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  • Article

Revelations of blindness in the Middle Ages

Medieval texts, from Islamic medical treatises to Christian books of miracles, reveal surprisingly varied and complex experiences of blindness. But when medieval scholar Jude Seal experienced visual impairment themselves, they gained an even deeper understanding of the lives they were studying.

  • Article

Self-obsessing in the age of selfies

The tiny, joyful spark of a social media ‘like’ can lead to a damaging obsession. Find out how far people will go when their phone addiction gets the upper hand.

  • Book extract

Renaissance women and their killer cosmetics

In this extract from ‘How to be a Renaissance Woman’, Jill Burke delves into a complex world of beauty products, poison and patriarchy – and reveals the impossible contradictions of femininity faced by 16th-century women.

  • Article

A brief history of tattoos

The earliest evidence of tattoo art dates from 5000 BC, and the practice continues to hold meaning for many cultures around the world.

All stories (19)

Images

  • Acute pathologies, thoracic coagulation, Chinese lithograph
  • A fiery demon representing the chaos of the Paris Commune and more generally, the infernal results of the ideals of the French Revolution. Coloured etching by G. Cruikshank, 1871.
  • Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, Saint Catherine of Alexandria and Saint Dorothea (?). Photogravure after a painting.
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