In the 13th century there lived a man named Simon FitzMary. He was probably distinguished by enviable energy and administrative talent, because despite his rather modest origins he managed to become sheriff of London twice. In addition, Simon must have been very sympathetic to the suffering, for in Bishopgate (London) he allocated a plot of land so that a refuge for the infirm and disadvantaged could be built there (now Liverpool Street station). As a result, in 1247, within the framework of the monastery of the New Order of the Blessed Mary of Bethlehem, Bethlehem Hospital arose, which later became known as Bethlem or simply Bedlam. Let me say in advance that not a word will be said about Simon Fitz-Mary in this sketch. Therefore, we will immediately say goodbye to this gentleman.

The institution was small, only 12 “hospital rooms”, and was intended for the poor and sick. The idea is certainly noble. But for some reason the building was erected directly above the cesspool (that is, the sewer system of that time), which served all the buildings of the complex. Naturally, the drains periodically became clogged, and sewage leaked out, filling the space with an unimaginable stench.

16th century plan

Apparently, already in the second half of the 14th century, monks began to take care of people suffering from mental disorders. Although it is not possible to say with certainty what was happening there during that period due to the lack of information. Nevertheless, historians believe that the “mad” were kept in harsh conditions: the clergy were convinced that the path to mental health lay through the torture of the flesh, so the “treatment” most likely came down to corporal punishment, strict fasting and incessant prayer in solitary confinement. cameras. The first official mention of the presence of insane people in the institution dates back to 1403, when a special commission visited the hospital. The report mentions "six male patients mente capti". In addition, visitors discovered “four pairs of shackles, eleven chains, two pairs of stocks” and other remarkable devices that were probably used to pacify violent (and other) guests.

Sometime in the 1370s, control of the hospital passed to the crown, and then the real problems began. In the sense that the monks tortured the unfortunate, guided by the best intentions, and government officials - by selfish interests. It's about good old-fashioned corruption. The hospital existed on alms: kind people donated food, clothing and other necessary things, and the employees of the institution sold it all (either to patients, if they had the means, or outright) or consumed it themselves. In other words, the administration devoted a minimum of time to the hospital, while trying to extract maximum personal benefit. Already in 1403, the treasurer of Bedlam, Peter Taverner, was accused of money laundering and theft, so to speak, of state property. And in 1598, during a visit to the next commission, it was revealed that absolute unsanitary conditions reigned in the hospital (meaning dirt), and the patients were on the verge of starvation. Around this time, the word "bedlam" began to be widely used to mean chaos and chaos.

It is noteworthy that the first qualified doctor as director of the institution was a man with the telling surname Helkiah Crooke

1 ). This was the court doctor of King James I, who enjoyed considerable authority. Crook probably took science very seriously: in 1615 he wrote a manual on anatomy with the mysterious title Mikrokosmographia.

Pages from the book Mikrokosmographia

This work, in particular, contained images of genitals, which caused serious anger from representatives of the Church, who declared the book “indecent.” In addition, Crook was the attending physician of William Jaggard, who published the works of Shakespeare, including through piracy (more on this later).

Nevertheless, this respectable-looking gentleman turned out to be dishonest. In 1632, Crook was dismissed from his post as director of the hospital on charges of corruption, money laundering and absenteeism.

Given the lax attitude of the staff towards their duties, it is not surprising that by the 1600s the hospital was in a deplorable state and drastic measures had to be taken. As a result, an impressive building was built in 1676, on either side of the entrance of which two statues were installed, personifying “Melancholy” and “Rampant Insanity”.

Second Bedlam Building, engraving by Robert White

In the 17th century, the hospital administration decided to make some money, and the doors of the establishment opened to private visitors. The pleasure cost only two pence. There are reports that on holidays crowds of idle people (often of noble birth) flocked there, eager for spectacle. Such “excursions” were, of course, served with a noble sauce, they say, visitors have the opportunity to see in living examples what a vicious life leads to. It was believed that “madness” is a consequence of a person’s excessive sinfulness. Here is what a contemporary writes: “Nowhere else on earth will they teach such a lesson as in this school of suffering. Here we can see these “thinking” creatures who have descended below the level of insects. This can encourage us to learn to moderate our pride and keep our passions in check, for, having broken free, they can expel reason from their container and level us with the unfortunate inhabitants of this abode of grief.”

