Irina Metzler

In Disability in Medieval Europe, Irina Metzler constructs a model for investigating impairment (biological) and disability (socio-cultural construct) in medieval western Europe. This is a useful text, even setting aside its status as one of the very few extended considerations of physical impairment in the Middle Ages, and I've already profitably mined it for use in the classroom. However, it does betray its origins as a dissertation, and I wished several times for Metzler to stop making the case for why a study such as hers is groundbreaking and just get on with doing the study. Some of the chapters could also benefit from some reorganisation. Still, a very useful starting point for anyone interested in learning more about the field.… (mehr)