Possession, Demoniacal And Other

by T K Oesterreich

  The man therefore departed with the woman, and rejoicing all the way over her salvation, returned to his house where friends awaited him. All those who heard the details of this exploit were filled with satisfaction, but soon the joy changed to tears because as soon as the woman reached the threshold of her house the devil entered into her afresh and with more hostility than usual began to rend the wretched creature frightfully. The unfortunate husband did not know which way to turn: what was he to do? It seemed to him very dangerous to live with a demoniac and impious to abandon her. He therefore arose and taking his wife with him returned to Pavia. There as he did not meet the man of God he pushed on as far as Cremona, where he told him what had occurred and implored him with tears to lend his aid. The clemency of the Abbot did not repulse the pious request, but he commanded them to go into the church of his town (and before the body of confessors), to engage in prayer until he himself should come. Remembering then his promise, he went to the church with a single companion at the hour of twilight when others were going to bed, and passing the whole night in prayers he obtained from God that which he asked; and health having been restored to the woman he commanded her to return without anxiety to her house. But as he feared what had already occurred, the re-entry of the devil into her, he commanded that there should be fastened round her neck a notice bearing these words: “In the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ I command thee, demon, to dare to touch this woman no more.” This command frightened the devil who was never afterwards minded to approach the woman after her return home.1

  In Thomas of Celano’s biography of St. Francis we read:

  There was a brother who often suffered from a grievous infirmity that was horrible to see; and I know not what name to give it; though some think it was caused by a malignant devil. For oftentimes he was dashed down and with a terrible look in his eyes he wallowed foaming; sometimes his limbs were contracted, sometimes extended, sometimes they were folded and twisted together, and sometimes they became hard and rigid. Sometimes, tense and rigid all over, with his feet touching his head, he would be lifted up in the air to the height of a man’s stature and would then suddenly spring back to the earth. The holy Father Francis pitying his grievous sickness went to him and after offering up prayer signed him with the cross and blessed him. And suddenly he was made whole, and never afterwards suffered from this distressing infirmity.2

  At Città di Castello also there was a woman possessed by a devil; and when the most blessed Father Francis was there she was brought to the house in which he was staying. But she remained outside and began to gnash with her teeth, to make faces and to utter lamentable roarings, after the manner of unclean spirits; and many of the people in that city of both sexes came up and besought St Francis for the woman; for that evil spirit had long vexed her by his torments and had troubled them by his roarings. Then the holy father sent to her a brother who was with him, with the intention of finding out whether it really was a devil, or only a woman’s deception. When the woman saw the brother she began to mock him, knowing he was not St. Francis. The holy father was praying within, and when he had finished his prayer he came out; and then the woman began to tremble and to roll on the ground, unable to stand his power. St. Francis called her to him and said: “In virtue of obedience I bid thee go out of her, thou unclean spirit,” and it straightway left her, doing her no hurt, and departed very full of wrath.1

  Naturally episodes of possession also appear in the later legend of St. Francis of Assisi. Thus we read in the Fioretti:

  How the demons could not endure the purity of the innocence and deep humility of Brother Juniper, doth clearly appear herein, that on a time a certain man possessed with a devil, contrary to all his wont and with antics most strange, sprang out of the way he was going in, and of a sudden set off running and fled by divers crossways for seven miles. And being asked by his kinsfolk, that with great anguish of spirit followed after him, wherefore he had fled away with such strange antics, he answered them: “The reason is this: because that mad fellow Juniper was passing by that way: not being able to endure his presence nor to look on him, I fled away into these woods.” And certifying themselves of the truth thereof, they found that Brother Juniper had come along that way even as the devil had said. Wherefore St. Francis, when they brought to him those that were possessed to be healed, if the devils departed not straightway at his command, would say: “If thou come not out of this creature of God straightway, I will send for Brother Juniper to deal with thee”; and thereat the demon, fearing the presence of Brother Juniper, and not being able to endure the virtue and humility of St. Francis, would depart straightway.2

  The case of a possessed woman who was exorcised by St. Norbert of Magdeburg (d. 1134) was very stubborn:

  At first the devil mocked at him. Nevertheless the man of God did not permit himself in any way to give up and continued to command the unclean spirit to depart from God’s creature. Thus driven to extremities, the devil cried out: “If thou wouldst that I come forth from hence, permit that I may enter into that monk in the corner over there,” and he named him by his name. But Norbert said to the people: “Hear what he says and observe his wickedness: to outrage the servant of God this demon demands to possess him as a sinner worthy of this torment. But do not be indignant. It is just his cunning to vex the good and seek to outrage them as best he may.” Thereupon he flung himself with the more earnestness upon the wicked enemy, who asked: “What wouldst thou then? For thee nor for any other will I come forth to-day. Behold! If only I call, the dark legions come to my aid. Eia, up, to the fight! These arches and vaults are about to fall upon you!” At these words the people took to flight, but the priest remained bravely and fearlessly in his place. Then the hand of the possessed seized his stole to strangle him with it. As those standing by rushed to frustrate her, he said: “Leave her! If God has given her strength she may do according to her will.” At these words, all astonished, she of her own will withdrew her hands. Nevertheless the greater part of the day being spent, it was Norbert’s counsel that she should be plunged into exorcised water and this was done. As she was fair-haired, the priest feared that this might permit her devil to retain his hold over her, and therefore had her hair cut. Thereupon the demon flew into a rage and cried out: “Stranger from France, stranger from France, what have I done to thee that thou shouldst not leave me in peace? All evil and misfortune be on thy head for tormenting me thus!”

