed, but because the paradigms for coding these behaviors have shifted. If a young woman were to make the decision to self-starve as a means to communicate with Christ, healthcare professionals would code her as anorexia nervosa regardless of her motives. [13]

Whether or not there is historical continuity between anorexia mirabilis and anorexia nervosa is a subject of debate with both medieval historiographers and the psychiatric community. Some have argued that there is historical continuity between the two conditions, [14] while others maintain that anorexia mirabilis should be comprehended as a distinct medieval form of female religious piety within the historical context of such societies. [15]

Historical instances

Anorexia mirabilis was frequently accompanied by behaviors most medical professionals today would find worrisome and dangerous. Angela of Foligno was known to eat the scabs of the poor and Catherine of Siena was known to drain the pus from sick individuals into a cup to drink. [16]

Many women notoriously refused all food except for the holy Eucharist, signifying not only their devotion to God and Jesus, but also demonstrating, to them, the separation of body and spirit. That the body could exist for extended periods without nourishment gave people of the time a clear picture of how much stronger, and therefore how much more important, the spirit was. It mattered not in popular opinion that the reported periods of female fasting were impossibly long (from months to many years) and simply added to the allure of this very specifically female achievement.

Marie of Oignies (1167–1213) reportedly lived as a hermit, wore only white, cut off pieces of her body to expunge her desire, and both she and Beatrice of Nazareth claimed that not only did the smell of meat make them vomit, but also that the slightest whiff of food would cause their throats to close up entirely. [17] [18]

Angela of Foligno AngelaFoligno.jpg
Angela of Foligno

Both Angela of Foligno (1248–1309) and Catherine of Siena (1347–1380) were reportedly anorexia mirabilis sufferers. [19]

In the time of Catherine of Siena, celibacy and fasting were held in high regard. Ritualistic fasting was both a means to avoid gluttony (one of the seven deadly sins), and to atone for past sins. Catherine initially fasted as a teenager to protest an arranged marriage to her late sister Bonaventura's husband. Bonaventura herself had taught this technique to Catherine, refusing to eat until her husband showed better manners. Fasting then was a means of exercising some control, taking power back for the individual and as such it is similar to one of the underlying factors in anorexia nervosa today. Thus, women could gain more freedom and respect remaining virgins than they would becoming wives. Catherine managed to pursue her interests in theology and papal politics, opportunities less likely available to a wife and mother. [20] She purportedly lived for long intervals on practically no food save the Eucharist, [21] leading to an untimely death at thirty-three years from starvation and emaciation. [20]

Any additional food she was forced to eat she would expel through vomiting induced by pushing a twig or small branch down her throat. [22]

In 1387, Blessed Pierre de Luxembourg died at the age of 17 due to a combination of exhaustion from anorexia and fever. [23]

A gang of would-be rapists got as far as removing the clothing of Columba of Rieti (1467–1501), but they retreated as she had mutilated her breasts and hips so thoroughly with spiked whipping chains that they were unable or unwilling to continue. Columba did eventually starve herself to death. [24] [ failed verification ] [25]

Perceived benefits

Saint Margaret of Cortona Saint Margaret of Corona.jpg
Saint Margaret of Cortona

Many of these women felt that they possessed at least some measure of spiritual enlightenment from their asceticism. They variously said they felt "inebriation" with the sacramental wine, "hunger" for God, and conversely, that they sat at the "delicious banquet of God".[ citation needed ] Margaret of Cortona (1247–1297) believed she had extended communications with God himself, and Columba of Rieti believed her spirit "toured the holy land" in visions.

