Living with Disfigurement in Early Medieval Europe (The New Middle Ages)

__This book is open access under a CC-BY 4.0 license.__ This book examines social and medical responses to the disfigured face in early medieval Europe, arguing that the study of head and facial injuries can offer a new contribution to the history of early medieval medicine and culture, as well as exploring the language of violence and social interactions. Despite the prevalence of warfare and conflict in early medieval society, and a veritable industry of medieval historians studying it, there has in fact been very little attention paid to the subject of head wounds and facial damage in the course of war and/or punitive justice. The impact of acquired disfigurement —for the individual, and for her or his family and community—is barely registered, and only recently has there been any attempt to explore the question of how damaged tissue and bone might be treated medically or surgically. In the wake of new work on disability and the emotions in the medieval period, this study documents how acquired disfigurement is recorded across different geographical and chronological contexts in the period. Acknowledgements 7 Contents 9 Chapter 1: Introduction: Writing and Reading About Medieval Disfigurement 11 Congenital vs. Acquired Conditions 15 Sources and Resources 20 Law Codes 20 Chronicles and Annals 22 Hagiographic Texts 25 Medical Texts 27 Archaeological Evidence 28 Iconography 29 Approaches to Disfigurement 31 Notes 34 Chapter 2: The Face, Honor and “Face” 50 What Is a Face? 50 Surface and Depth 53 Honor and “Face” 54 Case Study: The Celtic World 57 Modeling “Face” as an Element of Elite Male Authority 61 Notes 67 Chapter 3: Disfigurement, Authority and the Law 76 Laws and Injuries 78 Mutilation as Punishment – and Redemption? 80 Case Study: Byzantine Disfigurements 84 Popes, Saints and Mutilation 86 Rhetoric to Reality—and Back 88 What Happened Next: Disfigurement in the Courts 90 Conclusions 97 Notes 98 Chapter 4: Stigma and Disfigurement: Putting on a Brave Face? 111 Concealability: Can the Stigma Be Hidden? 116 Course: Could the Stigmatizing Condition Be Changed Over Time? 119 Disruptiveness: Does the Stigmatizing Condition Disturb Social Interactions? 121 Aesthetics: Is the Condition Viewed as Repellent or Ugly? 122 Origin: Can the Stigmatizing Condition Be Blamed on the Person Himself or Herself? 124 Peril: Does the Stigma Represent Danger to Other Individuals or the Community? 126 Messages in a Marked Face 127 Notes 131 Chapter 5: Defacing Women: The Gendering of Disfigurement 141 Women “Protected” 143 Women Defaced 148 Defacing Women 150 Women, Honor and Face 152 Behind Closed Doors 157 Conclusions 158 Notes 159 Chapter 6: Ways of Seeing: Staring at and Representing Disfigurement 167 Case Study: Byzantine Staring 171 Depicting Disfigurement: Iconographic Challenges. 178 Seeing, Looking and Selfhood 180 Notes 183 Chapter 7: Paths to Rehabilitation? The Possibilities of Treatment 190 Looking for Early Medieval Surgery: A Needle in a Haystack? 191 Healing in Action? 195 Medical Language 200 Case Study: Serious Head Injury in Battle 202 Blinding, Disfigurement and Aftercare: Living with a Changed Face 205 Notes 209 Chapter 8: Conclusion: Taking the Long View on Medieval Disfigurement 219 Notes 224 Appendix 1: Narrative and Archaeological Evidence for Disfigurement 226 Appendix 2: Disfigurement in Early Medieval Lawcodes 238 Notes 249 Bibliography 250 Primary Sources 250 England/Wales/Ireland/Scotland 250 France/Germany/Low Countries 251 Italy 254 Iberia/North Africa 255 Byzantium, the Balkans and Eastern Europe 255 Eastern Mediterranean 256 Secondary Works 256 Index 277 Annotation This title examines social and medical responses to the disfigured face in early medieval Europe, arguing that the study of head and facial injuries can offer a new contribution to the history of early medieval medicine and culture, as well as exploring the language of violence and social interactions. Despite the prevalence of warfare and conflict in early medieval society, and a veritable industry of medieval historians studying it, there has in fact been very little attention paid to the subject of head wounds and facial damage in the course of war and/or punitive justice. The impact of acquired disfigurement -for the individual, and for her or his family and community - is barely registered, and only recently has there been any attempt to explore the question of how damaged tissue and bone might be treated medically or surgically Front Matter....Pages i-x Introduction: Writing and Reading About Medieval Disfigurement....Pages 1-39 The Face, Honor and “Face”....Pages 41-66 Disfigurement, Authority and the Law....Pages 67-101 Stigma and Disfigurement: Putting on a Brave Face?....Pages 103-132 Defacing Women: The Gendering of Disfigurement....Pages 133-158 Ways of Seeing: Staring at and Representing Disfigurement....Pages 159-181 Paths to Rehabilitation? The Possibilities of Treatment....Pages 183-211 Conclusion: Taking the Long View on Medieval Disfigurement....Pages 213-219 Back Matter....Pages 221-282