In this regard, I would like to mention the artistic masterpiece of William Hogarth (1697-1764), which is called “A Rake's Progress”. This “comic” of eight canvases tells the instructive story of the fictional Tom Rakewell, who received a large inheritance and went on a roll downhill, ending up in Bedlam.

1 Heir

2 Social success

3 The Fall Begins

4 Arrest

5 Marriage

6 Gambling house

7 Prison

8 Madhouse

But, of course, the visitors did not think about any benefits. People came to the “abode of grief” exclusively for entertainment. “At least a hundred people began to rush around the premises uncontrollably, teasing the unfortunate patients and mocking them. So the insults of this jubilant crowd caused fits of rage among many unfortunates,” reports a witness of one of the excursions (18th century).

By the end of the 18th century, society’s attitude towards crazy people had softened somewhat. It is believed that this was due to the mental illness of King George III. In any case, after the 1770s the hospital was closed to the public and the permission of the manager was required to enter.

King George III, portrait by Alan Ramsay

At the same time, historians believe that after the cancellation of visits, the hospital turned into a complete hell for patients. It is enough to remember Dr. Brian Crowther, who in the early 1790s took a job as chief surgeon at Bedlam. During this era, doctors became increasingly interested in applied anatomy, that is, dismembering corpses and visually studying the human structure. But for experiments they could only use the bodies of executed criminals. Therefore, dead “goods” were in great short supply. In this regard, the practice of stealing corpses became widespread: enterprising adventurers emptied fresh graves and delivered the bodies to the surgical table for a decent reward, of course. But in Bedlam there were people abandoned by everyone, whose corpses no one laid claim to. Therefore, when Dr. Crowther arrived at the hospital, he found himself in a kind of medical Eldorado. He was formally assigned to care for living patients. However, he was mainly interested in "dead material". The surgeon was very enthusiastic about dissecting the brains of deceased madmen, trying to discover physical evidence of madness. His activities were completely illegal. To some extent, he can be called a gentleman of fortune who lived on the high road of science. And quite successfully: he worked in Bedlam for twenty years. Although he was never able to identify the causes of madness.

Crowther's senior comrade John Haslam, who became director of the hospital in 1795, also gained notoriety. He was convinced that a madman could only be cured by breaking his will. Therefore, under his supervision, unfortunate patients were subjected to all kinds of torture. And it is unknown how long this could have continued if not for the Quaker Edward Wakefield. This philanthropist suspected what kind of things were going on within the walls of the establishment, and was eager at all costs to obtain permission for an official visit. Of course, he was prevented in every possible way. But in 1814, he finally achieved his goal and visited the hospital, accompanied by the hospital manager and one of the members of parliament.

What they saw shocked the visitors: darkness, stench and half-naked, chained patients. American James Norris was reportedly held there. This man was wearing some kind of harness with a chain that went through a hole in the wall into the next room. From time to time, the staff, as necessary, pulled the chain, and the unfortunate person hit the wall painfully. - How long has this poor fellow been suffering? - asked Wakefield. “About 12 years old,” they answered him.

James Norris

The case ended in a serious scandal. Haslam and Cruter were released in peace, but attention was finally paid to the problem of the mentally ill and conditions in hospitals. In subsequent decades, the country's parliament adopted a number of laws that certainly helped improve the situation. Although, of course, before people with mental disorders began to be treated humanely, a lot of time passed.

There are many horror stories about cases of torture and violence in this institution. But, excuse me, I don’t want to mention them.

