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.[citation needed] The village idiot has become a character archetype, similar to an oaf or comic relief in narrative structure.
^Culebras, A., 1997: The village idiot. European Journal of Neurology 4, 535–536.
^Oliver, M., 1989: Disability and dependency: a creation of industrial societies? In Disability and Dependency (Len Barton, ed.), Routledge, ISBN978-1-85000-616-9.
^Dols, M.W., 1987: Insanity and its treatment in Islamic society. Medical History 31, 1-14.
External links
The dictionary definition of village idiot at Wiktionary
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