The Besieged Mind: Demonically-Induced Obsession in Late Antique Monastic Psychology

Abstract

Late antique monks were constantly besieged by demons. This article seeks to gain an insight into the reality behind monastic accounts of this demonically-induced psychological state, characterized by an uncontrollable preoccupation with demonically-inspired thoughts. This distressful experience is depicted in early monastic sources by using Greek verbs expressing “to besiege”, which have been rendered into Latin as obsidere (to besiege) – the etymological root of “obsession” in modern usage. A juxtaposition of modern accounts of obsession and monastic accounts of the besieged mind points to striking similarities in the symptoms – similarities which, I argue, are not accidental. Rather, the internalized interpretation of the siege enabled monastic writers to cope with questions regarding the aetiology of obsession-like symptoms. Cognitive research of obsession helps to account for the prevalence of this demonically-induced psychological state in monastic sources. Thereby it underscores the sophistication of monastic psychology cum demonology, which developed its own representation of the human mind and its operations.