The Routledge Handbook of Paleopathology (1st Edition)

Abstract

sick children within the context of these practices, i.e. there is no straightforward evidence to indicate sick children were stigmatised and that this stigmatisation led to substitution. For this reason, Sawyer delves deeper into evidence for medieval childcare for changelings and dissects all available written or illustrated sources pertaining to the practice and justification of child substitution. In the second chapter of Part I, Care of Changelings, the author depicts the ways in which care of children changed (or did not change) in those who are in some way associated with child substitution. This includes documents pertaining to the sustained care of children who were understood to be changelings (normally via some notable impairment), providing a ‘profitable lens’ to view medieval parental anxieties and continuous efforts into rearing children who need long-term care. The social and emotional realities of parents in this circumstance can differ to hagiographic references (normally divorced of parental experience) that continue to classify changelings as ‘supernatural beings, saints and demons, who follow different rules,’ which allows us to better understand ecclesiastical perspectives in contrast with the parental lived experience. This disparity is further explored through both the ‘nonviolent’ and ‘violent’ care of changelings; i.e. the ways in which parents and communities still provided positive care for these children, as well the negative consequences including an extreme example of burning changelings. The book continues with more vivid detail providing cautionary ecclesiastical tales of the consequences of neglect and poor treatment of children, and a treasure trove of documentary, visual, and translated sources for the reader to serve as a benchmark for further interpretation. Overall, Medieval Changelings is a brilliant and incredibly engaging read and will be of great interest to anyone who is interested aspects of childhood heath, care, and familial and community responses to impaired children.