Virtually every one of these women was apparently believed herself to be, or was believed by others to be, possessed of some level of psychic prowess. These women's exercises in self-denial and suffering did yield them a measure of fame and notoriety. They were said to alternately be able to make a feast out of crumbs, exude oil from their fingertips, heal with their saliva, fill barrels with drink out of thin air, lactate even though virginal and malnourished, and perform other miracles of note. [25]

The practice of anorexia mirabilis faded out during the Renaissance, when it began to be seen by the Church as heretical, socially dangerous, or possibly even Satanically inspired. It managed to survive in practice until nearly the 20th century, when it was overtaken by its more popularly known counterpart, anorexia nervosa. [26]

21st century

Contemporary accounts of anorexia mirabilis do exist, most notably that of a fundamentalist Christian girl in Colombia, as reported by medical anthropologist Carlos Alberto Uribe. [27]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inedia</span> Belief that a person can live without food

Inedia or breatharianism is the claimed ability for a person to live without consuming food, and in some cases water. It is a pseudoscientific practice, and several adherents of these practices have died from starvation or dehydration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catherine of Siena</span> Italian Dominican saint (1347–1380)

Caterina di Jacopo di Benincasa, known as Catherine of Siena, was an Italian mystic and pious laywoman who engaged in papal and Italian politics through extensive letter-writing and advocacy. Canonized in 1461, she is revered as a saint and as a Doctor of the Church due to her extensive theological authorship. She is also considered to have influenced Italian literature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stigmata</span> Appearance of wounds corresponding to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus

Stigmata, in Catholicism, are bodily wounds, scars and pain which appear in locations corresponding to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus Christ: the hands, wrists, feet, near the heart, the head, and back.

An eating disorder is a mental disorder defined by abnormal eating behaviors that adversely affect a person's physical or mental health. Types of eating disorders include binge eating disorder, where the patient eats a large amount in a short period of time; anorexia nervosa, where the person has an intense fear of gaining weight and restricts food or overexercises to manage this fear; bulimia nervosa, where individuals eat a large quantity (binging) then try to rid themselves of the food (purging); pica, where the patient eats non-food items; rumination syndrome, where the patient regurgitates undigested or minimally digested food; avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), where people have a reduced or selective food intake due to some psychological reasons; and a group of other specified feeding or eating disorders. Anxiety disorders, depression and substance abuse are common among people with eating disorders. These disorders do not include obesity. People often experience comorbidity between an eating disorder and OCD. It is estimated 20–60% of patients with an ED have a history of OCD.

Fasting is the abstention from eating and sometimes drinking. From a purely physiological context, "fasting" may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight, or to the metabolic state achieved after complete digestion and absorption of a meal. Metabolic changes in the fasting state begin after absorption of a meal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Starvation</span> Severe deficiency in caloric energy intake, below the level needed to maintain an organisms life

Starvation is a severe deficiency in caloric energy intake, below the level needed to maintain an organism's life. It is the most extreme form of malnutrition. In humans, prolonged starvation can cause permanent organ damage and eventually, death. The term inanition refers to the symptoms and effects of starvation. Starvation by outside forces is a crime according to international criminal law and may also be used as a means of torture or execution.

Promotion of anorexia is the promotion of behaviors related to the eating disorder anorexia nervosa. It is often referred to simply as pro-ana or ana. The lesser-used term pro-mia refers likewise to bulimia nervosa and is sometimes used interchangeably with pro-ana. Pro-ana groups differ widely in their stances. Most claim that they exist mainly as a non-judgmental environment for anorexics; a place to turn to, to discuss their illness, and to support those who choose to enter recovery. Others deny anorexia nervosa is a mental illness and claim instead that it is a lifestyle choice that should be respected by doctors and family.

Cheryl Lynn Boone, also known as Cherry Boone O'Neill, is an American writer, author, and singer. She and her three sisters formed the 1970s pop singing group, The Boones. Boone has spoken publicly about her experiences and recovery from anorexia nervosa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fasting girl</span> Claim of special powers

A fasting girl was one of a number of young Victorian era girls, usually pre-adolescent, who claimed to be able to survive over indefinitely long periods of time without consuming any food or other nourishment. In addition to refusing food, fasting girls claimed to have special religious or magical powers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarah Jacob</span> Welsh supposed "fasting girl"

Sarah Jacob was a Welsh child, one of the best-known of a number of so-called fasting girls of the 19th century in the United Kingdom and United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of anorexia nervosa</span>

