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Mutilation and the law in early medieval Europe and India: a comparative study
Patricia Skinner 
The Medieval Globe, Volume: 2, Issue: 2, Pages: 115 - 139
Swansea University Author:
Patricia Skinner
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Abstract
This article compares the diverse legal traditions of Europe and India from the 1st to 11th centuries CE, asking whether the two cultures had a shared understanding of the meanings of facial disfigurement as injury and as punishment. It surveys the evidence, and concludes that whilst there are super...
| Published in: | The Medieval Globe |
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| ISSN: | 2377-3561 2377-3553 |
| Published: |
2016
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| Online Access: |
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| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa31627 |
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| Abstract: |
This article compares the diverse legal traditions of Europe and India from the 1st to 11th centuries CE, asking whether the two cultures had a shared understanding of the meanings of facial disfigurement as injury and as punishment. It surveys the evidence, and concludes that whilst there are superficial similarities, the different contexts within which 'law' was made and understood mitigate against assuming influences in either direction. It challenges the often-assumed link between India's early surgical expertise and the prevalence of disfiguring mutilation as a punishment, arguing that the latter was more often threatened than carried out. |
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| Keywords: |
medieval; Europe; India; law; surgery; mutilation |
| College: |
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Issue: |
2 |
| Start Page: |
115 |
| End Page: |
139 |