Child prodigies in Paris in the belle époque: Between child stars and psychological subjects.

This article considers the double role of child prodigies as child stars and psychological subjects in Paris in the Belle Époque. I argue that the celebrity status of child prodigies during this time contributed to their transformation into objects of scientific curiosity. The notions of innate talent and natural-born genius contributed heavily to stories of child prodigies within the public sphere; these stories also circulated in psychological accounts of such children. To illustrate this, I examine the case of Pepito Arriola, the so-called Spanish Mozart, in more detail. This musical prodigy toured Europe and America during the early 20th century, and when he was 3- and one-half years old, Charles Richet presented him at the Fourth International Psychology Congress (1900) in Paris. Arriola became the first virtuoso to be submitted to psychological examination, and he was subsequently examined in Berlin by the psychologist Carl Stumpf. This closer look at Pepito Arriola's case clarifies how popular culture and scientific research interacted in the making of a prodigy. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Sacerdotes, apropiación del discurso médico y experiencia mística en la Francia del siglo XIX.

This article explores the appropriation of psychiatric terminology by French theologians and priests, within the context of the pathologizations of religion in the nineteenth century. This appropriation allowed the clergy to differentiate "authentic" mystical experience from feigned or "deviant" ones. Firstly, it analyzes medical and theological manuals that sought to create an opposition between hysteria and saintliness, which was useful from the ecclesiastical point of view. Secondly, it presents the reports of three priests on supposed female mystics with stigmata. It concludes that the appropriation of medical rhetoric by the clergy could be used to define the limits of religious experience approved by the Catholic church.

El artículo explora la apropiación de la terminología psiquiátrica por parte de teólogos y párrocos franceses, en el contexto de la patologización de la religión del siglo XIX. Esta apropiación le sirvió al clero para demarcar la experiencia mística "auténtica" de la simulada o "desviada". En primer lugar, analizamos manuales médico-teológicos pensados para crear una oposición entre la histeria y la santidad, útil desde el punto de vista eclesiástico. En segundo lugar, presentamos los informes de tres párrocos sobre presuntas místicas y estigmatizadas. Concluimos que la apropiación de la retórica médica por parte del clero podía servir para definir los límites de la experiencia religiosa aprobada por la Iglesia católica.

Sacerdotes, apropiación del discurso médico y experiencia mística en la Francia del siglo XIX / Priests, the appropriation of medical discourse and mystical experience in nineteenth-century France

Resumen El artículo explora la apropiación de la terminología psiquiátrica por parte de teólogos y párrocos franceses, en el contexto de la patologización de la religión del siglo XIX. Esta apropiación le sirvió al clero para demarcar la experiencia mística "auténtica" de la simulada o "desviada". En primer lugar, analizamos manuales médico-teológicos pensados para crear una oposición entre la histeria y la santidad, útil desde el punto de vista eclesiástico. En segundo lugar, presentamos los informes de tres párrocos sobre presuntas místicas y estigmatizadas. Concluimos que la apropiación de la retórica médica por parte del clero podía servir para definir los límites de la experiencia religiosa aprobada por la Iglesia católica.

Abstract This article explores the appropriation of psychiatric terminology by French theologians and priests, within the context of the pathologizations of religion in the nineteenth century. This appropriation allowed the clergy to differentiate "authentic" mystical experience from feigned or "deviant" ones. Firstly, it analyzes medical and theological manuals that sought to create an opposition between hysteria and saintliness, which was useful from the ecclesiastical point of view. Secondly, it presents the reports of three priests on supposed female mystics with stigmata. It concludes that the appropriation of medical rhetoric by the clergy could be used to define the limits of religious experience approved by the Catholic church.

Extreme giftedness? Trading on the general education of child prodigies in the nineteenth century

The child prodigy phenomenon expanded during and after the mid-19th century, nurtured by a growing entertainment industry in Europe. Prodigies were particularly popular in two domains —classical music and mental calculation. Many spent their early childhoods on tour and living abroad. This paper analyzes the problem of the general education of the child prodigy, and the parents’ and impresarios’ role in financially exploiting the child’s talent. I focus on virtuosos and arithmetic wonders who performed in France in the 19th century. These children rarely received regular schooling and many only learned to read and write once their years of glory as a prodigy passed, or when their lack of education became problematic. The consequences of neglecting the prodigy’s elementary studies were greater than parents and impresarios had anticipated. Illiteracy and a meager knowledge of the wider culture affected talent development. In the end, a lack of general education contributed to the deterioration of the child’s giftedness, accelerating the transition from prodigy to ordinary (AU)

Mysticism in the courtroom in 19th-century Europe.

