Care and custody of the mentally ill, incompetent, and disabled in medieval England /
Cursor Mundi is a publication series of inter- and multidisciplinary studies of the medieval and early modern world, viewed broadly as the period between late antiquity and the Enlightenment. Life its companion, the journal Viator, Cursor Mundi brings together outstanding work by medieval and early...
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| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English |
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Turnhout :
Brepols,
2013
Turnhout, Belgium : Brepols Publishers, [2013] Turnhout, Belgium : 2013 |
| Series: | Cursor mundi (Turnhout, Belgium) ;
v. 16 Cursor mundi (Turnhout, Belgium) v. 16 |
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| Summary: | Cursor Mundi is a publication series of inter- and multidisciplinary studies of the medieval and early modern world, viewed broadly as the period between late antiquity and the Enlightenment. Life its companion, the journal Viator, Cursor Mundi brings together outstanding work by medieval and early modern scholars from a wide range of disciplines, emphasizing studies which focus on process such as cultural exchange or the course of an idea through the centuries, and including investigations beyond the traditional boundaries of Europe and the Mediterranean. This book is about the social understanding and treatment of the mentally ill, incompetent, and disabled in late medieval England. Drawing on archival, literary, medical, legal, and ecclesiastic sources and studies, the volume seeks to present a coherent picture of society's treatment, protection, abuse, care, and custody of the incapacitated. Although many medieval stories stereotyped the mad (most often as sinners or innocents), for example, there is clear evidence that English society treated and cared for the impaired on a person-by-person basis. The mentally incapacitated were not lumped into one category and not ignored or sent away; on the contrary, both the English administration and the public had many categories and terms for mental conditions, cognitive abilities, and levels of physicality (violence) associated with impairment. English society also had safeguards and assistants (keepers, custodians, guardians) in place to help mentally impaired persons in life. This study therefore eschews totalizing assumptions about a societal 'core' and its 'margins'; instead, it instigates a new consideration of communities as holistic entities with an ebb and flow among the contributing and non-contributing elements as people live, grow, age, get sick, become well, have children, break bones, or live with mental or physical impairments. Book jacket This book is about the social understanding and treatment of the mentally ill, incompetent, and disabled in late medieval England. Drawing on archival, literary, medical, legal, and ecclesiastic sources and studies, the volume seeks to present a coherent picture of society's treatment, protection, abuse, care, and custody of the incapacitated. Although many medieval stories stereotyped the mad (most often as sinners or innocents), for example, there is clear evidence that English society treated and cared for the impaired on a person-by-person basis. The mentally incapacitated were not lumped into one category and not ignored or sent away; on the contrary, both the English administration and the public had many categories and terms for mental conditions, cognitive abilities, and levels of physicality (violence) associated with impairment. English society also had safeguards and assistants (keepers, custodians, guardians) in place to help mentally impaired persons in life |
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| Physical Description: | xi, 332 pages ; 24 cm |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (pages 277-317) and indexes Includes bibliographical references and indexes |
| ISBN: | 2503540392 (hbk.) 2503540392 9782503540399 (hbk.) 9782503540399 |