Let's turn now to treatment. To be honest, everything is simple here. Almost until the 19th century, European medicine adhered to the ancient theory according to which the human condition depends on the balance of the “four juices of the body”: blood, black bile, yellow bile and mucus (phlegm). For example, the predominance of black bile causes depression, and excess blood leads to excessive activity. Therefore, the main methods of healing were bloodletting, as well as various types of laxatives and emetics. Bedlam was not original, and patients there were brought to their senses in similar ways. Along with this, as mentioned above, methods of torturing the flesh and suppressing the will were practiced. In other words, the patients were kept on a starvation diet, beaten, shackled, put in solitary confinement, and so on. But there were also specialized methods. For example, “rotation therapy”, developed by Erasmus Darwin, the grandfather of the founder of the theory of evolution, Charles.

Erasmus Darwin, portrait by Joseph Wright, 1792

The technology was as follows: the patient was seated on a chair tied to the ceiling with ropes and spun around. The duration and speed of rotation were determined by an experienced doctor. - What's wrong with that? - you ask. - After all, it’s very pleasant to spin around for a couple of minutes. I agree, if we are talking about a couple of minutes. But the prisoners of Bedlam were forced to spin for several hours at a speed of one hundred revolutions per minute. After this, they painfully vomited, which was considered extremely useful for restoring mental health. By the way, it is worth noting that not everyone was put in the hospital, but only those who were strong enough to withstand this horror.

Moreover, there was no classification of diseases. And any deviation from the norm was considered madness, including learning disabilities and epilepsy. Therefore, completely normal people were kept in the same room with patients with schizophrenia and paranoia, not to mention the fact that all

Date of foundation

The name Bedlam became a household name, at first a synonym for a madhouse, and later a word for extreme confusion and disorder.

Story

Bethlem has been part of London since 1247. From 1330 there was a hospital here, which became a hospital for the mentally ill in 1377, although as early as 1403 there were only 9 patients there.

Famous patients of Bedlam

• Lanuel Francis Abbott, portrait artist
• Hannah Chaplin, mother of Charles Spencer Chaplin
• Moll Cutpurs, also known as Mary Frith, is recorded as having escaped from Bedlam in 1644
• Richard Dadd, artist
• James Hadfeild, intended to assassinate King George III
• James Tilley Matthews, merchant, tea merchant; considered to be the first patient whose case of mental disorder was described in a serious study
• Daniel M "Naghten, whose case served as the reason for the introduction of the concept of “insanity” into British criminal law after he committed the attempted murder of Prime Minister Robert Peel
• Louis Wayne, artist
• Jonathan Martin, set fire to York Minster
• Edward Oxford, put on trial for treason after attempting to assassinate Queen Victoria and Prince Albert

In literature

• In the book “Dunno on the Moon,” the author gave the organization of billionaires the name “Big Bradlam,” hinting at the similarity with the words “delirium” and “bedlam.”
• In the fairy tale “About Fedot the Archer, a daring fellow,” the king says to the nanny:

You are nothing but bedlam,
Shame on the king, embarrassment on the ambassadors!
I have been anti-resisting for a long time,
Aren't you sent to us?..

• In the book “Republic of SHKID” Yankel writes a poem:

I'm starting to write
There is bedlam and noise in my head,
I don’t know what to write about
But I’ll write anyway.

• In Henry Fielding's "Letter from Bedlam", where the main character is a patient of this institution.
• In July 1790, the Russian writer and historian N.M. Karamzin visited the establishment, colorfully describing it in his “Letters of a Russian Traveler” (1791):

“The long galleries are divided by iron bars: on one side are women, on the other are men. In the corridor, the first people surrounded us, looked at us with great attention, began to talk to each other, first quietly, then louder and louder, and finally they screamed so much that we had to cover our ears. One took me by the hand, another by the bun, the third wanted to blow the powder off my head - and there was no end to their caresses. Meanwhile, some sat in deep thought... Many of the men made us laugh. Another imagines himself as a cannon and incessantly fires with his mouth; the other roars like a bear and walks on all fours. The mad ones sit especially; others are chained to the wall. One of them laughs incessantly and calls people to him, saying: “I’m happy!” Come to me; I will breathe bliss into you!’ But whoever approaches will be bitten. - The order in the house, cleanliness, service and care for the unfortunate are worthy of surprise. Between the rooms there are baths, warm and cold, with which doctors treat them. Many recover, and upon graduation, everyone receives desperately needed medicines to strengthen the soul and body...”

