Attitudes to old age and ageing in medieval society

Cummins, Josephine M. (2000) Attitudes to old age and ageing in medieval society. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

The thesis begins by exploring the threshold of old age in the Middle Ages. The subjectivity of ageing is rehearsed and the difficulties of identifying the elderly by physical or mental traits. A discussion on fixing the starting point of old age using the aetates hominis and relevant medical and legislative sources follows.

The thesis continues with an examination of attitudes towards biological ageing. Chapter Two adopts the physiology of Galen (129-199) in relation to ageing as a starting point and follows its development in the Middle Ages. Ancient and medieval attitudes to the fundamental question of whether ageing is natural or pathological are also considered. The pathologies which were associated with old age in the medieval period are identified and the various lines of treatment which were prescribed for them are assessed.

The theological view on ageing in relation to sin is determined next. The attitude of spiritual physicians to elderly penitents is explored by examining the libri poenitentiales. Theological and physiological attitudes are then compared. The theme of wholeness and disintegration which is highlighted by that comparison is carried into the following chapter which considers images of old age in medieval literature. In particular, the old person's proximity to physical corruption is explored against the background of medieval society's fascination with death and the cadaver.

Chapter Five attempts to mitigate the harsh view of life in old age in the literary sources by analysing notions of the debt which children owed to aged parents and considering the means of social security which were available to the elderly when the family failed to support them. The ultimate purpose of this thesis is to contribute to the knowledge of medieval society's understanding of how and why humans aged and the attitude of that society to its liminal members.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Additional Information: Department of Medieval History
• Subjects: D History General and Old World > D History (General) > D111 Medieval History
• Colleges/Schools: College of Arts & Humanities
• Supervisor's Name: Kennedy, Michael J.
• Date of Award: 2000
• Depositing User: Elaine Ballantyne
• Unique ID: glathesis:2000-2542
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 28 Apr 2011
• Last Modified: 03 Feb 2014 16:33
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/2542