Chapter Dante epilettico, o anche isterico. Una storia psichiatriico letteraria di fine Ottocento

In the last decade of the 19th century psychiatric sciences in Italy proposed many psychopathological interpretations of exceptional personalities. An important role was played by the psychiatrist Cesare Lombroso with his books on genius and madness, which inspired other similar research. The case of Dante Alighieri, on whom Lombroso made a diagnosis of epilepsy, is part of this context. The article analyses the main texts (for and against) of this psychiatric-literary affair and clarifies the role of the French doctor Max Durand-Fardel, from whom Lombroso said he took the cue for his diagnosis of epilepsy

Dante epilettico, o anche isterico. Una storia psichiatrico-letteraria di fine Ottocento

ITALIANO: Nell’ultimo decennio dell’Ottocento le scienze psichiatriche in Italia proposero molte letture psicopatologiche delle personalità geniali. Fu importante il ruolo svolto dallo psichiatra Cesare Lombroso con i suoi libri su genio e follia, che ispirarono altre ricerche analoghe. Il caso di Dante Alighieri, su cui fu emessa da Lombroso una diagnosi di epilessia, fa parte di questo contesto. L’articolo analizza i testi principali (favorevoli e contrari) di questa vicenda psichiatrico-letteraria e chiarisce il ruolo del medico francese Max Durand-Fardel, da cui Lombroso disse di avere ricavato lo spunto per la diagnosi di epilessia. / ENGLISH: In the last decade of the 19th century psychiatric sciences in Italy proposed many psychopathological interpretations of exceptional personalities. An important role was played by the psychiatrist Cesare Lombroso with his books on genius and madness, which inspired other similar research. The case of Dante Alighieri, on whom Lombroso made a diagnosis of epilepsy, is part of this context. The article analyses the main texts (for and against) of this psychiatric-literary affair and clarifies the role of the French doctor Max Durand-Fardel, from whom Lombroso said he took the cue for his diagnosis of epilepsy