In music

A collection of James Blunt's hits released in 2004 is called Back To Bedlam.

see also

• Kashchenko is another example of the name of a psychiatric clinic that has become a household name.
• A Child's Problem (1857) is a watercolor by Richard Dadd created during his time in Bedlam as a patient.

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Notes

Literature

• // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.

Links

Excerpt describing Bedlam

- Rostov! Peter! - Denisov shouted at this time, running through the envelope handed to him. - Why didn’t you say who you are? - And Denisov turned around with a smile and extended his hand to the officer.
This officer was Petya Rostov.
The whole way Petya was preparing for how he would behave with Denisov, as a big man and an officer should, without hinting at a previous acquaintance. But as soon as Denisov smiled at him, Petya immediately beamed, blushed with joy and, forgetting the prepared formality, began to talk about how he drove past the French, and how glad he was that he had been given such an assignment, and that he was already in battle near Vyazma, and that one hussar distinguished himself there.
“Well, I’m glad to see you,” Denisov interrupted him, and his face again took on a preoccupied expression.
“Mikhail Feoklitich,” he turned to the esaul, “after all, this is again from a German.” He is a member." And Denisov told the esaul that the contents of the paper brought now consisted of a repeated demand from the German general to join in an attack on the transport. "If we don't take him tomorrow, they will sneak out from under our noses." “Here,” he concluded.
While Denisov was talking to the esaul, Petya, embarrassed by Denisov’s cold tone and assuming that the reason for this tone was the position of his trousers, so that no one would notice, straightened his fluffed trousers under his overcoat, trying to look as militant as possible.
- Will there be any order from your honor? - he said to Denisov, putting his hand to his visor and again returning to the game of adjutant and general, for which he had prepared, - or should I remain with your honor?
“Orders?” Denisov said thoughtfully. -Can you stay until tomorrow?
- Oh, please... Can I stay with you? – Petya screamed.
- Yes, exactly what did the geneticist tell you to do - to go veg now? – Denisov asked. Petya blushed.
- Yes, he didn’t order anything. I think it is possible? – he said questioningly.
“Well, okay,” Denisov said. And, turning to his subordinates, he made orders that the party should go to the resting place appointed at the guardhouse in the forest and that an officer on a Kyrgyz horse (this officer served as an adjutant) should go to look for Dolokhov, to find out where he was and whether he would come in the evening . Denisov himself, with the esaul and Petya, intended to drive up to the edge of the forest overlooking Shamshev in order to look at the location of the French, at which tomorrow’s attack was to be directed.
“Well, God,” he turned to the peasant conductor, “take me to Shamshev.”
Denisov, Petya and the esaul, accompanied by several Cossacks and a hussar who was carrying a prisoner, drove to the left through the ravine, to the edge of the forest.

