PTSD from Shakespeare's time and before

[rachelmanija]

I'm writing a paper on PTSD and combat-related berserk states as depicted in pre-1650 sources and comparing it to the current understanding of both. Ideally, I will be able to reference substance/alcohol use and abuse in relation to this.

Can you recommend me some sources to check out? I am definitely going to be using Shakespeare's Henry V, Part

Comments

[la_marquise_de_]

The Anglo-Saxon poems The Wanderer and The Seafarer, which are religious, yes, but are also a wonderful exploration of alienation from home and kin as a result of war and violence.

[lady_ganesh]

Viking berserkers had trouble 'turning it off' when it wasn't wartime. Found some cites for you here, read down to Part II. Part IV suggests that Grendel might have originally been a berserk who went out of control (though I'm not sure what the bit about his mother than means, lol).

[cat_i_th_adage]

Lancelot du Lac lost his mind and ran through the woods at least once. I think Cuchulain and some other Irish heroes did similar (but I can't find a source to confirm and don't quite trust my memory). Cuchulain definitely had changes in personality - when he wasn't fighting, he was often described as short, dark, and sad-faced or solemn.

I dunno, I'm not sure if they count as PTSD - Lancelot's stressor was relationship issues. Though, there does seem to be a theme of running mad in the woods when emotional upset gets too great. Come to think of it Sir Orfeo (the Middle English version) had Orfeo going to the woods while he grieved for his wife.

For non-combat trauma, there's Dr Manette from Tale of Two Cities - when he comes out of decades imprisonment in the Bastille, he's obsessed with making shoes. He comes out of it, but moments of stress keep sending him back to his shoemaker's bench.