The+Imporatnce+of+Fasting

= Fasting in the Middle Ages, A Religious Tool or Holy Anorexia =

(image from wiki commons)

__**Introduction**__

Fasting during the Middle Ages was a spiritual activity of those of all faiths who's aim was to seek spiritual health and a stronger more established connection to God. Fasting at its most basic description means that a person does not eat certain foods during certain periods over a period of time. "A christian in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries were required by church law to fast on certain days and to recieve communion at least once a year" (Bynum, 1985, p. 2).


 * __Argument__**

The argument presented by my research compares severe fasting during the Middle Ages and Holy Anorexia.The medieval phenomenom of" Holy Anorexia," which begins in the thirteenth century and shares some similar characteristics of severe fasting (Carmichael,1989). My argument is this, is it possible or feasible that some extreme cases of fasting during the Middle Ages could have possibly been cases of Holy Anorexia? Keeping in mind that my argument is not an attempt to discredit any of the tremendous spiritual feats of fasting that occured during the Middle Ages but simply to provoke some thought on the subject.

People who lived and did not eat or ate very little were thought to live by their spiritual strength alone. For example monks and nuns who believed that in their extreme fasting practices that they were leaving the suffering and the world behind them. In the midst of their feats of endurance, suffering, starvation and in some cases hardship, they were called spiritual athletes and often drew crowds of admirers to see them and consult them (Bell, 1986). According to many modern day scholars there is a very thin line between extreme fasting and Holy Anorexia, and each article I selected helps to give a better understanding of the two areas. This leads me back to my argument, is it possible that some extreme cases​ of fasting during the Middle Ages could have possibly been cases of Holy Anorexia?



"Dorothy of Montaubegan practicing severe fasting even as a child. As a woman she lived as a hermit and fasted to the point where she stopped defecating. When taking communion, she fell into fits of ecstasy (Fairhurst, 2000)." (Photo from Wikipedia, by Marcin, N., 2006)



"The Syrian Saint Simon (Symeon) was one such spiritual athlete. He lived for more than 30 years on a small platform on top of a pole. Theodoret of Cyrrhus tells us: “ Night and day he is standing within the view of all…now standing for a long time, and now bending down repeatedly and offering worship to God….In bending down he always makes his forehead touch his toes—for his stomach’s receiving food once a week, and little of it, enables his back to bend easily (Fairhurst, 2000).” (Image from Hone's Everyday Book, 1826, posted on from old books.org)



"Angela of Foligno (b c.1250), was a nun who took only the Eucharist while enduring long periods of fasting. Christ as nourisher comes through in this image, where Christ seems to reveal his breast as Angela receives a spiritual food in the form of blood (or milk?) (Fairhurst, 2000)." (image from wiki commons)


 * Mahatma Gandhi **

"Mahatma Gandhi, was the charismatic leader who brought the cause of India's independence from British colonial rule to world attention. His philosophy of non-violence, for which he coined the term satyagraha has influenced both nationalist and international movements for peaceful change. By means of non-violent civil disobedience, Gandhi helped bring about India's independence from British rule, inspiring other colonial peoples to work for their own independence, ultimately dismantling the British Empire to replace it with the Commonwealth of Nations (Fairhurst, 2000)." Ghandi is an excellent modern day example of fasting and he nearly lost his life fasting and fighting for the cuase of his people and promoting, "civil disobedience." (image from wiki commons).

= Areas in the bible that discusses fasting =

**__Acts 14:23__** Paul and Barnabas also appointed elder s in every church and prayed for them with fasting, turning them over to the care of the Lord, in whom they had come to trust.

**__Luke 2:37__** She was now eighty-four years old. She never left the Temple but stayed there day and night, worship ing God with fasting and prayer.

**__Luke 5:33__** The religious leaders complained that Jesus' disciple s were feasting instead of fasting. "John the Baptist's disciples always fast and pray," they declared, "and so do the disciples of the Pharisees . Why are yours always feasting?"

__**1 Corinthians 7: 1-5**__

1. Now about the questions you asked in your letter. Yes, it is good to live a celibate life.

2. But because there is so much sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband.

3. The husband should not deprive his wife of sexual intimacy, which is her right as a married woman, nor should the wife deprive her husband.

4. The wife gives authority over her body to her husband, and the husband also gives authority over his body to his wife.

