First Advisor

John Ott

Term of Graduation

Summer 2024

Date of Publication

7-31-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (M.A.) in History

Department

History

Language

English

Subjects

Deformity, Disability, Madness, Medieval Europe, Mental illness, Miracle collection

Physical Description

1 online resource (vi, 164 pages)

Abstract

Medieval communities often approached trouble within the fold collectively. This includes concerns over the health and safety of their individual members. This thesis examines the communal perception and treatment of disabled individuals in the Middle Ages. Using four twelfth-century miracle collections, The Miracles of Saint Gibrian (1145), The Life and Miracles of William of Norwich (1150-1172), The Miracles of Our Lady of Rocamadour (1172-1173), and The Miracles of Thomas Becket (1173-1179), I examine how communities created systems of care for their impaired members. In using these sources, which tell the stories of common individuals traveling to shrines for a saint's cure, we can better understand the lives, stories, and inter-communal relationships of people whose lives were rarely recorded.

By examining both physical and mental impairments, this thesis approaches disability holistically, yet takes care to explore mental and physical impairments individually, respecting and evaluating their differences. This paper argues that communities addressed impairment together. There were seldom instances where the mad or physically impaired individuals were cast out of communities; instead, impaired individuals were largely treated with care and compassion. It further argues that when individuals were cast out it was due to their disruption and danger to the community, and not for reasons of disgust or disregard.

Communities responded to madness and physical ailments differently. Using the miracle collections to examine these differences, this thesis explores the nature of medieval diagnostics, understandings of injury and impairment, and how this resulted in a person's treatment depending on their specific impairment. It argues that madness was treated differently from physical impairments, as individuals tended to provide greater care for mentally impaired individuals, which ultimately exemplifies breaking points in communal care depending on the understanding of impairments and a community's capacity to treat those within their fold.

Rights

© 2024 Alice Holland

In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).

Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/42596

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