Sponsor
Portland State University. Department of History
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
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Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/42596
Recommended Citation
Holland, Alice, "Stricken by the Worst Type of Sickness: The Communal Reaction and Response to Impaired Individuals in the Middle Ages" (2024). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 6719.