Some claim that the history of anorexia nervosa begins with descriptions of religious fasting dating from the Hellenistic era and continuing into the medieval period. A number of well known historical figures, including Catherine of Siena and Mary, Queen of Scots are believed to have suffered from the condition. Others link the emergence of anorexia to the distinctive presence of an extreme fear of being overweight despite being underweight which emerged in the second half of the 19th century and was first observed by Jean Martin Charcot and other French psychiatrists at the Salpetrière

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Osanna of Mantua</span>

Osanna of Mantua was an Italian Dominican tertiary who gained notice as a stigmatic and mystic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Columba of Rieti</span> Italian religious sister of the Third Order of St. Dominic

Columba of Rieti, TOSD was an Italian religious sister of the Third Order of St. Dominic who was noted as a mystic. She was renowned for her spiritual counsel, devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, and fantastic miracles were attributed to her. She was beatified by the Catholic Church in 1625.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Levitation of saints</span> Saints to whom the ability to fly or levitate has been attributed

The levitation of saints is the ability attributed to a saint to fly or to levitate. Most of these "flying saints" are mentioned as such in literature and sources associated with them.

Joan Jacobs Brumberg is an American social historian and writes and lectures in the fields of women's history and medical history. Her first appointment at Cornell University (1979) was in Women's Studies and Human Development. From that point, her research, teaching and writing have been interdisciplinary and focused on gender. She is a Professor Emerita of Cornell University, and lectures and writes about the experiences of adolescents through history until the present day. In the subject area of Gender Studies, she has written about boys and violence, and girls and body image.

Marie of Oignies was a Beguine saint, known from the Life written by James of Vitry, for Fulk of Toulouse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agnes Blannbekin</span> Austrian Beguine and Christian mystic (c. 1244 – 1315)

Agnes Blannbekin was an Austrian Beguine and Christian mystic. She was also referred to as Saint Agnes Blannbekin or the Venerable Agnes Blannbekin, though never beatified or canonized by the Roman Catholic Church. Her revelations were compiled by an anonymous confessor before being transcribed by the monk Ermenrich and later published in 1731 as Venerabilis Agnetis Blannbekin. The copies were confiscated by the Society of Jesus, and only two manuscripts survived. One was destroyed in a fire at the Strasbourg library in 1870. The surviving manuscript, currently owned by a Cistercian convent in Zwettl, Austria, was not released until the 20th century. Although Blannbekin is best remembered today for her visions, during her life she was known for her ministry to the urban population and her strange and provocative expressions of faith.

Blaesilla, also known as Blesilla (364–384), was a Roman widow and disciple of Jerome. She was born into a wealthy senatorial family in Rome, the eldest daughter of Paula of Rome and sister of Eustochium, who were members of a group of wealthy Christian women who followed the teachings of Jerome. Blaesilla was widowed at the age of 18; at first, she enjoyed her freedom as a widow, but after a life-threatening fever, became "a changed woman" and a severe ascetic, practicing fasting as a spiritual discipline. Her fasts dramatically weakened her, and she died within four months, at the age of 20.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anorexia nervosa</span> Type of eating disorder

Anorexia nervosa (AN), often referred to simply as anorexia, is an eating disorder characterized by food restriction, body image disturbance, fear of gaining weight, and an overpowering desire to be thin.