5. So do not deprive each other of sexual relations. The only exception to this rule would be the agreement of both husband and wife to refrain from sexual intimacy for a limited time, so they can give themselves more completely to prayer. Afterward they should come together again so that Satan won't be able to tempt them because of their lack of self-control.

__**Isaiah 58**__

1. Shout with the voice of a trumpet blast. Tell my people Israel * of their sins!

righteous nation that would never abandon its God. They love to make a show of coming to me and asking me to take action on their behalf.
 * 2.** Yet they act so pious! They come to the Temple every day and seem delighted to hear my laws. You would almost think this was a


 * 3.** `We have fasted before you!' they say. `Why aren't you impressed? We have done much penance, and you don't even notice it!' "I will tell you why! It's because you are living for yourselves even while you are fasting. You keep right on oppressing your workers.


 * 4.** What good is fasting when you keep on fighting and quarreling? This kind of fasting will never get you anywhere with me.


 * 5.** You humble yourselves by going through the motions of penance, bowing your heads like a blade of grass in the wind. You dress in sackcloth and cover yourselves with ashes . Is this what you call fasting ? Do you really think this will please the LORD?


 * 6.** "No, the kind of fasting I want calls you to free those who are wrongly imprisoned and to stop oppressing those who work for you. Treat them fairly and give them what they earn.


 * 7.** I want you to share your food with the hungry and to welcome poor wanderers into your homes. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help.


 * 8.** "If you do these things, your salvation will come like the dawn. Yes, your healing will come quickly. Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the LORD will protect you from behind.


 * 9.** Then when you call, the LORD will answer. `Yes, I am here,' he will quickly reply. "Stop oppressing the helpless and stop making false accusation s and spreading vicious rumors!


 * 10.** Feed the hungry and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as day.


 * 11.** The LORD will guide you continually, watering your life when you are dry and keeping you healthy, too. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring.


 * 12.** Your children will rebuild the desert ed ruins of your cities . Then you will be known as the people who rebuild their walls and cities.


 * 13.** "Keep the Sabbath day holy. Don't pursue your own interest s on that day, but enjoy the Sabbath and speak of it with delight as the LORD's holy day . Honor the LORD in everything you do, and don't follow your own desire s or talk idly. If you do this,


 * 14.** the LORD will be your delight. I will give you great honor and give you your full share of the inheritance I promised to Jacob, your ancestor. I, the LORD, have spoken!"

**__Matthew 6: 16-18__**

16. "And when you fast, don't make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, who try to look pale and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I assure you, that is the only reward they will ever get.


 * 17.** But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face.


 * 18.** Then no one will suspect you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in secret . And your Father, who knows all secrets, will reward you

​

** Caroline Walker Bynum “Fast, Feast, and Flesh: The Religious Significance of Food to Medieval Women ”**

**// Focus //**// : // Women’s participation in fasting during the Middle Ages was significant and at the same time extensive in their many contributions. However, Bynum argues that although women contributed many sacrifices spiritually during fasting that many of their efforts recorded during the Middle Ages may be vastly over exaggerated. Although women fasted to strengthen their spirituality many modern scholars argue that their stories of extreme fasting were simply eating disorders. In this article Bynum focuses on women contributions to fasting during the Middle Ages, compared to the men.

**// Implications: //** This article sets the stage for Bynum overall argument by painting a vivid picture of women and men involvement in fasting during the Middle Ages. One thing that stands out is the desire that is that is displayed by women as well as men to achieve a closer relationship with God. I feel that it is safe to say that women contribution when compared to men is just as significant and important.
 * || Fasting || Food ||
 * Viewed by the Medieval Church || A Christian in the 13th and 14th centuries was required by the church law to fast on certain days and receive communion at least once a year (2). || Food was a central metaphor and symbol in Christian poetry, devotional literature, and theology because a meal was the central Christian ritual (4). The most direct way of encountering God, mainly consisting of bread and wine. Food as a practice and as a symbol was crucial in Medieval spirituality but in the period from 1200 to 1500 it was prominent in the piety of women than in men. ||
 * Men Compared to Women || Women who fasted were only about 18 percent of those canonized or revered as saints between 1000 and 1700 (4). Most males who were revered for fasting fit into one model sanctity – the hermit saint (usually a layman) which were not popular. || Giving away food is so common theme frequently by holy women and visions and miracles occurred far more frequently to women. Of the fifty-five people from the later Middle Ages who supposedly received the holy food directly from Christ hand in a vision, forty five are women. ||
 * Perceived by Modern Scholars || Modern scholars who have studied fasting in the Middle Ages suggest that the many accounts of miraculous abstinence as “eating disorders” (9). These types of remarks of food disorders are normally associated with women rather than men. All refusals to eat do not indicate holiness (10). || Food was important to women religiously because it was important socially. During Medieval Europe women were associated with food preparation and distribution rather than consumption. The culture suggests that women cook and serve and men eat (12). ||


