Jacopone da Todi's mystical pathology.

Abstract

With St Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) a new element entered into the spirit of the Catholic church. It took the form of an experience of divine presence and gave rise to a wave of Fran? ciscan mysticism, with its dramatic sense of mystery, its desire for a union with the Infinite, its relation to all living things, and, above all, its emphasis on humility and poverty. Mysticism, in the sense of a direct communion with God and in the conviction that all things in the universe are manifestations of the eternal being, reflects the ancient ideas of Buddhism and Hinduism. It found its European sources in Plato and in Plotinus, the founder of Neoplatonism. According to this philosophy, various forces including the human soul, shape the matter, and man should return to the union with God by rejecting from his life all that is worldly before reaching the final exaltation of spiritual fulfilment. The early Christian mystics headed by St Paul and St Augustine took the example from the Judaic tradition of Isaiah and Ezekiel. Among the disciples and followers of St Francis the group known as Franciscan Tertiaries was remarkable.1 They willingly accepted the rule of voluntary poverty and became, like the master, twice-born souls. One of them, Jacopone da Todi, holds a special place, not only in the Catholic hagiography but also in the history of Italian literature.2 3 To a medical historian some aspects of his life and work are of particular interest because of the extraordinary morbid streak of his penitence, through sickness and pain, before the dissolu? tion of his bodily form in the metaphysical absolute. Jacopone da Todi (Jacopo de Benedetti) was born in Todi, Umbria, in 1230 into a noble family. He was a successful and ambitious lawyer, married to the young and beautiful Lady Vanna. The two led the gay and carefree life of the rich con? temporary society until a tragic accident, when a wooden platform collapsed under the dancing crowd and Vanna was killed. On his wife's dead body Jacopone discovered under the elegant gown a penitent's hairshirt. This event led to Jacopone's conversion and changed his whole life. He devoted his remaining