Drunkorexia is a colloquialism for anorexia or bulimia combined with an alcohol use disorder. The term is generally used to denote the utilization of extreme weight control methods to compensate for planned binge drinking. Research on the combination of an eating disorder and binge drinking has primarily focused on college-aged women, though the phenomenon has also been noted among young men. Studies suggest that individuals engage in this combination of self-imposed malnutrition and binge drinking to avoid weight gain from alcohol, to save money for purchasing alcohol, and to facilitate alcohol intoxication.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Hepworth, Julie (1999). The Social Construction of Anorexia Nervosa . SAGE. pp.  23-25. ISBN   9781848609006.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Ozer, Yvette Malamud (2012). A Student Guide to Health: Understanding the Facts, Trends, and Challenges [5 volumes]: Understanding the Facts, Trends, and Challenges. ABC-CLIO. pp. 115–116. ISBN   9780313393068.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Espi Forcen, Fernando (April 2013). "Anorexia Mirabilis: The Practice of Fasting by Saint Catherine of Siena in the Late Middle Ages". American Journal of Psychiatry. 170 (4): 370–371. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2012.12111457. PMID   23545792.
  4. ↑ Espi Forcen, Fernando (April 2013). "Anorexia Mirabilis: The Practice of Fasting by Saint Catherine of Siena in the Late Middle Ages". American Journal of Psychiatry. 170 (4): 370–371. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2012.12111457. ISSN   0002-953X. PMID   23545792.
  5. ↑ Bell, Rudolph M. (2014). Holy Anorexia. University of Chicago Press. p.  x. ISBN   978-0-226-16974-3.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Davis, Amelia A.; Nguyen, Mathew (2014). "A Case Study of Anorexia Nervosa Driven by Religious Sacrifice". Case Reports in Psychiatry. 2014: 512–764. doi: 10.1155/2014/512764 . ISSN   2090-682X. PMC   4106065 . PMID   25105049.
  7. ↑ Spearing, Elizabeth (2002). Medieval writings on female spirituality. New York: Penguin Books. p. 105.
  8. ↑ "Power Suffering". The New York Times. Retrieved 2018-10-31.
  9. ↑ "Miniature Lives of the Saints – Blessed Columba of Rieti". CatholicSaints.Info. 2015-02-24. Retrieved 2018-10-31.
  10. ↑ Vogl, p. 17
  11. ↑ Wilson, Ian (1988). The Bleeding Mind: An Investigation into the Mysterious Phenomena of Stigmata. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. pp. 114–115. ISBN   0-297-79099-4.
  12. ↑ eclecTechs/Ashton Services (2009-03-03). ""Eating disorders", Women's Health and Education Center", Springfield, Massachusetts". Womenshealthsection.com. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  13. 1 2 Grey, Stephanie Houston (2011). "A Perfect Loathing: The Feminist Expulsion of the Eating Disorder". KB Journal. 7 (2). Clemson University. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  14. ↑ Bell 1987.
  15. ↑ Bynum 1988.
  16. ↑ "Narrating the National Identity: Myth, Power, and Dissidence". 2008-05-13. Archived from the original on 2008-05-13. Retrieved 2018-11-01.
  17. ↑ "Blessed Mary of Oignies". saints.sqpn.com. Archived from the original on 2014-04-21. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  18. ↑ "Gender in Medieval Christian Mysticism". Boston University. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  19. ↑ "Anorexia And The Holiness Of Saint Catherine Of Siena". Albany.edu. Archived from the original on 2014-04-25. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  20. 1 2 Pittock, Alexandra. "How are anorexia nervosa and spirituality connected, and what implications does this have for treatment?" (PDF). Royal College of Psychiatrists. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  21. ↑ Gardner, Edmund (1908). "St. Catherine of Siena". The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 3. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved 6 May 2013– via Newadvent.org.
  22. ↑ Anorexia Mirabilis.
  23. ↑ Bunson, Matthew; Bunson, Margaret, eds. (2014). Encyclopedia of Saints (2nd ed.). Huntingdon, IN: Our Sunday Visitor's Publishing Division. p. 668.
  24. ↑ "B.M.Ashley -- Italian Dominican Women Mystics". www.domcentral.org. Archived from the original on March 20, 2008.
  25. 1 2 Brumberg, Joan Jacobs (October 2001). "From Sainthood to Patienthood". Fasting Girls: The History of Anorexia Nervosa. pp. 43–61.
  26. ↑ Speaking about eating disorders Archived February 7, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  27. ↑ Carlos Alberto Uribe Tobón; Rafael Vásquez Rojas; Santiago Martínez. "Virginidad, anorexia y brujería: el caso de la pequeña Ismenia". ANTÍPODA | Revista de Antropología y Arqueología Nº 3. Retrieved 2015-10-31.

Sources

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