Paroxysms, stigmata and dolls in convents. Female Sanctity and Mental Illness between the Middle Ages and the Contemporary Times

The essay represent a kind of introduction to a volume. This book compiles the works conducted by several scholars, both men and women, who attended the conference Mad for Him. Female Sanctity and Mental Illness between the Middle Ages and the Modern Ages, which was held at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice in November 2021. On said occasion, the author asked the speakers to reflect on the sensitive relationship between female sanctity and mental illness. Specifically, they were asked to investigate whether the famous paroxysms experienced by the mystique women could be compared to events that nowadays, through the lens of the medical code, are normally considered pathological.