https://www.youtube.com/watch/c0dkclXMs5s Why Medieval People (Probably) Had Autism
Unlock your own epic ancestral story! Get your MyHeritage DNA kit for just $19, plus a 30-day free trial and FREE shipping! https://bit.ly/MedievalMind Use code: Mind19. How did medieval society treat individuals who didn’t fit the standard social script? In this historical and sociological video essay, we examine accounts of neurodivergence, routine-driven monastic environments, and unique cognitive traits in the Middle Ages through an academic lens. While the clinical term “autism” wasn’t coined until 1911, individuals displaying traits we now associate with the autism spectrum—from intense hyperfixations to severe sensory sensitivities—profoundly shaped the spiritual, cultural, and structural landscape of medieval Europe.

From the hyper-literal interpretations of Brother Juniper to the astonishing linguistic and visual systems created by Hildegard von Bingen, we challenge modern chronological snobbery. We also explore how medieval communities, like the 13th-century town of Geel, engineered organic systems of community care and radical acceptance that rival modern industrial models.

GET MERCH: https://bit.ly/4z3NW5F
JOIN THE PATREON: https://bit.ly/4z6sgWw

TIMESTAMPS
0:00 – The Medieval Mind & History of Neurodivergence
0:54 – Brother Juniper: The Literal “Fool for Christ”
5:06 – Nicholas the Pilgrim: Echolalia & Tragic Realities
7:28 – Hildegard von Bingen: The Hyper-Systematizing Polymath
11:30 – St. Bernard of Clairvaux: Sensory Overload & Monastic Minimalism
13:51 – The Town of Geel: The 1200s Gold Standard of Community Care
16:38 – Chronological Snobbery: Did the Middle Ages Do It Better?

WORKS CITED
Evans, Bonnie. “How autism became autism.” History of the Human Sciences, vol. 26, 2013, pp. 3-31. https://bit.ly/45fBsKw.

Feldman, Jacqueline Maus. “History of Community Psychiatry.” Handbook of Community Psychiatry, 2012, pp. 11-18. https://bit.ly/45fBt12.

Hsy, Jonathan, Tory V. Pearman, and Joshua R. Eyler, editors. A Cultural History of Disability in the Middle Ages. Bloomsbury Academic, 2020.

McMinn, Mark R., and Barrett W. McRay. “Spiritual Disciplines and the Practice of Integration: Possibilities and Challenges for Christian Psychologists.” Journal of Psychology and Theology, vol. 25, 1997, pp. 102-110. https://bit.ly/45kkMS7.

Moskowitz, A., and G. Heim. “Eugen Bleuler’s Dementia Praecox or the Group of Schizophrenias (1911): A Centenary Appreciation and Reconsideration.” Schizophrenia Bulletin, vol. 37, 2011, pp. 471-479. https://bit.ly/3TBXPY6.

Skowrońska, Dorota. “Constructed Languages of Hildegard of Bingen and Suzzette Haden Elgin. Female Empowerment through Language?” Forum Filologiczne Ateneum, 2018, pp. 101-112. https://ift.tt/I75trNL.
via YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0dkclXMs5s
ORIGIN