CONTEXT: In the late Renaissance many authors accused of heresy faced severe censorship by the Catholic Church, which sometimes could result even in death.
On the other hand, the Italian author Torquato Tasso, best known for his Epic Poem about the First Crusade, “Jerusalem Delivered”, was so obsessed with religious orthodoxy that he constantly asked other authors, theologians and scholars to review his drafts. He even willingly self-reported to the Roman inquisition more than once, even when they themselves repeatedly told him that there was nothing wrong with his work.
This religious anxiety of his led him to have a mental breakdown and thus the inquisition sent him to a mental hospital
Nuclear-Jester on
Tasso was genuely mentally unwell. He suffered from mood swings (often resulting in assaulting random people), hallucinations and often wandered the streets of Rome while screaming about his enemies
He was a damn fine poet, otherwise they would have put him in a straightjacket and thrown in the Tevere
Isadomon on
I feel maybe he had undiagnosed ocd
Blitzer161 on
You can say he would have made the Church furious. Furiosa, even.
Unique_Junket_7653 on
As someone with OCD who can only really function properly on medication, I feel so bad for him. Poor fucking guy.
Ozymandias_IV on
This should serve as a reminder that the Inquisition was mostly Dominican theology nerds, not some feared secret police.
6 Comments
CONTEXT: In the late Renaissance many authors accused of heresy faced severe censorship by the Catholic Church, which sometimes could result even in death.
On the other hand, the Italian author Torquato Tasso, best known for his Epic Poem about the First Crusade, “Jerusalem Delivered”, was so obsessed with religious orthodoxy that he constantly asked other authors, theologians and scholars to review his drafts. He even willingly self-reported to the Roman inquisition more than once, even when they themselves repeatedly told him that there was nothing wrong with his work.
This religious anxiety of his led him to have a mental breakdown and thus the inquisition sent him to a mental hospital
Tasso was genuely mentally unwell. He suffered from mood swings (often resulting in assaulting random people), hallucinations and often wandered the streets of Rome while screaming about his enemies
He was a damn fine poet, otherwise they would have put him in a straightjacket and thrown in the Tevere
I feel maybe he had undiagnosed ocd
You can say he would have made the Church furious. Furiosa, even.
As someone with OCD who can only really function properly on medication, I feel so bad for him. Poor fucking guy.
This should serve as a reminder that the Inquisition was mostly Dominican theology nerds, not some feared secret police.