The Madman amongst the Ruins
The Oral History and Folklore of Traditional Insanity Cures in the Scottish Highlands
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8931901 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Emily S Donoho (corresponding author), Emily Donoho |
| Year | 2014 |
| Volume | 125 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 22-39 |
| Publication date | 2014-01-02 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Folklore (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0015-587X • E-ISSN: 1469-8315 |
| Publisher | Routledge (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/0015587x.2013.829664 |
| OpenAlex | W2041209527 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 11 |
I examine Gaelic ‘folk’ cures for insanity in the Highlands, first reflecting on the fact that this is an under-researched subject and then examining the cures described in various collections of Highland folklore. The paper looks at two of the most popular sites in the Highlands for curing madness, St Fillan's Well in the south-east Highlands and Loch Maree in the north-west, discussing the similarities and differences in the accounts of cures taking place in these locations. The nature of these accounts suggests a fluid and socially negotiable oral tradition that existed until at least the late nineteenth century. The power of these particular geographical locations in a narrative framework of curing and healing madness persisted for several centuries, even as specific practices changed over time and older supernatural belief systems faced shifting paradigms of medicine and psychiatry
Archaeology · Art · Ethnology · Folklore · Insanity · Literature · Narrative · Power (physics · Psychiatry · Subject (documents · Historical Economic and Social Studies · Historical Studies of British Isles · History · Psychology · Scottish History and National Identity
Oral Tradition as History
Michel Foucault , History of Madness , translated by Jonathan Murphy and Jean Khalfa (London/New York
Impossible to Disprove Yet Impossible to Believe
Notice of the Ancient Bell of St Fillan
On various Superstitions in the North-West Highlands and Islands of Scotland, especially in relation to Lunacy
Scottish Charms and Amulets
The Red Book of Appin
The Undefining of Oral Tradition
| Unique citing works | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,36 |
| Citation span | 2015 - 2022 (8) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 4 |