Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Maher, Winifred B
• Maher, Brendan

Titel

The ship of fools: Stultifera Navis or ignis fatuus?

Ist Teil von

• The American psychologist, 1982-07, Vol.37 (7), p.756-761

Ort / Verlag

United States: American Psychological Association

Erscheinungsjahr

1982

Quelle

MEDLINE

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Relying on M. Foucault's (1967) work, Madness and Civilization, many contemporary writers of abnormal psychology textbooks report the existence of ships of fools as a common medieval method for the segregation of the mentally ill. It is argued here that these reports often contain embellishments not provided in Foucault's account. A search for documentary evidence of such ships failed to find any. It appears that the only existence such vessels ever had was in the form of Lenten processional floats and as literary vehicles for moral allegories. (12 ref)