Human injuries in the XIII-century Byzantine empire

About the author:

Michael S. Demintsev,

Abstract:

Today, «the history of corporality» draws the attention of researches from various areas of scientific knowledge. This subject is examined within a framework of historical anthropology and the history of everyday life. Human life in Byzantium was inconceivable without pain and sufferings and therefore traumas were an everyday occurrence. Data of written sources about the injuries are classified by their origin. In the XIII century Byzantium people mostly suffered from the injuries they got during natural disasters and military operations. Not less interesting for a historian are the domestic traumas incurred as a result of accidents or as implementation of special legal norms. It is verified that the most part of information on injuries concerns people of the high social status. Considering the types of traumas of Byzantines in that era, the author comes to the conclusion that the victims had more interest in the wounds themselves, rather than what they felt.

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