bedlam [LME] Bedlem was the medieval form of Bethlehem, and it is found as the Judean town name from the 10th century. The Hospital of St Mary of Bethlehem, also known as Bethlem Royal Hospital, in London was founded in 1247 and had become a lunatic hospital by 1402. By the mid 16th century ‘bedlam body’ had become a term for someone who was violently insane, and by the 17th century bedlam became a term for any hospital for the mentally ill, and from that for any scene of mad confusion.