Forensic medicine and death investigation in medieval England / Sara M. Butler.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Butler, Sara M. (Sara Margaret)

Contributor:

Taylor and Francis eBooks.

Constance L. Rosenthal Book Fund.

Series:

Routledge research in medieval studies ; 7.

Routledge research in medieval studies

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Medical jurisprudence--England.

Medical jurisprudence.

Coroners--England.

Coroners.

Middle Ages.

England.

Genre:

Electronic books.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xvi, 311 pages :) : illustrations.

Place of Publication:

New York : Routledge, 2015.

System Details:

text file

Summary:

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.

Contents:

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.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Constance L. Rosenthal Book Fund.

Other Format:

Print version: Butler, Sara M., (Sara Margaret). Forensic medicine and death investigation in medieval England.

ISBN:

9781315749808

1315749807

OCLC:

897456115

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.