Jean Claude Shmitt Ghost In The Middle Ages

Jean-Claude Schmitt’s Ghosts in the Middle Ages functions as an in-depth analysis of the relationship between the living and the dead throughout the Middle Ages, specifically through the end of the fifteenth-century. Although he discusses ghosts and spirits throughout the entirety of the text, his actual goal is to analyze and understand the society of the Middle Ages, especially with regards to how the remembered, and often time attempted to forget, about the dead. His study covers numerous sources and events that helps to support his mission, including the importance and influence of dreams, the passing down of ghost stories during the Middle Ages, the physical impact ghosts and spirits had over the living, and artwork from the time period …show more content…
Both Girolamo Cardano and Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim had strong opinions on dreaming and the interpretation of dreams. Cardano personally believed there was truth in the interpretation of dreams, but felt that only certain people should be able to interpret certain dreams in order to avoid false prophets. If this belief is true, how does one decide which dreams to look into, and how can every dream or vision conjoured by every peasant of the Middle Ages be reliable and valid? There is no real way to determine which dreams actually come true and which are false or mere coiencedence. Agrippa, on the other hand, believes that everyone (who meets certain requirements) can dream, but that not everyone can have a “true” dream or vision worth interpretation. He is of the mindset that dreams are influenced by spirits, but states that not every dream is created by a good spirit. This is what leads to false visions and problems, and he therefore creates a standard list of requirements needed to have a “true” …show more content…
I have often thought about ghost stories as creepy tales my father would tell during camp-outs in the back yard, and, based off of Girolamo Cardano’s version of a story his own father used to tell, I’m not far off. The story of the ghost appearing in the house of the sick man is actually quite similar to modern-day ghost stories, which leads me to infer that the art of telling a good ghost story was a skill passed on through generations for centuries (Schmitt does state that many of the tales he discusses were transmitted orally). Cardano’s recount of an interaction with a spirit supports Schmitt with regards to the prevalence and importance of ghost stories. Another that supports Schmitt’s assertion that ghost stories are part of what influenced how society viewed the dead is the story of “An Evil Spirit in a Monastery.” In this particular tale, a spirit dressed in peasant clothes appears at the door of the monastery, then steals a young man who’s “mind was wandering off to forbidden objects.” This story, unlike Cardano’s retelling, has a specific lesson behind it: if you are sinful or have sinful desires, you are at greater risk of being corrupted by a demon. We are thus able to get a glimpse at the more religious side of society, the fear that spirits can spiritually hurt