Forensic medicine and death investigation in medieval England

Bibliographic Information

Forensic medicine and death investigation in medieval England

Sara M. Butler

(Routledge research in medieval studies, 7)

Routledge, 2016, c2015

  • : pbk

Available at  / 2 libraries

Search this Book/Journal

Note

"First published 2015 by Routledge. ... First issued in paperback 2016"--T.p. verso

Bibliography: p. [279]-299

Includes index

Description and Table of Contents

Description

England has traditionally been understood as a latecomer to the use of forensic medicine in death investigation, lagging nearly two-hundred years behind other European authorities. Using the coroner's inquest as a lens, this book hopes to offer a fresh perspective on the process of death investigation in medieval England. The central premise of this book is that medical practitioners did participate in death investigation - although not in every inquest, or even most, and not necessarily in those investigations where we today would deem their advice most pertinent. The medieval relationship with death and disease, in particular, shaped coroners' and their jurors' understanding of the inquest's medical needs and led them to conclusions that can only be understood in context of the medieval world's holistic approach to health and medicine. Moreover, while the English resisted Southern Europe's penchant for autopsies, at times their findings reveal a solid understanding of internal medicine. By studying cause of death in the coroners' reports, this study sheds new light on subjects such as abortion by assault, bubonic plague, cruentation, epilepsy, insanity, senescence, and unnatural death.

Table of Contents

Introduction. 1. The Coroners 2. The Jurors 3. The Process of Investigation 4. The Medical Dimension of a Coroner's Inquest 5. Health and Healthcare in the Coroners' Rolls. Conclusion.

by "Nielsen BookData"

Related Books: 1-1 of 1

Details

Page Top