This article reassesses the role of gender in early modern demonic possession from a medical perspective. It takes as its starting point the demoniac Richard Mainy, who in 1585 claimed to be suffering from hysteria. Best known for its influence on Shakespeare's King Lear, Mainy's gender-crossing diagnosis should be read in the context of the close historical relationship between hysteria and epilepsy. While medical historians have viewed hysteria as the key possession-related illness, epilepsy was equally important. Both were seen as convulsive illnesses caused by an excess of reproductive fluids. Emphasizing the similarities rather than the differences between male and female sexuality, this shared etiology underpinned medical approaches to demonic possession.

中文翻译：

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他的肚子，她的种子：早期现代恶魔财产中的性别与医学

本文从医学角度重新评估了性别在早期现代恶魔财产中的作用。以恶魔般的理查德·迈尼（Richard Mainy）为起点，他于1585年声称患有歇斯底里症。因其对莎士比亚的《李尔王》的影响而闻名，应该从歇斯底里症和癫痫病之间的紧密历史关系出发来解读迈尼的跨性别诊断。尽管医学史学家认为歇斯底里症是与占有有关的主要疾病，但癫痫病也同样重要。两者均被视为由过多的生殖液引起的惊厥性疾病。这种共同的病因强调了男性性别和女性性别之间的相似性而不是差异，这为魔鬼拥有的医学方法奠定了基础。