Skip to main content

Consider depiction of the human body during the Middle Ages (476 A.D.-1350 A.D.). Discuss a reason how and why they are so different from the...

The rise of Christianity in Europe during the Middle Ages led to changing views of the human body.  Christianity, and more specifically Catholicism, emphasized modesty and chastity.  Most artistic depictions of the human body were clothed during this time.  An exception were depictions of Adam and Eve from Genesis.  Adam and Eve represented sin, and were depicted in the nude.  Many paintings and sculptures were of Biblical scenes.


The study of medicine and human anatomy during the Middle Ages was limited.  Dissection of dead bodies was forbidden by the Church, and was rarely done.  Study of the body was limited to outdated teachings and observations of a whole body.  Male doctors rarely assisted women in childbirth.  Female midwives helped to deliver babies in the Middle Ages.  They were usually the ones to provide any sort of medical care for women during the Middle Ages because of concerns about modesty.


During the Greco-Roman period, the human body was celebrated.  It was frequently depicted in art through nudity.  In sculptures, genitalia and chests of both genders were carved in detail.  Paintings also featured nude figures or people partially draped in cloth.


Medicine and the study of anatomy was important during the Greco-Roman period.  Dissection of human bodies was banned in Greece, so the live body was studied.  Views of the human body from a scientific approach advanced.  Despite this, male doctors rarely attended to the medical needs of women.  


Communal baths were common in the Greco-Roman world.  It was socially acceptable for people to bathe in the nude in communal settings.  By contrast, the devout Catholicism of the Middle Ages expected modesty.  Public nudity was generally considered sinful.


Christianity was the primary reason why the human body was depicted differently in the Middle Ages than it was during the Greco-Roman period.  Modesty was emphasized and nudity was often viewed as sinful during the Middle Ages.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Is there a word/phrase for "unperformant"?

As a software engineer, I need to sometimes describe a piece of code as something that lacks performance or was not written with performance in mind. Example: This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. Based on my Google searches, this isn't a real word. What is the correct way to describe this? EDIT My usage of "performance" here is in regard to speed and efficiency. For example, the better the performance of code the faster the application runs. My question and example target the negative definition, which is in reference to preventing inefficient coding practices. Answer This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. In my opinion, reads more easily as: This coding style leads to unmaintainable and poorly performing code. The key to well-written documentation and reports lies in ease of understanding. Adding poorly understood words such as performant decreases that ease. In addressing the use of such a poorly ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Is 'efficate' a word in English?

I routinely hear the word "efficate" being used. For example, "The most powerful way to efficate a change in the system is to participate." I do not find entries for this word in common English dictionaries, but I do not have an unabridged dictionary. I have checked the OED (I'm not sure if it is considered unabridged), and it has no entry for "efficate". It does have an entry for "efficiate", which is used in the same way. Wordnik has an entry for "efficate" with over 1800 hits, thus providing some evidence for the frequency of use. I personally like the word and find the meaning very clear and obvious when others use it. If it's not currently an "officially documented" word, perhaps its continued use will result in it being better documented.
Post a Comment
Read more