New Approaches to Disease, Disability, and Medicine in Medieval Europe

The majority of papers in this volume were originally presented at the eighth annual ‘Disease, Disability, and Medicine in Medieval Europe’ conference. The conference focused on infections, chronic illness, and the impact of infectious diseases on medieval society, including infection as a disability in the case of visible conditions, such as infected wounds, leprosy, syphilis, and tuberculosis. Using an interdisciplinary approach, this conference emphasised the importance of collaborative projects, novel avenues of research for treating infectious disease, and the value of considering medieval questions from the perspective of multiple disciplines. This volume aims to carry forward this interdisciplinary synergy by bringing together contributors from a variety of disciplines and from a diverse range of international institutions. Of note is the academic stage of the contributors in this volume. All the contributors were PhD candidates at the time of the conference, and the majority have completed or are in the final stages of completing their programmes at the time of this publication. The originality and calibre of research presented by these early career researchers demonstrates the promising future of the field, as well as the continued relevance of medieval studies for a wide range of disciplines and topics. Contributions by Stefanie Künzel, Marit Ronen, Cathrin Hähn, Rachel Welsh, Ninon Dubourg, Clara Jáuregui, Lucy Barnhouse, Cecilia Collins, Erin Connelly, and Christoph Wieselhuber. Table of Contents Foreword - Christina Lee Introduction - Erin Connelly and Stefanie Künzel Chapter 1 - Þu miht wiþ þam laþan ðe geond lond færð: Conceptualisations of Disease in Anglo-Saxon Charms - Stefanie Künzel Chapter 2 - A Still Sound Mind: Personal Agency of Impaired People in Anglo-Saxon Care and Cure Narratives - Marit Ronen Chapter 3 - Mobility Limitations and Assistive Aids in the Merovingian Burial Record - Cathrin Hähn Chapter 4 - Tearing the Face in Grief and Rape: Cheek Rending in Medieval Iberia, c. 1000–1300 - Rachel Welsh Chapter 5 - Clerical Leprosy and the Ecclesiastical Office: Dis/Ability and Canon Law - Ninon Dubourg Chapter 6 - Inside the Leprosarium: Illness in the Daily Life of 14th Century Barcelona - Clara Jáuregui Chapter 7 - Languages of Experience: Translating Medicine in MS Laud Misc 237 - Lucy Barnhouse Chapter 8 - Heillög Bein, Brotin Bein: Manifestations of Disease in Medieval Iceland - Cecilia Collins Chapter 9 - A Case Study of Plantago in the Treatment of Infected Wounds in the Middle English Translation of Bernard of Gordon’s Lilium medicinae - Erin Connelly Chapter 10 - Miserum spectaculum, horrendus fetor, aspectus horrendus: “Syphilis” in Strasbourg at the Turn of the 16th Century - Christoph Wieselhuber The majority of papers in New Approaches to Disease, Disability, and Medicine in Medieval Europe were originally presented at the eighth annual Disease, Disability, and Medicine in Medieval Europe conference. The conference focused on infections, chronic illness, and the impact of infectious disease on medieval society, including infection as a disability in the case of visible conditions, such as infected wounds, leprosy, syphilis, and tuberculosis. Using an interdisciplinary approach, this conference emphasised the importance of collaborative projects, novel avenues of research for treating infectious disease, and the value of considering medieval questions from the perspective of multiple disciplines. This volume aims to carry forward this interdisciplinary synergy by bringing together contributors from a variety of disciplines and from a diverse range of international institutions. Of note is the academic stage of the contributors in this volume. All of the contributors were PhD candidates at the time of the conference, and the majority have completed or are in the final stages of completing their programmes at the time of this publication. The originality and calibre of research presented by these early career researchers demonstrates the promising future of the field, as well as the continued relevance of medieval studies for a wide range of disciplines and topics. Contributions by Stefanie Künzel, Marit Ronen, Cathrin Hähn, Rachel Welsh, Ninon Dubourg, Clara Jáuregui, Lucy Barnhouse, Cecilia Collins, Erin Connelly, and Christoph Wieselhuber. Cover 1 Title Page 3 Copyright Page 4 Contents 5 Foreword 9 Christina Lee 9 Þu miht wiþ þam laþan ðe geond lond færð 13 A Still Sound Mind 27 Mobility Limitations and Assistive Aids 39 Tearing the Face in Grief and Rape 51 Clerical Leprosy and the Ecclesiastical Office 69 Inside the Leprosarium 85 Languages of Experience 101 Heillög Bein, Brotin Bein 117 A Case Study of Plantago in the Treatment of Infected Wounds 133 Miserum spectaculum, horrendus fetor, aspectus horrendus 149 Anglo-Saxon,medieval medicine,leprosy,syphilis,bald’s eyesalve,Merovingian,infection,cheek rending,hospital,disability,disease,leprosarium An interdisciplinary collection of papers focussing on infections, chronic illness, and the impact of infectious diseases on medieval society, with contributions by academics from a variety of disciplines and a diverse range of international institutions.