 * Ann G. Carmichael “Past Fasts: Medieval Saints with the Will to Starve” **

**// Focus: //** Fasting in the Middle Ages played a critical and significant role in Medieval Christianity but also opened the door for some interesting debate surrounding the purpose of fasting(636). However, Carmichael argues that although fasting in Medieval Christianity played a significant role in the Middle Ages that it possible that Holy Anorexia may have existed during that time. Although fasting allowed saints to have a closer spiritual walk with God in some cases modern day scholars deemed fasting possessed several dangerous elements that could be considered an illness or eating disorder (638). In this article, Carmichael focuses on fasting and eating disorders that occurred in the Middle Ages and the fine line that separate the two.


 * || Female Saints and Holy Women || Modern Anorexia ||
 * How food was viewed by each || The central importance of food to women during the Middle Ages was that it was the sole important resource that women could effectively control (640). Girls and young women could manipulate their families and their general social environments by starving (640). In the late Middle Ages women were the rebels, not the men (641). || Anorexia is characterized by an unrelenting refusal to eat and it occurred almost exclusively with women (635). Food in many cases was viewed by the ones suffering from the illness anorexia as the cause of their illness (636). ||
 * How each was viewed by Medieval Christian society || Female saints and holy women were much more likely to practice food asceticism than their male counterparts (636). Female saints and holy women were recognized by the church and by society in many cases as being holy, the greater the suffering they encountered during their fast, the more they were recognized and considered holy (637). || Among an unknowable total number of Medieval anorexics probably only a small percentage managed to convince parents and then the church officials that their strange behavior was inspired by God (636). Holy Anorexia offers a simple and attractive exposition of the behaviors of female saints which resemble those attributed to anorexia (636). ||
 * How each was viewed by modern day scholars of today || Both share similar characteristics that are disputable but holy women and saints draw their strength to fast from their desire to have a closer walk with God (636). || Anorexia is in current medical parlance an illness producing a life-threatening unwillingness to eat (636). ||


 * Rudolph M. Bell, //“Holy Anorexia”// **

**// Focus: //** Fasting during the Middle Ages was an often used method to achieve a closer relationship with God and also to detoxify the spirit of any unholy contaminates (252). However, Bell argues that although fasting presents an opportunity to have an enhanced relationship with God, it also presented several dangerous trends, the most noticeable and dangerous trend is called “Holy Anorexia.” In this exert from his book, Bell focuses on severe fasting and Holy Anorexia during the Middle Ages and compares the similarities between the two and the dangers that accompanies both practices.


 * || Severe Fasting || Holy Anorexia ||
 * Purpose of participating in both areas (why did the people in the Middle Ages practice each area) || The primary goal of severe fasting was not to become thin but to gain holiness (252). Spiritual detoxification, ridding the body of unholy elements to gain a closer walk with God (252). || The term Holy Anorexia similar to the term Anorexia Nervosa, refers to the severe fasting by women over prolonged periods of time often resulting in illness and sometimes death (252). ||
 * What provoked the use of both (what made the people of the Middle Ages want to participate in each area) || There is speculation that the possible conjuncture of tragedy and extreme life hardships lie directly at the root of the use of severe fasting (252). || Seen as a widespread cultural response to changing social and religious circumstances; some modern day scholars believe that Holy Anorexia was provoked by a personality crisis over autonomy (252). ||

**// Implications: //** This article sets the stage for Bell’s overall argument by painting a picture of severe fasting and Holy Anorexia during the Middle Ages. One thing that stands out in my mind is similarities between severe fasting and Holy Anorexia and the information given by Bell that undoubtedly provokes thought in the minds of many.

References

Bell, R. M. (1985). Holy Anorexia. //The Sixteenth Century Journal. 17//(4), 551-552.

Carmichael, A. G. (1989). Past fast: Medieval Saints with the Will to Starve. //Journal of interdisciplinary History, 19//(4), 635-644.

Bynum, C. W. (1985). Fast, feast, and flesh: The religous significance of food to medieval women. //Representation, 11//(2), 1-25.