De idioot bij de vijver (The Idiot By the Pond, 1926, Frits Van den Berghe)
Bronze statue of Milyo, a "village idiot" of Plovdiv

The village idiot is, in strict terms, a person locally known for ignorance or stupidity but is also a common term for a stereotypically silly or nonsensical person or stock character.

Description

The term "village idiot" is also used as a stereotype of the mentally disabled.[1] It has also been applied as an epithet for an unrealistically optimistic or naive individual.[2]

The village idiot was long considered an acceptable social role, a unique individual who was dependent yet contributed to the social fabric of their community.[3] As early as Byzantine times, the "village idiot" was treated as an acceptable form of disabled individual compatible with then-prevailing normative conceptions of social order. The concept of a "village savant" or "village genius" is closely related, often tied to the concept of pre-industrial anti-intellectualism, as both figures are subjects of both pity and derision.[4] The social roles of the two are combined and applied, especially in the sociopolitical context, in the European medieval/Renaissance court jester. The village idiot has become a character archetype, similar to an oaf or comic relief in narrative structure.

References

  1. ↑ Siegel, L.J., 1970: The Justifications for Medical Commitment--Real or Illusory. Wake Forest Intramural Law Review, 6, 21.
  2. ↑ Culebras, A., 1997: The village idiot. European Journal of Neurology 4, 535–536.
  3. ↑ Oliver, M., 1989: Disability and dependency: a creation of industrial societies? In Disability and Dependency (Len Barton, ed.), Routledge, ISBN 978-1-85000-616-9.
  4. ↑ Dols, M.W., 1987: Insanity and its treatment in Islamic society. Medical History 31, 1-14.

The dictionary definition of village idiot at Wiktionary


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.