Through a case study, the close reading of a pamphlet authored by the theologian Thomas Bedford (fl. 1633-1653) and dedicated to a pair of Siamese twins born in Plymouth at the end of 1635, the essay highlights the complex way the phenomenon of human monstrous births is observed in early modern England. In the suspension – both emotional and cognitive – between theological concern and scientific inquiry, what emerges is the coexistence of not fully harmonized paradigms, which characterizes the years immediately following the epistemological revolution promoted by Francis Bacon. On the one hand, Bedford still acknowledges a central role to the direct divine intervention on creation; on the other hand, the intensity of his inquisitive gaze, tempted by profane curiosity, almost leads him to the sacrilegious act of performing an autopsy. In early modern Europe, caught among Reformation, Counter-Reformation and Scientific Revolution, the monstrous birth becomes the touchstone of norm and deviance and illuminates with a specific polychromatic light the gray area between religion facing a growth crisis and evolving medicine.
«The Finger of God manifested his Presence by hindering the Ordinary Course of Nature». Nascite mostruose tra religione e medicina nell’Inghilterra di età baconiana
Luca Baratta
2019-01-01
Abstract
Through a case study, the close reading of a pamphlet authored by the theologian Thomas Bedford (fl. 1633-1653) and dedicated to a pair of Siamese twins born in Plymouth at the end of 1635, the essay highlights the complex way the phenomenon of human monstrous births is observed in early modern England. In the suspension – both emotional and cognitive – between theological concern and scientific inquiry, what emerges is the coexistence of not fully harmonized paradigms, which characterizes the years immediately following the epistemological revolution promoted by Francis Bacon. On the one hand, Bedford still acknowledges a central role to the direct divine intervention on creation; on the other hand, the intensity of his inquisitive gaze, tempted by profane curiosity, almost leads him to the sacrilegious act of performing an autopsy. In early modern Europe, caught among Reformation, Counter-Reformation and Scientific Revolution, the monstrous birth becomes the touchstone of norm and deviance and illuminates with a specific polychromatic light the gray area between religion facing a growth crisis and evolving medicine.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
