Account of the epidemic religious monomania in Sweden in the years 1841 and 1842 / by the editor.

  • Smith, Samuel Hanbury, 1810-1894.
Date:
[1850]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Account of the epidemic religious monomania in Sweden in the years 1841 and 1842 / by the editor. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

    10/32
    periods. During the paroxysms they have all the appearance of madness, distorting their bodies in various ways, and leap- ing and springing in a surprising manner, whence the disease has derived its vulgar name. Sometimes they run with aston- ishing velocity, and often over dangerous passes, to some place out of doors, which they have fixed on in their own minds, or perhaps even mentioued to those in company with them, and then drop down quite exhausted. At other times, especially when confined to the house, they climb in the most singular manner. In cottages for example, they leap from the floor to what are called the baulks, or those beams by which the rafters are joined together, springing from one to another with the agility of a cat, or whirling round one of them with a motion resembling the fly of a jack. It is remarkable that the mus- cular motions, though in a great degree involnntary, are performed with extraordinary agility and exactness, the affected performing feats which surpass those of professed tumblers, balancing the body with correctness, and dextrously avoiding dangers, in which this disease differs very remarkably from our modern chorea. The leaping ague—so called from its paroxysmatic character—is propagated by imitation,and seems to be accompanied with much less aberration of mind, than the disorders already mentioned. In the epidemic which occurred in the Western districts of America about the year 1800, according to Dr. Robertson, who published an account of it in his inaugural essay, influenced by religious enthusiasm, new converts to the faith indulged in alternate fits of coughing, laughing, singing, shouting, and extravagant and violent gesticulations, until at length, to their own astonishment, they continued to act from necessity the curious character which they had commenced from choice, and were sometimes thrown on the ground, where for some time the motions resembled those of a live fish when thrown upon land, more than anything else. By degrees the more violent convulsions subsided into chronic chorea-like movements. But similar phenomena have been so common at revivals and camp-meetings, as to need no further notice, except to call at- tention to the evidence of propagation by psychical contagion already alluded to, which is afforded by the fact that children who happen to have witnessed such scenes, are attacked with similar disorders, although incapable of comprehending the feelings agitating the bosoms of their older companions, and often have retained for life incurable nervous affections, em- bittering their very existence. The Jumpers also, a sect of Methodists founded by two fanatics in the year 1760, present scenes at their meetings, which if possible exceed in extrava-