  Meanwhile night had fallen and when Norbert saw that the demon had not yet departed he commanded somewhat sadly that she should be led back to her father. On the following morning she was again brought to the mass. When he took off his alb and other vestments, the demon seeing this clapped his hands and cried out: “Ah, ah, ah! Now thou doest well! All day thou hast done nothing that has so pleased me. The day has passed undisturbed, and thou hast accomplished nothing.” Dissatisfied, Norbert returned to his house and resolved to take no food until the sick woman should be cured. In fact, he passed the rest of the day and the night in fasting. As soon as day dawned he prepared to say mass. The girl was once more brought and the people hastened up to witness the combat between the priest and the demon. Forthwith Norbert ordered two brethren to hold the possessed fast not far from the altar; and when he came to the Gospel she was led to the altar itself and several passages from the Gospels were read over her head. The demon again roared with laughter at this and when the priest afterwards elevated the Host he cried out: “See how he holds his little god in his hands!” This made the priest of God shudder, and strong in the might of the Spirit he applied himself to attack the demon by prayer and torment him. Then the latter, full of anguish, cried out by the mouth of the girl: “I burn! I burn!” Again the voice howled: “I am dying! I am dying!” For the third time it uttered loud cries and repeated many times over: “I will go forth! I will go forth! Let me go!” The two brethren held her strongly, but the evil spirit would not let himself be bridled. Leaving behind him a trail of unspeakably stinking urine he
escaped, abandoning the vessel which he possessed. She collapsed, was taken back to her father’s house, took food and was soon entirely restored to health.1

  Just as the saints cured the possessed during their lifetime, these powers were continued after death. Amongst the Miracula of the Emperor Henry the Saint (d. 1024) are found cures of possessed persons attributed to his body:

  Three demoniacs, a man and two women … were cured, who did not cease to blaspheme the name of Henry, and at length with horrible cries left the seats which they occupied. One of them, more obstinate than the others, long resisted the invocation of the holy name, when he knew that the remains were to be brought near him. Then as if Henry was coming in person, he said that he could not remain. Immediately with a great clamour he left the man whom he possessed. These things happened after mass on the very day when the remains arrived.1

  … The demoniac woman had her hands tied with cords to the place previously indicated and was prevented from moving although she offered much resistance. The demon roared and writhed, shouting, away from Henry; then she was suddenly released from her torment. It seemed to her, as she related to those present, that she saw coming out of that place a white-haired personage with a long beard dressed in royal garments who by threats and blows drove away the evil spirit.2

  Finally one more example from the thirteenth century. It is taken from the life of the Spanish saint Petrus Gonzalez (1190–1246).

  Pedro Perez de Villela … had a son obsessed by a demon who for eleven consecutive days neither ate, drank nor slept. Adjured by exorcisms, the demon replied that no one would cause him to depart except Brother Pedro Gonzalez. The adolescent was led to the sepulchre of the holy Father with bound hands (rage would otherwise have prevented it). Prayers having been said by those who stood round him, the demon there and then withdrew. Maria Gonzalez of Valladerez was exceedingly tormented by a demon. For four days she remained without eating, drinking or speaking. When she was carried to the tomb of the saint the demon was expelled and she was restored to complete health. The daughter of Juan Palaez of Tobellum was possessed for two years by a demon and tortured almost every day. Having made a vow to the man of God she was at once delivered. The wife of Pedro Juan of Paramos was demoniac for two years and was cruelly tormented two, three, or even as many as five times a day. The family having made a vow to St. Pedro, the demon immediately left her.3

  The following case belongs to the fifteenth century. It relates of St. François de Paule (1416–1508):

  Antonius Mirenus says that when he arrived a woman of Anzitola was tormented by the evil spirit. She was surrounded, as is customary, by a crowd of men. Then the demoniac began to say: “Here is my enemy.” The witness and many others turned and saw coming Brother Francis who entered the sacristy without paying any heed. And the following day when the demoniac was in the church certain of the brethren of St. Francis took upon themselves to conjure the evil spirit, who replied: “I care for none of you, save for St. Francis.” In the last resort she was led into the sacristy where St. Francis was with certain noblemen, namely this same witness and others. He began to adjure the spirit and command him to leave the body of the poor creature, which spirit answered St. Francis with many words, and was obstinate. He said that he was the spirit of a woman who had died in the time of the wars of Duke Jean, that is to say twenty years before, and that in the beginning she had been a procuress and woman of evil life. Francis replied: “Why did you not confess? You would not now be damned.” At length after numerous discussions this same witness saw the woman go out to the sacristy delivered. She then returned home.1

  These examples from the Christian Middle Ages will suffice. They should be taken in conjunction with the cases already mentioned on p. 8. It is evident that they are completely similar from whatever century they may come, and one might readily be substituted for another. The darker side of mediaeval religious life bears the impress of the stability which characterized that period.

