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Monstrosity, Bodies, and Knowledge in Early Modern England : Curiosity to See and Behold / Whitney Dirks.

By: Material type: TextTextSeries: Premodern Health, Disease, and Disability ; 11Publisher: Amsterdam : Amsterdam University Press, [2024]Copyright date: 2024Description: 1 online resource (290 p.)Content type:
Media type:
Carrier type:
ISBN:
  • 9789048537969
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 305.9/08094109032 23/eng/20240712
LOC classification:
  • HV1552 .D57 2024
Other classification:
  • online - DeGruyter
Online resources:
Contents:
Frontmatter -- Table of Contents -- List of Figures, Maps, and Tables -- Acknowledgments -- Dedication -- Conventions and Abbreviations -- Preface. A Note about Form -- Étude 1. An Anomalous Birth -- Chapter 1. Introduction: Monstrosity, Disability, and Knowledge -- Étude 2. A Newsworthy Event -- Chapter 2. Monstrous Print -- Étude 3. A Popular Attraction -- Chapter 3. Monstrous Shows -- Étude 4. The Expert Visitor -- Chapter 4. The Royal Society -- Étude 5. A Decorative Commodity -- Chapter 5. Visual Culture -- Étude 6. The Lawsuit -- Chapter 6. Conclusion: Autonomy, Agency, and Unfree Labour -- Appendix 1: James Paris du Plessis’s Biography -- Appendix 2: Agreement between Henry Walrond and Richard Herring -- Bibliographical Abbreviations -- Primary Sources: Archival -- Primary Sources: Printed, Visual, Material, Modern Editions -- Secondary Sources -- Index
Summary: In 1680, the poor cottager Mary Herring gave birth to conjoined twins. At two weeks of age, they were kidnapped to be shown for money, and their deaths shortly thereafter gave rise to a four-year legal battle over ownership and income. The Herring twins’ microhistory weaves throughout this book, as the chapter structure alternates between the family’s ordeal and the broader cultural context of how so-called ‘monstrous births’ (a contemporary term for deformed humans and animals) were discussed in cheap print, exhibited in London’s pubs and coffeehouses, examined by the Royal Society, portrayed in visual culture, and litigated in London’s legal courts. This book ties together social and medical history, Disability Studies, and Monster Studies to argue that people discussed unusual bodies in early modern England because they provided newsworthy entertainment, revealed the will of God, and demonstrated the internal workings of Nature.
Holdings
Item type Current library Call number URL Status Notes Barcode
eBook eBook Biblioteca "Angelicum" Pont. Univ. S.Tommaso d'Aquino Nuvola online online - DeGruyter (Browse shelf(Opens below)) Online access Not for loan (Accesso limitato) Accesso per gli utenti autorizzati / Access for authorized users (dgr)9789048537969

Frontmatter -- Table of Contents -- List of Figures, Maps, and Tables -- Acknowledgments -- Dedication -- Conventions and Abbreviations -- Preface. A Note about Form -- Étude 1. An Anomalous Birth -- Chapter 1. Introduction: Monstrosity, Disability, and Knowledge -- Étude 2. A Newsworthy Event -- Chapter 2. Monstrous Print -- Étude 3. A Popular Attraction -- Chapter 3. Monstrous Shows -- Étude 4. The Expert Visitor -- Chapter 4. The Royal Society -- Étude 5. A Decorative Commodity -- Chapter 5. Visual Culture -- Étude 6. The Lawsuit -- Chapter 6. Conclusion: Autonomy, Agency, and Unfree Labour -- Appendix 1: James Paris du Plessis’s Biography -- Appendix 2: Agreement between Henry Walrond and Richard Herring -- Bibliographical Abbreviations -- Primary Sources: Archival -- Primary Sources: Printed, Visual, Material, Modern Editions -- Secondary Sources -- Index

restricted access online access with authorization star

http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_16ec

In 1680, the poor cottager Mary Herring gave birth to conjoined twins. At two weeks of age, they were kidnapped to be shown for money, and their deaths shortly thereafter gave rise to a four-year legal battle over ownership and income. The Herring twins’ microhistory weaves throughout this book, as the chapter structure alternates between the family’s ordeal and the broader cultural context of how so-called ‘monstrous births’ (a contemporary term for deformed humans and animals) were discussed in cheap print, exhibited in London’s pubs and coffeehouses, examined by the Royal Society, portrayed in visual culture, and litigated in London’s legal courts. This book ties together social and medical history, Disability Studies, and Monster Studies to argue that people discussed unusual bodies in early modern England because they provided newsworthy entertainment, revealed the will of God, and demonstrated the internal workings of Nature.

Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web.

In English.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 20. Nov 2024)

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