In
medieval England the concept of
care for the
mentally ill was
completely non-existent. The relatively
harmless "
village idiot" might
get looked after by
family or
relatives; those more seriously disturbed
were usually left to
fend for themselves, something they were obviously
unfit to do.
However in 1247 a sheriff of London founded a hospital for the
insane. As with all charitable duties the church was responsible for
looking after the inmates, in this case it was nuns from the priory of
St Mary of Bethlehem which did the work. The hospital soon became known
as Bethlehem's Hospital, and after the passage of time had worked its
games on the english language this became
abbreviated to Bedlam.
For many centuries Bedlam was the only institution caring for the
mentally ill in Britain; although "care" is perhaps the wrong word, as
during the 17th and 18th centuries members of the public could come in
and gawk at the lunatics and madmen chained up in there (for a fee
of course).
Due to its position the word "bedlam" became a synonym for
mental institution and later for any kind of hubbub or ruckus. These
days it would not be uncommon for a teacher to walk into a rowdy
classroom in Britain and cry out "Will you lot calm down, it's
absolute bedlam in here".
There is a plaque on the wall of Liverpool Street, just outside the old
city boundaries, that marks the location of where the original Bedlam
stood. It's now offices and a major railway terminus.