14. Medieval Convents Were Pressure Cookers
Before the modern era, many outbreaks of mass hysteria occurred within religious institutions. Convents, in particular, were prime grounds, ripe for eruptions of contagious mass delusion. That was because convents, especially in the Middle Ages, contained large numbers of nuns who had been forced into them by their families.
Once in, they were compelled to lead lives that many found disagreeable. Inside the convents, many of the unfortunate girls or women forced to don the habit and become nuns were confined in prison-like conditions. As seen below, they led a stressful lifestyle that was often not one they had freely chosen.
