Disability and care in Western Europe during Medieval times: A bioarchaeological perspective

This Special Issue has its foundation in presentations delivered in the symposium Disability and Care in Medieval Times: a Bioarchaeological Perspective into Health-related Practices held at the 2019 European Association of Archaeologists conference in Switzerland. It comprises 12 papers, all relevant to aspects of pathology experience and/or care provision in Western Europe during the Early to Late Middle Ages (500 – 1500 CE). Reflecting the 1000 year timespan involved, these papers are characterised by diversity in subject matter and in the lifeways in which they are located, but all contribute to the symposium’s primary aim: to demonstrate that our understanding of the Medieval period is enhanced by cross-disciplinary, bioarchaeological research into individual and collective experiences of disability and care. This Introduction provides the background to the 2019 symposium, and briefly discusses the papers contained in the Special Issue which emerged from this.