Part eleven of my Beautiful Words series, Mesmerism was a branch of medicine from the mid-18th century up until the late 19th century. Also known as ‘Animal Magnetism’, it posited that all living things contain an invisible force. A mesmerisist or magnetiser had the ability to effect this force to heal or manipulate.
I had thought this one might have a fancy Latin or Greek root, but alas, this form of quackery was named after its inventor, Franz Mesmer. Interestingly it looks as though his name etymology derived from ‘mesner’ meaning church warden or maybe vicar.
I’ll leave you to draw your own parallels.
Oh, and +1000 EXP to the person who can form the link between the word and the PS1 game featured in the video.
Music by Scott Buckley
7 окт 2024
