Feb 28, 2021Member-onlyJeffrey Hudson: A court dwarf like no otherWelcome to my latest blog post. Last week I discussed how witchcraft relates to deformity. This week I will be shifting my focus to the realm of court dwarfs. Perhaps the most famous example of a court dwarf was Jeffrey Hudson. Before I begin to tell his tale, I should…History5 min readHistory5 min read
Feb 20, 2021Member-onlyDisability and WitchcraftWelcome to my latest blog post. Last week I discussed the idea of maternal impression and how women were blamed if their child was born with a deformity. This week I will be looking at something else women were blamed for, witchcraft. Specifically, I will try to see if there…History4 min readHistory4 min read
Feb 14, 2021Member-onlyMaternal Impression/imaginationWelcome to my latest blog post. Last week I discussed the idea of monstrous births, focusing on 16th Century Europe. This week I will continue along the same line of thought. However, instead of looking at the disabled children, I will be discussing their mothers. You may remember from my…History4 min readHistory4 min read
Feb 7, 2021Member-onlyMonsters and Monstrous BirthsWelcome to my latest blog post. Last week I discussed beliefs held about disabled people in the Medieval Period. I did this by examining some of the work of Bede the Venerable. I know what you are thinking, the Medieval Period pretty much spanned a thousand years, how can you…History4 min readHistory4 min read
Jan 31, 2021Member-onlyThe Venerable Bede and Disability in the Middle AgesWelcome to my latest blog post. Recently, I have been discussing the Ancient Greeks and Romans. Specifically, their beliefs surrounding disabled people and their abilities. It is clear that disabled people were not deemed to be useless. While I would love to go on and on about various ancient civilisations…History4 min readHistory4 min read
Jan 23, 2021Member-onlyBlindness and Prophecy in Ancient Greece and RomeWelcome to my latest blog post. If I remember correctly, last week I discussed how the ancient Greeks and Romans thought that the physically disabled and deformed could counteract the effects of the Evil Eye. However, it was not only deformed people that were believed to have special capabilities. …History5 min readHistory5 min read
Jan 16, 2021Member-onlyDisability vs The Evil EyeWelcome to the latest post in my series on beliefs surrounding disability. Last week I discussed the Evil Eye and its effects. This week I will look at how the Greeks and Romans used disabled people to counteract the Evil Eye. Kind of like a human shield. …History4 min readHistory4 min read
Jan 9, 2021Member-onlyThe Curse of the Evil EyeWelcome to my latest blog post. As you may know, I am currently working my way through a series on beliefs surrounding disability. After a couple of weeks focusing on the festive season, I will now continue from where I left off with Bes. This week I will be discussing…History4 min readHistory4 min read
Jan 2, 2021Member-onlyThe History of New Year CelebrationsWelcome to my latest blog post. This week I will continue in the festive spirit and focus on the history of New Year celebrations. For once I couldn’t find anything disability related, so you will have to come back next week for some disability action. How Old are New Year Celebrations? The concept of a new…History4 min readHistory4 min read
Dec 26, 2020Member-onlyTiny Tim’s Troublesome TaleWelcome to my special Christmas post. It took me a while to decide what I should write about. I wanted it to be festive, but also be a history post with a disability aspect. As you are probably aware, the history of disability and Christmas cheer don’t really go hand…History6 min readHistory6 min read
