Perceived Benefits
Many of these women claimed that they possessed at least some measure of spiritual enlightenment from their asceticism. They variously claimed to feel "inebriation" with the holy wine, "hunger" for God, and conversely, that they sat at the "delicious banquet of God."
Margaret of Cortona (1247–1297) believed she had extended communications with God himself. Columba of Rieti believed her spirit "toured the holy land" in visions, and virtually every one of these women was apparently possessed of some level of psychic prowess. These women's exercises in self-denial and suffering did yield them a measure of fame and notoriety. They were said to alternately be able to make a feast out of crumbs, exude oil from their fingertips, heal with their saliva, fill barrels with drink out of thin air, lactate even though virginal and malnourished, and perform other Miracles of note.
The practice of anorexia mirabilis faded out during the Renaissance, when it began to be seen by the church as heretical, dangerous socially, or possibly even Satanically inspired. It managed to survive in practice until nearly the 20th century, when it was overtaken by its more popularly known counterpart, anorexia nervosa.
Contemporary accounts of Anorexia mirabilis do exist, most notably that of a fundamentalist Christian girl in Colombia, as reported by Medical Anthropologist Carlos Alberto Uribe. See: Virginidad, Anorexia y Brujería: El Caso de la Pequeña Ismenia ANTÍPODA | Revista de Antropología y Arqueología Nº 3, Julio-Diciembre 2006 http://antipoda.uniandes.edu.co/view.php/39/1.php
Read more about this topic: Anorexia Mirabilis
Famous quotes containing the words perceived and/or benefits:
“I have perceived much beauty
In the hoarse oaths that kept our courage straight;
Heard music in the silentness of duty;
Found peace where shell-storms spouted reddest spate.”
—Wilfred Owen (1893–1918)
“One of your biggest jobs as a parent of multiples is no bigger than simply talking to your children individually and requiring that they respond to you individually as well. The benefits of this kind of communication can be enormous, in terms of the relationship you develop with each child, in terms of their language development, and eventually in terms of their sense of individuality, too.”
—Pamela Patrick Novotny (20th century)