The Myth of the Trauma / The Trauma of the Myth: Myths as Mediators of Some Long-Term Effects of War Trauma

Abstract

This article attempts a systematic comparison of the myths surrounding the Battle of Kosovo Polje in 1389, that of the Boyne in 1690 in Ireland, that of Mohacs in Hungary in 1526, and finally the Battle of Alcazarquivir in Morocco in 1578. The purpose of the comparison is to establish some of the ingredients that account for a perpetuation of the trauma and cause havoc in future generations. The working hypothesis put forward is that 2 noxious factors playing a central role in the causation of inter-ethnic war are (a) unmourned traumata with (b) the associated rage being directed outward and not inward, and that both are significantly mediated by the myths associated with the traumata.