The rain passed, only fog and drops of water fell from tree branches. Denisov, Esaul and Petya silently rode behind a man in a cap, who, lightly and silently stepping with his bast-clad feet on roots and wet leaves, led them to the edge of the forest.
Coming out onto the road, the man paused, looked around and headed towards the thinning wall of trees. At a large oak tree that had not yet shed its leaves, he stopped and mysteriously beckoned to him with his hand.
Denisov and Petya drove up to him. From the place where the man stopped, the French were visible. Now, behind the forest, a spring field ran down a semi-hillock. To the right, across a steep ravine, a small village and a manor house with collapsed roofs could be seen. In this village and in the manor's house, and throughout the hillock, in the garden, at the wells and pond, and along the entire road up the mountain from the bridge to the village, no more than two hundred fathoms away, crowds of people were visible in the fluctuating fog. Their non-Russian screams at the horses in the carts struggling up the mountain and calls to each other were clearly heard.
“Give the prisoner here,” Denisop said quietly, not taking his eyes off the French.
The Cossack got off his horse, took the boy off and walked up to Denisov with him. Denisov, pointing to the French, asked what kind of troops they were. The boy, putting his chilled hands in his pockets and raising his eyebrows, looked at Denisov in fear and, despite the visible desire to say everything he knew, was confused in his answers and only confirmed what Denisov was asking. Denisov, frowning, turned away from him and turned to the esaul, telling him his thoughts.
Petya, turning his head with quick movements, looked back at the drummer, then at Denisov, then at the esaul, then at the French in the village and on the road, trying not to miss anything important.
“Pg” is coming, not “pg” Dolokhov is coming, we must bg”at!.. Eh? - said Denisov, his eyes flashing cheerfully.
“The place is convenient,” said the esaul.
“We’ll send the infantry down through the swamps,” Denisov continued, “they’ll crawl up to the garden; you will come with the Cossacks from there,” Denisov pointed to the forest behind the village, “and I will come from here, with my ganders. And along the road...
“It won’t be a hollow—it’s a quagmire,” said the esaul. - You’ll get stuck in your horses, you need to go around to the left...
While they were talking in a low voice in this way, below, in the ravine from the pond, one shot clicked, smoke turned white, then another, and a friendly, seemingly cheerful cry was heard from hundreds of French voices who were on the half-mountain. In the first minute, both Denisov and the esaul moved back. They were so close that it seemed to them that they were the cause of these shots and screams. But the shots and screams did not apply to them. Below, through the swamps, a man in something red was running. Apparently he was being shot at and shouted at by the French.
“After all, this is our Tikhon,” said the esaul.
- He! they are!
“What a rogue,” Denisov said.
- He will go away! - Esaul said, narrowing his eyes.
The man they called Tikhon, running up to the river, splashed into it so that splashes flew, and, hiding for a moment, all black from the water, he got out on all fours and ran on. The French running after him stopped.
“Well, he’s clever,” said the esaul.
- What a beast! – Denisov said with the same expression of annoyance. - And what has he been doing so far?
- Who is this? – Petya asked.
- This is our plastun. I sent him to take the tongue.
“Oh, yes,” Petya said from Denisov’s first word, nodding his head as if he understood everything, although he absolutely did not understand a single word.
Tikhon Shcherbaty was one of the most necessary people in the party. He was a man from Pokrovskoye near Gzhat. When, at the beginning of his actions, Denisov came to Pokrovskoye and, as always, calling the headman, asked what they knew about the French, the headman answered, as all the headmen answered, as if defending themselves, that they didn’t know anything, to know they don't know. But when Denisov explained to them that his goal was to beat the French, and when he asked if the French had wandered in, the headman said that there were definitely marauders, but that in their village only one Tishka Shcherbaty was involved in these matters. Denisov ordered Tikhon to be called to him and, praising him for his activities, said a few words in front of the headman about the loyalty to the Tsar and the Fatherland and the hatred of the French that the sons of the Fatherland should observe.
“We don’t do anything bad to the French,” said Tikhon, apparently timid at Denisov’s words. “That’s the only way we fooled around with the guys.” They must have beaten about two dozen Miroders, otherwise we didn’t do anything bad... - The next day, when Denisov, completely forgetting about this guy, left Pokrovsky, he was informed that Tikhon had attached himself to the party and asked to be left with it. Denisov ordered to leave him.
Tikhon, who at first corrected the menial work of laying fires, delivering water, skinning horses, etc., soon showed greater willingness and ability for guerrilla warfare. He went out at night to hunt for prey and each time brought with him French clothes and weapons, and when he was ordered, he also brought prisoners. Denisov dismissed Tikhon from work, began to take him with him on travels and enrolled him in the Cossacks.
Tikhon did not like to ride and always walked, never falling behind the cavalry. His weapons were a blunderbuss, which he wore more for fun, a pike and an ax, which he wielded like a wolf wields his teeth, equally easily picking out fleas from his fur and biting through thick bones. Tikhon equally faithfully, with all his might, split logs with an ax and, taking the ax by the butt, used it to cut out thin pegs and cut out spoons. In Denisov's party, Tikhon occupied his special, exclusive place. When it was necessary to do something especially difficult and disgusting - turn a cart over in the mud with your shoulder, pull a horse out of a swamp by the tail, skin it, climb into the very middle of the French, walk fifty miles a day - everyone pointed, laughing, at Tikhon.

