Bottoms Up! John of Arderne and the Interest in Surgical Manuscripts in Late Medieval England

Walker, Rhiannon (2025) Bottoms Up! John of Arderne and the Interest in Surgical Manuscripts in Late Medieval England. Masters thesis, University of Wales Trinity Saint David.

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Abstract

Going back as early as the Middle Ages, people and institutions have coveted and cherished books which were simultaneously a practical means of storing and preservation knowledge and an accessory decorating the people, institutions, and societies that kept them. However, there is still so much we do not know about this early book-form, including their relationship to the people who owned them and their larger place in society. The study of many of the more lavish genres, such as Books of Hours and the Histories produced in the Middle Ages, have gone to great lengths towards revealing the individuals who owned these precious commodities and have uncovered details about these communities of readers. And yet, despite this known approach, the study of the more practical genres, particularly surgical manuscripts, have not been treated in the same manor. With little known about the various ways in which these texts may have been used and the different people in society who would have used them, it is high time to see what some of these surgical texts may reveal about their use and ownership. Looking specifically at a corpus of manuscripts on medieval anal fistulas, the following thesis seeks to fill this gap in our knowledge of medieval manuscripts to uncover the various people who made up surgical readership in later medieval England. In doing this, I hope to demonstrate the importance of this approach to the study of medieval medical manuscripts by demonstrating the various ways it enhances our understanding not only of medieval medical manuscripts, but of the interest in medieval literature in general.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Subjects:	D History General and Old World > DA Great Britain Z Bibliography. Library Science. Information Resources > Z004 Books. Writing. Paleography
Divisions:	Theses and Dissertations > Masters Dissertations
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.82227/repository.uwtsd.ac.uk.00004083
Depositing User:	Victoria Hankinson
Date Deposited:	08 Jan 2026 15:55
Last Modified:	08 Jan 2026 15:55
URI:	https://repository.uwtsd.ac.uk/id/eprint/4083

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