title: Neuropsychiatric phenomena in the medieval text Cantigas de Santa Maria.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To discuss the neuropsychiatric phenomena described in Cantigas de Santa Maria (Canticles of St. Mary [CSM]).
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  CSM is a collection of 427 canticles composed in Galician-Portuguese between 1252 and 1284 at the Court of King Alfonso X the Wise of Spain (1221-1284). The canticles (of which 9 are repeated) include devotional and liturgical poems and 353 narrative stories consisting mainly of depictions of Marian miracles. Most are set to music and many are illustrated.
  
  
  METHODS
  We reviewed the canticles for description of miracles and other neuropsychiatric phenomena. Two neurologists reached a consensus about the descriptions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 353 miracles, 279 medically relevant facts (from 187 canticles) and 25 instances of resurrection were reported. Possible neuropsychiatric conditions were described in 98 canticles. Physicians were mentioned in 16 narratives. The most common neurologic conditions detailed were blindness (n = 17), dystonia, weakness, and deformities (n = 20). Other common conditions included psychosis (n = 15), speech disorder/deaf-mutism (n = 12), infections (n = 15), sexual dysfunction/infertility/obstetrical-gynecologic issues (n = 18), head trauma (n = 5), ergotism/St. Anthony's fire (n = 7), and others. There were 9 instances of prodromic mystical experiences/hallucinations heralding death.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  While limited by retrospection and interpretation of neuropsychiatric phenomena in the medieval context, these short accounts are among the first descriptions of neuropsychiatric conditions in early Portuguese/Galician. They reflect how medieval societies used rational and irrational approaches to understand occurrences in their lives.
authors.affiliation: From the Departamento de Medicina Clínica (F.D.A.A.G.), Neurology Division, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil; and the Museum of Contemporary Religious Art (S.H.G.) and the Departments of Neurology and Psychiatry and of Physical Therapy, Institute for Molecular Virology (F.P.T.), St. Louis University, St. Louis, MO. gondimfranc@gmail.com thomasfp@slu.edu.
authors.forename: Francisco De Assis Aquino
authors.initials: Fde A
authors.lastname: Gondim
authors.affiliation: From the Departamento de Medicina Clínica (F.D.A.A.G.), Neurology Division, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil; and the Museum of Contemporary Religious Art (S.H.G.) and the Departments of Neurology and Psychiatry and of Physical Therapy, Institute for Molecular Virology (F.P.T.), St. Louis University, St. Louis, MO.
authors.forename: Sarah H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Griesbach
authors.affiliation: From the Departamento de Medicina Clínica (F.D.A.A.G.), Neurology Division, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil; and the Museum of Contemporary Religious Art (S.H.G.) and the Departments of Neurology and Psychiatry and of Physical Therapy, Institute for Molecular Virology (F.P.T.), St. Louis University, St. Louis, MO. gondimfranc@gmail.com thomasfp@slu.edu.
authors.forename: Florian P
authors.initials: FP
authors.lastname: Thomas
mesh_terms: D049691:History, Medieval; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000266:history*; D009146:Music / Q000266:history*; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000266:history*; D011037:Poetry as Topic / Q000266:history*; D011174:Portugal; D012068:Religion and Medicine; D013030:Spain