- (eng. Bethflem). Famous hospital for the insane near London, basics. in 1247, as well as a madhouse in general. Dictionary of foreign words included in the Russian language. Chudinov A.N., 1910. BEDLAM English. bedlam. Lunatic asylum, London... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

bedlam- the devil will break his leg, the devil himself will break his leg, everything is upside down, poetic disorder, the end of the world, the Babylonian pandemonium, a madhouse, everything is upside down, confusion, absolute hell, confusion, collapse, jumble, confusion, chaos, ... ... Synonym dictionary

bedlam- Etymology. Comes from distortion. English from Bethlehem. Story. Initially, Bedlam is an English monastery of the Sisters and Brothers of the Star of Bethlehem, founded in 1247 by the mayor of London S. Fitmary and which was originally a place of official receptions. By… … Great psychological encyclopedia

Bedlam- (from distorted English from Bethlehem) originally, Bedlam is an English monastery of the sisters and brothers of the Star of Bethlehem, founded in 1247 by the mayor of London S. Fitmary and which was originally a place of official receptions. According to... Psychological Dictionary

BEDLAM- BEDLAM, bedlam, husband. Chaos, noise, confusion, chaos. This is not a meeting, but some kind of bedlam. (Based on the name of the insane asylum in London: Bedlam, originally meaning Bethlehem.) Ushakov’s Explanatory Dictionary. D.N. Ushakov. 1935 1940 … Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary

Bedlam- from English bedlam chaos, confusion on the stock exchange, in business activity in moments of upheaval. Dictionary of business terms. Akademik.ru. 2001... Dictionary of business terms

BEDLAM- (English bedlam from Bethlehem Bethlehem, a city in Judea), 1) originally a hospital named after. Mary of Bethlehem, then a lunatic asylum in London2)] (Translated) a madhouse; chaos, confusion... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

BEDLAM- (English bedlam is the name of a mental hospital in London) slang: chaos, confusion on the stock exchange in moments of upheaval. Raizberg B.A., Lozovsky L.Sh., Starodubtseva E.B.. Modern economic dictionary. 2nd ed., rev. M.: INFRA M. 479 p.. 1999 ... Economic dictionary

BEDLAM- BEDLAM, ah, husband. (colloquial). Confusion, chaos. Ozhegov's explanatory dictionary. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova. 1949 1992 … Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary

Bedlam- From English: Bedlam (short for Bethlehem). Bethlehem in English: Bethlehem, the biblical city. So, the “Bethlehem shelter” was called in London in the 19th century. all kinds of charitable institutions, shelters, hospitals for the homeless, etc.... ... Dictionary of popular words and expressions

BEDLAM- (an abbreviation of the word Bethlehem), a name that has become a household word for “madhouse.” In fact, B. psychiatric hospital in London, converted from a hostel for the religious brotherhood of “Our Lord ... Great Medical Encyclopedia

Books

• , Paramonov B.. The subject of literary and philosophical conversations between Boris Paramonov and Ivan Tolstoy is Russian literature, which the co-authors examine in “personal” chapters. Chronological range - 20th century,... Buy for 737 RUR
• Bedlam is like Bethlehem. Conversations of lovers of the Russian word, Boris Paramonov, Ivan Tolstoy. The subject of literary and philosophical conversations between Boris Paramonov and Ivan Tolstoy is Russian literature, which the co-authors examine in “personal” chapters...

