The Glass Delusion

"The Glass Delusion – When people believed they were made of glass" explores a specific psychiatric disorder that plagued Europe in the late Middle Ages and Renaissance. Sufferers were convinced their bodies were made of glass and that any touch would cause them to shatter into pieces. The most famous patient was King Charles VI of France, who wrapped himself in thick blankets and put iron rods in his clothes to prevent breaking. Medical historian Charles Shatter investigates the cultural roots of this delusion. It appeared exactly when clear glass was becoming a new, magical, and fragile luxury item. The mind latched onto this new material to express feelings of fragility and transparency. "The Glass Delusion" is a fascinating study of how mental illness mirrors the technology of its time (just as people today believe they are being tracked by microchips). It is a poetic look at the human fear of being broken.