medieval bodies life and death in the middle ages

Among other intriguing topics, the author discusses a 10th-century Arabic author who provided dental advice and instructions on suturing wounds. For Hartnell, two of the most interesting illustrations are the “Hebrew Bloodletting Figure” and the “German Wound Man.” The bloodletting figure provided a map of the most efficacious spots to bleed a patient while the Wound Man offered cures for punctures and other wounds as well as instructions on the placement of a styptic. Three principal inheritors of the legacy of Rome come to the fore, each representing a different texture of the medieval bodies that I want to try to trace.” With the exception of the Crusades, the Muslim kingdoms thrived through tolerance for other religions and cultures, enabling trade and, most importantly, the sharing of ideas. “A shared classical heritage undeniably binds together the medieval history of the regions on all sides of the Mediterranean,” writes the author, “separating them somewhat from the busy parallel stories of the Far East, India, China, sub-Saharan Africa or the pre-Columbian Americas. The key to understanding this era is the interaction among diverse cultures. of East Anglia, Norwich) uses his knowledge of art history and the drawings and paintings that showed then-current thinking on organs, bones, blood, and the body in general. In his debut book, Hartnell (Art History/Univ. Some readers may be put off initially by this head-to-toe dissection of the body, but they should press on to encounter a delightful mixture of thought, experiment, discovery, and religion. His knowledge and insight are impressive, and he shows uses with wit and humor.An in-depth look at the medieval conception of the human body. Far from a Dark Age of superstition and ignorance, this was a time of curiosity, inquiry, and experimentation-a collision of the legacies of the past and the realities of the present. Armed with Hartnell’s telling, readers will reassess their traditional view of the Middle Ages. The body becomes a metaphor for medieval culture overall that informs our understanding of everything from the politics, religious beliefs, and class structures of this swath of Western history to the arts and interpersonal relationships of those who peopled it. He starts with medical texts and illustrations, explores the legacy of classical Greek and Roman teachings, and surveys the general practices of medicine and healing during this period. Hartnell, a professor of the history of art and visual culture, brings together his vast knowledge of medieval art and writing to examine how European and Middle Eastern peoples of the time understood the workings of their own bodies. **STARRED REVIEW** Medieval Bodies was a Sunday Times History Book of the Year when published in Britain last year, and it is now coming out in the U.S. This review was first published by Booklist on October 15, 2019.

Medieval Bodies: Life and Death in the Middle Ages

Medieval bodies life and death in the middle ages