Understanding pain in modern society: insights from attitudes to pain in the Medieval Period
Historical records provide knowledge about the way people lived in the past. Our perspective is that historical analyses of the Medieval Period provide insights to inform a fuller understanding of pain in the present era. In this article, we appraise critiques of the writings of people living with p...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-05-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Pain Research |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpain.2023.1162569/full |
| _version_ | 1827951611530444800 |
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| author | Emma G. Paley Mark I. Johnson Carole A. Paley Carole A. Paley |
| author_facet | Emma G. Paley Mark I. Johnson Carole A. Paley Carole A. Paley |
| author_sort | Emma G. Paley |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Historical records provide knowledge about the way people lived in the past. Our perspective is that historical analyses of the Medieval Period provide insights to inform a fuller understanding of pain in the present era. In this article, we appraise critiques of the writings of people living with pain during the mid (high) to late Medieval Period (c. 1,000–1,500 AD) to gain insights into the nature, attitudes, lived experience, and sense-making of pain. In the Medieval Period, pain was understood in terms of Galen's four humours and the Church's doctrine of pain as a “divine gift”, “punishment for sin” and/or “sacrificial offering”. Many treatments for pain were precursors of those used in modern time and society considered pain to be a “shared experience”. We argue that sharing personal stories of life is a fundamental human attribute to foster social cohesion, and that nowadays sharing personal stories about pain is difficult during biomedically-focussed time-constrained clinical consultations. Exploring pain through a medieval lens demonstrates the importance of sharing stories of living with pain that are flexible in meaning, so that people can connect with a sense of self and their social world. We advocate a role for community-centred approaches to support people in the creation and sharing of their personal pain stories. Contributions from non-biomedical disciplines, such as history and the arts, can inform a fuller understanding of pain and its prevention and management. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T13:44:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-aac0c1b130084b8db5a57cf5066c0419 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2673-561X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T13:44:55Z |
| publishDate | 2023-05-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Pain Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-aac0c1b130084b8db5a57cf5066c04192023-05-09T05:33:54ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Pain Research2673-561X2023-05-01410.3389/fpain.2023.11625691162569Understanding pain in modern society: insights from attitudes to pain in the Medieval PeriodEmma G. Paley0Mark I. Johnson1Carole A. Paley2Carole A. Paley3Institute for Medieval Studies, University of Leeds, Leeds, United KingdomCentre for Pain Research, School of Health, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, United KingdomCentre for Pain Research, School of Health, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, United KingdomAcademic Unit of Palliative Care, University of Leeds, Leeds, United KingdomHistorical records provide knowledge about the way people lived in the past. Our perspective is that historical analyses of the Medieval Period provide insights to inform a fuller understanding of pain in the present era. In this article, we appraise critiques of the writings of people living with pain during the mid (high) to late Medieval Period (c. 1,000–1,500 AD) to gain insights into the nature, attitudes, lived experience, and sense-making of pain. In the Medieval Period, pain was understood in terms of Galen's four humours and the Church's doctrine of pain as a “divine gift”, “punishment for sin” and/or “sacrificial offering”. Many treatments for pain were precursors of those used in modern time and society considered pain to be a “shared experience”. We argue that sharing personal stories of life is a fundamental human attribute to foster social cohesion, and that nowadays sharing personal stories about pain is difficult during biomedically-focussed time-constrained clinical consultations. Exploring pain through a medieval lens demonstrates the importance of sharing stories of living with pain that are flexible in meaning, so that people can connect with a sense of self and their social world. We advocate a role for community-centred approaches to support people in the creation and sharing of their personal pain stories. Contributions from non-biomedical disciplines, such as history and the arts, can inform a fuller understanding of pain and its prevention and management.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpain.2023.1162569/fullpainmedievalhistorypainogenic environmentsocial cohesionascetics |
| spellingShingle | Emma G. Paley Mark I. Johnson Carole A. Paley Carole A. Paley Understanding pain in modern society: insights from attitudes to pain in the Medieval Period Frontiers in Pain Research pain medieval history painogenic environment social cohesion ascetics |
| title | Understanding pain in modern society: insights from attitudes to pain in the Medieval Period |
| title_full | Understanding pain in modern society: insights from attitudes to pain in the Medieval Period |
| title_fullStr | Understanding pain in modern society: insights from attitudes to pain in the Medieval Period |
| title_full_unstemmed | Understanding pain in modern society: insights from attitudes to pain in the Medieval Period |
| title_short | Understanding pain in modern society: insights from attitudes to pain in the Medieval Period |
| title_sort | understanding pain in modern society insights from attitudes to pain in the medieval period |
| topic | pain medieval history painogenic environment social cohesion ascetics |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpain.2023.1162569/full |
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