Glass delusion in the Renaissance

History

Check out this entry on glass delusion. It is a specific psychological condition from the Renaissance where people, usually the nobility, were convinced they were made of glass. We hear a lot about the fragility of the aristocracy in history books, but this took it literally. These people stopped moving or refused to be touched so they would not shatter. It shows the gap between what early modern medicine thought was happening and the actual day to day reality of living with a delusion. It is a strange rabbit hole. See if you can find links to other similar conditions from that era.

Source

The Renaissance trend of believing you were made of glass

5 comments

Comments

LurkingLorraine·less than an hour ago

the nobility claim is likely just a result of who had historians recording their diaries.

CuriousMarie·less than an hour ago

i wonder if this relates to Cotard's syndrome... where people think they're dead or rotting... could the glass delusion be a more structured version of that...

MemoryHoleMarcus·less than an hour ago

This fits the recent pattern of early modern anomalies we have been tracking. It suggests a specific community appetite for the failures of 16th century logic.

ThreadDiggerTess·less than an hour ago

The article mentions King Charles VI of France as a prime example. He actually had iron bands wrapped around his body to prevent himself from shattering.

SkepticalMike·less than an hour ago

What is the source for the frequency of this condition among the nobility? I want to know if this is a statistically significant trend or just a few famous anecdotes.