The section is very easy to use. Just enter the desired word in the field provided, and we will give you a list of its meanings. I would like to note that our site provides data from various sources - encyclopedic, explanatory, word-formation dictionaries. Here you can also see examples of the use of the word you entered.

Meaning of the word bedlam

bedlam in the crossword dictionary

Economic dictionary of terms

(eng. bedlam - after the name of the insane asylum in London) bedlam

chaos, confusion on the stock exchange in moments of upheaval.

Explanatory dictionary of the Russian language. D.N. Ushakov

bedlam

bedlam, m. Chaos, noise, confusion, chaos. This is not a meeting, but some kind of bedlam. (After the name of a mental hospital in London: Bedlam, originally Bethlehem.)

Explanatory dictionary of the Russian language. S.I.Ozhegov, N.Yu.Shvedova.

bedlam

A, m. (colloquial). Confusion, chaos.

New explanatory dictionary of the Russian language, T. F. Efremova.

bedlam

1. Psychiatric hospital, insane asylum.

   trans. A place where there is no silence, no order.

Extreme disorder, confusion, chaos.

Encyclopedic Dictionary, 1998

bedlam

BEDLAM (English bedlam, from Bethlehem - Bethlehem, a city in Judea)

originally a hospital named after. Mary of Bethlehem, then a lunatic asylum in London.

(Ren.) madhouse; chaos, confusion.

Bedlam

(English bedlam, from Bethlehem ≈ Bethlehem, a city in Judea),

originally a hospital named after. Mary of Bethlehem, then a lunatic asylum in London.

In a figurative sense - “madhouse”, chaos, disorder, confusion.

Wikipedia

Bedlam (film, 1993)

"Bedlam"(; Also "Big Bedlam", "Beyond Madness") is a 1993 English film directed by Vadim Zhan, a mixture of psychological thriller and horror film, which includes elements familiar from the films A Nightmare on Elm Street. The film stars Craig Fairbrass, Elizabeth Hurley and Keith Allen. This film is an adaptation of the work of Harry Adam Knight.

Bedlam

Bedlam(, from - Bethlehem; official name Bethlem Royal Hospital-), the original name was St. Mary of Bethlehem Hospital, a psychiatric hospital in London (since 1547).

The name Bedlam became a household name, at first a synonym for a madhouse, and later a word for extreme confusion and disorder.

Bedlam (disambiguation)

Bedlam- an ambiguous term.

Bedlam (film, 1946)

"Bedlam" (English Bedlam) is a horror film produced by Val Lewton and directed by Mark Robson, released in 1946.

The film's script was largely inspired by William Hogarth's Bedlam, which is the eighth entry in his Rake's Progress series. Other works from Hogarth's series are also used in the film as transitions between individual scenes and as backgrounds for the credits. Hogarth is even credited as one of the film's writers, along with Lewton and Robeson.

Combining the horror genre with elements of social drama, the film tells the story of the inhumane conditions of detention of patients in the Bedlam mental hospital in London in 1761, and the selfless fight that a young woman (Anna Lee) begins to reform the asylum, which she wages against her cruel and the treacherous leader of this establishment (Boris Karloff).

The film was the last in producer Val Lewton's legendary series of B-grade psychological horror films at RKO Studios from 1942 to 1946, and his third and final collaboration with actor Boris Karloff.

Examples of the use of the word bedlam in literature.

Come on, stop it bedlam, - the position obliged me to portray a stern old grouch.

In such bedlam I got there to do an internship, final, pre-graduation.

The Hansa was no longer here, he again plunged into the dirty beggar bedlam, reigned throughout the rest of the metro, but even for him Artyom was too disgusting.

The truth - if our friends the Girondins understood it - is that it is not known where French patriotism with all its eloquence would be at this moment, if this great hell Bedlam, fanaticism, popular rage and madness did not rise uncontrollably on August 10. French patriotism would have been an eloquent memory dangling from the Prussian gallows.

England of the nineteenth century even named after the greatest of the English poets of the eighteenth century - Christopher Smart, who spent years in Bedlam and opened to readers first by the aged Robert Browning, and then by the meticulous comparativists of our time.

