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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Disability
Still Image
Catalog Entry
<p><span>According to the booklet prepared for the </span><span>Gasthuismuseum Geel, </span>Dymphna was born in the 6th century in Ireland. Her father, King of Oriel, was still a pagan despite the fact that Ireland was almost universally Catholic. Her mother was a noble Christian and was known for her remarkable beauty. Dymphna took after her mother in beauty and grace and was considered the “jewel” of her home. She was favored all around her kingdom and supposedly even by the Heavens. When Dymphna was born, her mother died. Though she was extremely saddened by this loss, she found great comfort in her mother’s faith. Her father was also extremely affected by the loss of his beautiful wife. He was persuaded by his counsellors to marry again and the king agreed, sending out people of his court to find a woman whose beauty matched his deceased wife. It then dawned on the king; he should marry his daughter who was the spitting image of his wife. Dymphna was obviously terrified by this idea and asked if she could have forty days to think about his proposal.</p>
<p>Dymphna ran to Father Gerebran, who suggested that she run from her home immediately. This is when Dymphna finds herself in Geel, Belgium. While Dymphna was in Geel, she built a small hospital to care for the poor and sick. Sadly, by using her wealth to help those in need, Dymphna was found by her father’s men. The king demanded that Father Gerebran be put to death after he confronted the king and declared it would be best if Dymphna stayed in Geel. The king asked her and tried persuading her to come back to Ireland. Dymphna continued to decline his offer and threats. Still in a dangerous rage, the king cut off her head.</p>
<p>Records have said that the priest and Dymphna’s bodies laid on the ground of the village for some time after their deaths until the villagers of Geel moved them into a cave. After several years, the villagers remembered their holy deaths and decided to have a proper burial for them. When the workmen removed the boulder covering the cave, they had found that there were two, beautiful white tombs that were carved from stone that seemed as if angels had carved them. When the workmen opened the tomb, there was a red tile labeled “Dymphna." The villagers thought the tile was placed there to protect Dymphna after death. In honor of her, they built the Church of St. Dymphna, which is located where their bodies were first discovered.</p>
<p>In 1480, Geel built a hospital close to the church to accommodate the pilgrims and to care for the poor and sick. This small hospice building became so popular that a lot of families would leave their sick family members there. Currently, Geel still provides shelter for those who are mentally ill. The hospital is still open, and Geel has been helping those in need for over 700 years. The homes that take in the guests are not meant to be seen as a treatment or therapy: “‘To them, treating the insane, meant to simply live with them, share their work, their distractions,’ Jacques-Joseph Moreau wrote in 1845” (Chen). Because of this, these people are not considered patients, but called guests or boarders. The importance of mental health truly resides in Geel. Most of those who live in Geel, or those who are taken in, say that all their troubles seem to just disappear. In the 19th century, some issues began to arise. This century is when mental asylums became popular and were considered to be places with high advanced scientific methods. Geel was seen as leaving those in need of mental help without treatment and therapy and were given no chance to recover.</p>
<p>I believe that Geel developed a smart way of approaching those who have a mental illness. In the U.S., we seem to almost shame those who are diagnosed with depression, ADHD, anxiety, etc., instead of treating them like regular people. Those who have mental illnesses are treated like their disability isn’t important because it is not physical. The idea that the members of Geel simply just live with those who are diagnosed with mental health issues seems very smart. Being treated like an equal and not getting glared at, or considered "crazy," can really improve someone’s mental health by making them feel accepted for who they are. I believe that trying to understand and even get involved with someone’s way of living can give someone who does not have a mental illness a good perspective of how and why they act the way they do. A lot of people could learn from those who live in Geel. Instead of shunning away those who have mental illnesses, take them in and show them kindness. Embrace instead of oppress.</p>
Bibliography
<span>Chen, Angus. </span><span>“For Centuries, A Small Town Has Embraced Strangers With Mental Illness.” </span><span><em>NPR</em></span><span>, 1 July 2016, </span><span><a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/07/01/484083305/for-centuries-a-small-town-has-embraced-strangers-with-mental-illness">https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/07/01/484083305/for-centuries-a-small-town-has-embraced-strangers-with-mental-illness</a></span><span>.</span><br /><br />“Dymphna - Saints & Angels.” <em>Catholic Online</em>, <span><a href="https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=222">https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=222</a></span><span>.<br /></span>
Artifact Owner
Kisha G. Tracy (acquired in Geel, Belgium at the Gasthuismuseum Geel)
Catalog Entry Author(s)
Yahssyniah Pitts, Student, Fitchburg State University
Editor(s)
