Author : Lisi Oliver
Publisher : University of Toronto Press
ISBN 13 : 0802097065
Total Pages : 329 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (2 download)
Book Synopsis The Body Legal in Barbarian Law by : Lisi Oliver
Download or read book The Body Legal in Barbarian Law written by Lisi Oliver and published by University of Toronto Press. This book was released on 2011-01-01 with total page 329 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The sixth to ninth centuries saw a flowering of written laws among the early Germanic tribes. These laws include tables of fines for personal injury, designed to offer a legal, non-violent alternative to blood feud. Using these personal injury tariffs, The Body Legal in Barbarian Law examines a variety of issues, including the interrelationships between victims, perpetrators, and their families; the causes and results of wounds inflicted in daily life; the methods, successes, and failures of healing techniques; the processes of individual redress or public litigation; and the native and borrowed developments in the various 'barbarian' territories as they separated from the Roman Empire. By applying the techniques of linguistic anthropology to the pre-history of medicine, anatomical knowledge, and law, Lisi Oliver has produced a remarkable study that sheds new light on early Germanic conceptions of the body in terms of medical value, physiological function, psychological worth, and social significance.