This article examines how and why criminal proceedings were brought against alleged cases of Catholic mysticism in several European countries during modernity. In particular, it explores how criminal charges were derived from mystical experiences and shows how these charges were examined inside the courtroom. To bring a lawsuit against supposed mystics, justice systems had to reduce their mysticism to 'facts' or actions involving a breach of the law, usually fraud. Such accusations were not the main reason why alleged mystics were taken to court, however. Focusing on three representative examples, in Spain, France and Germany, I argue that 'mystic trials' had more to do with specific conflicts between the defendant and the ecclesiastical or secular authorities than with public concern regarding pretence of the supernatural. Criminal courts in Europe approached such cases in a similar way. Just as in ecclesiastical inquiries, during the trials, judges called upon expert testimony to debunk the allegedly supernatural. Once a mystic entered the courtroom, his or her reputation was profoundly affected. Criminal lawsuits had a certain 'demystifying power' and were effective in stifling the fervour surrounding the alleged mystics. All in all, mystic trials offer a rich example of the ways in which modern criminal justice dealt with increasing enthusiasm for the supernatural during the 19th century.

"Wonder Nuns:" Sor Patrocinio, the Politics of the Supernatural, and Republican Caricature.

This paper examines the relationship between politics and the supernatural in nineteenth-century Spain through the figure of Sor Patrocinio: a stigmatized nun and advisor to Queen Isabel II of Spain. I introduce Sor Patrocinio as an example of a "wonder nun:" a type of ultra-charismatic, supposedly supernaturally gifted religious woman who influenced her country's political agenda. During Sor Patrocinio's rise to fame, she lost control of her public image. In their efforts to dethrone Isabel II, Spanish republicans transformed Sor Patrocinio into a politico-religious symbol, a living reminder of the anti-liberal and neo-Catholic tendencies attributed to Isabel II and her clique. On the one hand, her case exemplifies the struggle of liberalism to form modern nations in Europe. On the other, it shows how some religious women obtained power through their experience of the supernatural during the "culture wars" of the period, reflecting how such experience was shaped by political affairs.

Hypnosis lessons by stage magnetizers: Medical and lay hypnotists in Spain.

During the late nineteenth century, Spanish physicians had few chances to observe how hypnosis worked within a clinical context. However, they had abundant opportunities to watch lay hypnotizers in action during private demonstrations or on stage. Drawing on the exemplary cases of the magnetizers Alberto Santini Sgaluppi (a.k.a. Alberto Das) and Onofroff, in this paper I discuss the positive influence of stage magnetizers on medical hypnosis in Spain. I argue that, owing to the absence of medical training in hypnosis, the stage magnetizers' demonstrations became practical hypnosis lessons for many physicians willing to learn from them instead of condemning them. I conclude that Spain might be no exception in this regard, and that further research should be undertaken into practices in other countries.

DISCOVERING PALLADINO'S MEDIUMSHIP. OTERO ACEVEDO, LOMBROSO AND THE QUEST FOR AUTHORITY.

In 1888, the spiritist Ercole Chiaia challenged Cesare Lombroso to go to Naples and study a brilliant though still unknown medium: Eusapia Palladino. At that time Lombroso turned down the challenge. However, in 1891 he became fascinated by the medium's phenomena. Despite the abundant literature on Palladino, there is still an episode that needs to be explored: in 1888, the Spanish doctor Manuel Otero Acevedo accepted the challenge rejected by Lombroso, spent three months in Naples studying the medium and invited the Italian psychiatrist to join his investigations. This unexplored episode serves to examine the role of scientific authority, testimony, and material evidence in the legitimization of mediumistic phenomena. The use Otero Acevedo made of the evidence he obtained in Naples reveals his desire to proclaim himself an authority on psychical research before other experts, such as Lombroso, Richet, and Aksakof.

[The marvels of the incarnated man. Victor Melcior and the redefinition of mediumship (1901)]. / Los prodigios del hombre encarnado. Victor Melcior y la redefinición de la mediumnidad (1901).

Towards the end of the 19th century, new medico-psychological approaches were applied to mediumship through the scientific study of spiritualist phenomena. The spiritualist idea of the medium was replaced with the notion of the medium as an unstable human being capable of emanating psychic forces unconsciously. This paper analyses the redefinition of mediumship through the polemical articles of the Catalan physician Victor Melcior. On one hand, this microhistory allows the local debate to be placed within the scientific international context, describing the relationships among spiritualism, medicine and psychopathology at that time. On the other hand, it permits analysis of the reactions of some spiritualists to Melcior's theories and of the consequences of this debate for spiritualism in general.