Joshua Frazier, Student, Fitchburg State University
Photographer(s)
Kisha G. Tracy
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Saint Dymphna, the Patron Saint of Mental Health
belgium
disability
mental disability
saint
women
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9a3f570f72acceb71687754e5e6598fb
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Disability
Still Image
Catalog Entry
<p>There are many places significant in disability history. Geel, Belgium is a place to which the story of Saint Dymphna attracted many to come and seek mental health help. It is known for being a safe place for those who have mental disabilities.</p>
<p>This place was the tragic place where Saint Dymphna lost her. According to the booklet prepared for the <span>Gasthuismuseum Geel, h</span>er life begins in tragedy, with Dymphna’s mother passing during childbirth. This caused great grief to her father. Dymphna was described as a sweet child, the “face of beauty” and a bright and eager child. The death of her mother has always caused her great sadness though she sought comfort from her Christian faith. As she was growing up, her father, the king, was looking for someone to. This was done with no avail, and soon he began to fall into a state of “madness.” Hoping to help the king, his men offered him the idea that his wife's late beauty was only comparable to that of his daughter. The king told Dymphna that he wanted to marry her. This horrified Dymphna who tried to refuse her father's advance. Dymphna, being a devoted Christian, wanted to devote her life and her virginity to God. Scared of what would happen the young girl turned to a local priest whom she truste d greatly, Father Gerebran. Dymphna explained to him about her father’s proposal, and the only advice Father Gerebran could give was to flee. Accompanied by Gereban, Dymphna fled to a little village called Geel.</p>
<p>In Geel, Dymphna started to settle and make plans for their future. Meanwhile, the king found out about her escape and became very angry. He looked for towns that accepted any fugitives and found that they were located in Geel. The angry king went to Belgium and tried to order Dymphna to accept his proposal. Father Gereban intervened in the situation and called out the wicked king for his intentions to marry his daughter. With this accusation, the king commanded his followers to cut off the head of Father Gereban. After that incident, the king still tried to persuade Dymphna to marry him, but with courage, she rejected his promise and snubbed his threats. Taking his own sword, the king cut off the head of his own daughter. While Dymphna was dying, she began to cry out for mercy from God and to save her soul from her “mad” father.</p>
<p>Records of the past show that the bodies of Dymphna and Father Gereban were left to rot until the people of Geel took their bodies to a cave. After many years, after remembering their holy deaths, the people decided to grant them a proper burial. Dymphna became Saint Dymphna because of her good works in Geel before she died. Many miracles and cures began to occur spontaneously, which enhanced the fame of Geel and caused many people to travel from afar. Those people included those with nervous and mental disorders. It slowly became an asylum for those with mental disorders. Due to the fact that people were cured of their mental disorders, more and more people arrived in that little village. The church became so full to the point that the inhabitants of Geel had to set up another place for them to stay. So they started to send them to stay with families in the town of Geel (Thériault).</p>
<p>The reason why Geel was such a special place to be for those with mental disorders was that those with such impairments were socially accepted instead of being social. Society has placed stigma on mental disabilities without being fully educated. Not all mental disorders are the same, just like all disabilities are not the same. The residents in Geel, Belgium were the prime epitome for how “true Christians” are supposed to treat the disability community. They welcomed – and still welcome - pilgrims and visitors from far-away places into their homes and hearts. In modern times, people still travel to Geel, Belgium for assistance with their mental health. Geel has become an asylum or the “headquarters” of mental disabilities/disorders.</p>
<p>Due to the fact that society has often made those with mental disorders and mental disabilities pariah in their community, they sometimes have to flee to Geel because that is where they will be socially accepted. They were (and are) able to go to a place where they will be treated as a proper human being or even as family. Geel’s procedures have proven to be some of the most successful ways to treat mental health.</p>
Bibliography
<p><span>“The Meaning of Madness.” <em>Psychology Today</em>, 11 Sept. 2017, <a href="http://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/hide-and-seek/201209/the-meaning-madness">www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/hide-and-seek/201209/the-meaning-madness</a>.<br /><br />Thériault, Anne. “The City with a Radical Approach to Mental Illness.” <em>Broadview Magazine</em>, 17 Sept. 2019, <a href="https://broadview.org/geel-belgium-mental-health/">https://broadview.org/geel-belgium-mental-health/</a>.</span></p>
<p></p>
Catalog Entry Author(s)
Jeanie Djokotoe, Student, Fitchburg State University
Photographer(s)
Kisha G. Tracy
Editor(s)
Francesca Reyes, Student, Fitchburg State University
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Geel, Belgium - The City of Saint Dymphna
belgium
disability
mental disability
saint
women