And at first glance, in comparison with what is happening around bedlam and chaos, had a surprisingly neat appearance.

We, the port side watch, stood at the hatch and looked at all this bedlam, committed in a narrow cockpit.

The prisoners moved quietly, half-bent from humiliation, spoke only in whispers, and only the roll call at the end of each day reminded bedlam, where the general joy of the crazy reigned: ha-ha-ha-ha!

His blood became hot, he fell into a feverish state, and it seemed that his place was in Bedlam.

Bonnie Bedlam She also received serious damage, but the regeneration process is proceeding at an amazing speed and in a couple of hours she will be completely healthy.

Svetlana Antonovna was looking for some recipe that was lost in the general bedlam.

Often, when a mother comes home from work and sees a mess, she begins to scold the children with words - what is this? bedlam such a disgrace, some kind of madhouse has been built here!

Old Tartakovsky in this bedlam dozes on a chair and even snores.

Bethlem Royal Hospital in London, known as Bedlam, is one of the world's oldest mental health institutions. It has been accepting patients since the 14th century. But the fame of this hospital was brought not by its advanced age, but by its scandalous and sad history, after which the word “bedlam” became synonymous with confusion and disorder.

Bedlam was founded back in 1247, during the reign of King Henry III, by the Italian bishop Gioffredo di Prefetti as a dormitory for the New Order of St. Mary. The establishment was primarily used to help raise money for the Crusades through alms. The building was located in the parish of St Botolph in Bishopsgate, outside the London Wall. Today the site is home to Liverpool Street tube station in London.

No one knows exactly when the institution was converted into a psychiatric hospital, but in 1330 it was already a hospital, and in 1357 the first patients appeared here. At that time, Bedlam had 12 patient rooms, housing for employees, a kitchen and a courtyard. The hospital remained on its original site for the next 400 years until 1675, when it moved north of London to Moorsfield as the old building was too small and needed to be expanded.

The design of the new building for 150 people was developed by the architect Robert Hooke. In front of the hospital gates, the architect Kai Gabriel Cibbera installed two statues called “Melancholy” and “Rampant Insanity”. It is known that people suffering from depression, dementia, schizophrenia, epilepsy, anxiety and other mental illnesses were subjected to horrific abuse in this hospital, and were experimented on by local doctors, called "guardians".

At that time, Bedlam was rocked by scandals. One prisoner died after his intestines burst after he was confined to a tiny cage where he had to sit hunched over for years. Others slept naked on straw in the cold. And literally all the patients were tortured by sadistic “guardians.”

For example, the hospital’s “treatment” program included shackles, chains and cold baths. Patients were often chained to walls and starved. And the patients’ usual diet was extremely meager (porridge, bread, water), there was no talk of vegetables or fruits.

One of the most brutal treatments in Bedlam was “rotation therapy,” as the “guardians” called it. The patient was seated on a chair suspended by ropes from the ceiling, and spun to more than 100 revolutions in one minute... This continued for several hours. The result was usually vomiting and extreme dizziness, but, paradoxically, sometimes there was improvement.

Patients were also “treated” with bloodletting and cupping. The treatment was so terrible that not all patients were admitted to Bedlam, but only those who could survive the abuse. And then, not everyone survived in the hospital. Modern research has discovered mass graves at St. George's Fields (where the mental hospital moved in 1810). Only those who died in Bethlem were buried in them.

In the 17th century, someone from the hospital management came up with a “brilliant” idea - why not make some money on unfortunate patients. For just 2 pence, anyone was allowed to come into the hospital to look at the insane patients. All this was “served with the sauce” so that people supposedly clearly saw what a vicious life leads to. People from all over the UK flocked to Bedlam in search of entertainment.

About 96,000 people visited the hospital every year, which naturally irritated the patients beyond belief. In 1930 the hospital moved to Beckenham and remains there to this day. The times when patients at Bedlam were subjected to horrific cruelty and experimentation are over, but the institution's bad reputation remains for centuries.