Los prodigios del hombre encarnado. Víctor Melcior y la redefinición de la mediumnidad (1901) / The marvels of the incarnated man. Víctor Melcior and the redefinition of mediumship (1901)

A finales del siglo XIX, mediante el estudio científico de los fenómenos espiritistas, nuevos enfoques médicos y psicológicos se aplicaron a la mediumnidad. La idea del médium espiritista fue sustituida por la noción del médium como un ser desequilibrado, capaz de emanar fuerzas psíquicas inconscientemente. Este trabajo analiza la redefinición de la mediumnidad a través de unos polémicos artículos del médico catalán Víctor Melcior. Esta microhistoria sirve, por un lado, para situar el debate local dentro del contexto científico internacional y, así, mostrar las relaciones entre el espiritismo, la medicina y la psicopatología del momento. Por otro lado, permite analizar las reacciones de algunos espiritistas a las teorías de Melcior, así como las consecuencias que este debate tuvo para el espiritismo en general (AU)

Towards the end of the 19th century, new medico-psychological approaches were applied to mediumship through the scientific study of spiritualist phenomena. The spiritualist idea of the medium was replaced with the notion of the medium as an unstable human being capable of emanating psychic forces unconsciously. This paper analyses the redefinition of mediumship through the polemical articles of the Catalan physician Víctor Melcior. On one hand, this microhistory allows the local debate to be placed within the scientific international context, describing the relationships among spiritualism, medicine and psychopathology at that time. On the other hand, it permits analysis of the reactions of some spiritualists to Melciors (AU)

Hypnosis in Spain (1888-1905): from spectacle to medical treatment of mediumship.

Towards the end of the nineteenth century, some Spanish physicians sought to legitimize hypnotherapy within medicine. At the same time, hypnotism was being popularized among the Spanish population through stage hypnosis shows. In order to extend the use of medical hypnotherapy, some physicians made efforts to demarcate the therapeutic use of hypnotic suggestion from its application for recreational purposes, as performed by stage hypnotists. However, in the eyes of some physicians, the first public session to legitimize hypnotherapy turned out to be a complete failure due to its similarities with a stage hypnosis performance. Apart from exploring this kind of hitherto little-known historical cases, we explore the role of spiritists in legitimizing medical hypnosis. At a time when Spanish citizens were still reluctant to accept hypnotherapy, the spiritists sponsored a charitable clinic where treatment using hypnosis was offered. We conclude that the clinic was effective in promoting the use of hypnotherapy, both among physicians as clinical practice, and as a medical treatment for patients from the less privileged classes of Spanish society.

¿Dobles o espíritus? Las teorías del desdoblamiento frente al espiritismo en la España de principios del siglo XX / Doubles or spirits? Dissociation theories against spiritism in Spain at the beginnings of the 20th century

El presente artículo aborda la relación entre las teorías del desdoblamiento y el espiritismo en España. Se exponen dos casos acontecidos a principios del siglo XX. El primero describe el desdoblamiento de la personalidad que el médico Víctor Melcior atribuyó a la médium Teresa Esquius. El segundo trata la polémica, entre el astrónomo Josep Comas y el espiritista Jacint Fornaguera, respecto al desdoblamiento corporal en la médium Carmen Domínguez. Se argumenta que esta clase de debates favorecieron el estudio científico de la mediumnidad (AU)

This paper discusses the relation between dissociation theories and spiritism in Spain. It shows two cases that took place at the beginnings of the 20th Century. The first describes the mental dissociation that the physician Víctor Melcior attributed to the medium Teresa Esquius. The second shows the polemic, between the astronomer Josep Comas and the spiritist Jacint Fornaguera, in regard to the bodily dissociation in the medium Carmen Domínguez. It is argued that these kind of debates favoured the scientific study of mediumship (AU)

Aims of teachers' psychometry: intelligence testing in Barcelona (1920).

After World War I, members of the teaching profession in Spain were interested in appropriating psychological measurement and bringing it within the expertise of their occupational field, with the intention of upgrading their profession. As professionals devoted to the child, educators attempted to explore the infantile psyche using intelligence tests, with the intention of making scientific contributions to the field of psychology. In the present article we take as a key event one particular application enacted by a Catalan teacher, and insert that case study into the complex local scientific and educational context. It was a context in which the professional interests of teachers competed with those of school physicians, psychologists, and pedologists, at a time when important changes in pedagogical methods and school systems were under way. In the hand of teachers, intelligence testing was mainly seen as a malleable method on which to base daily educational practice on a more individualized and scientific basis. The historical analysis of the case turned out to be instrumental in the identification of common features and particularities attributable to specific local needs. In a society where public schooling competed with private schools, the results of mental testing were used to demonstrate publicly the excellent intellectual level of children attending a public graded primary school in Barcelona. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).