  This is not merely true of Christian civilization; the mediaeval Kabbala is also acquainted with possession. Bischoff speaks as follows in his Einführung in die jüdische Mystik:2

  Very interesting is the exorcism, according to Lurja,3 of a spirit by which a woman was possessed. The spirit was the soul of a drunken Jew, who died without prayer and impenitent. Having wandered for a long time it was permitted to him to enter into a woman as she was in the act of blaspheming, and since that moment the woman (an epileptic-hysteric) suffered terribly. Lurja speaks to the tormenting spirit and treats him as Christian exorcists treat the devil; he reprimands him, makes him tell his story, etc. By means of the “Name” he at length obliges him to come forth by the little toe of the possessed, which the spirit thus handled does with his habitual vehemence.4

  I have gathered much less information about non-European countries than about the European Middle Ages. This results not only from my slight personal knowledge of their literature but also from the comparative inaccessibility of the non-European literature of that period, as well as its lesser total extent. A story from Syria (ninth century) relates:

  A certain man was walking in the street at night past one of the fire-temples of the magi, which had some time previously fallen into ruins, when devils in the form of black ravens leapt upon him, entered into him, and brought on convulsions.5

  On possession in Northern Africa, Leo Africanus, who towards 1492 visited the towns of that country, largely Mohammedan, writes as follows:

  There are in that country soothsayers of a kind called exorcists. It is believed that they have in the highest degree the power of curing the possessed, because now and then they succeed in doing so. If they do not succeed, however, they get out of the difficulty by saying that the spirit is unbelieving (disobedient) or that it is one of the heavenly spirits…. They describe certain characters and circles on the hand or on the forehead of the possessed and perfume him with many odours. Then they conjure the spirit and ask him how and through what part of the body he came, who he is, and what is his name, after which they command him to come forth.1

  It is very noteworthy that in the Christian Middle Ages the spirit which speaks by the mouth of a possessed person should always be a demon, a devil. In modern times this is not so; possession still remains fairly frequent, but more and more it is the spirits of the dead who speak in the possessed. This clearly testifies to a certain weakening in demonological beliefs; men still believe in the existence of the devil—who in the interval has shrunk from a plurality of demons to a single one—but general opinion no longer takes sufficient account of him to allow him to play an appreciable part in the empirical life. It is only in spiritual establishments, especially convents of nuns—as well as in the epidemics of which we shall speak shortly—that the spirits which speak by the mouth of the possessed are still in the majority of cases demons.

  The earliest works on the diffusion of possession date only from the time of the Renaissance.

  Luther’s influence does not seem to have been at all helpful; according to Kirchoff2 his inflexible ideas long rendered difficult the right knowledge and treatment of maladies of the mind. He regarded all mental affections as possession,3 and suicide as one of their consequences. In these circumstances he cannot, of course, have rejected the interpretation of true states of possession as such;4 he rather personally undertook exorcisms of the possessed (1545). Here, as elsewhere, his position is opposed to that of the detested Catholic Church, and even runs counter to the doctrine of the apostles. Ecclesiastical exorcism appears to him a “display” of which the devil is unworthy. He himself does not set to work with exorcism, but with “prayer and contempt.” Formerly, when exorcisms were first introduced, wonders were necessary to confirm the Christian doctrine; to-day this is no longer so. God himself knows when the devil is to depart, and man should not tempt God with these commands, but rather pray without ceasing until the prayer is heard.1

  Amongst modern accounts, the epidemics of possession are of parti
cular interest. Hitherto we have only dealt with isolated cases, but possession is not always manifested in this manner. Just as other psychic epidemics have occurred such as St. Vitus’ dance (choreomania) and the Children’s Crusade, possession has also manifested itself in epidemic form, without, however, assuming the same dimensions; in no case has it attacked more than some few dozen persons. Almost all epidemics have, moreover, broken out in convents of nuns or similar establishments where by reason of the close and perpetual contact the danger of psychic infection is particularly great. The ground was everywhere prepared by the fear of the possessing spirit passing from the possessed into the soul and body of the onlookers, and an idea of the risk run by these latter may be gathered from the fact that few exorcising priests remained entirely immune.