Handling the Theme of Hands in early Modern Cross-over Contexts

Authors

  • Anne Sophie Haar Refskou University of Aarhus
  • Laura Søvsø Thomasen University of Aarhus

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15845/emco.v5i0.1291

Abstract

The human hand is a complex phenomenon within the contexts of early modern visual and textual culture. Its frequent presence in early modern texts and illustrations - as well as the many different types of described and depicted hands - raises a number of questions as to its functions and significances. In this article, we examine the role of the hand and two of its familiar functions –pointing and touching – against diverse and diverging understandings of human perception and cognition in the period focussing particularly on relations between bodies and minds. Through comparative analyses of cross-over examples from both medicine, manuals and drama – primarily John Bulwer’sChirologia and Chironomia, William Harvey’s de Motu Cordis and extracts from Shakespeare’s plays – we explore the questions implied by hands and their contributions to the knowledge probed and proposed by these texts and illustrations.

Author Biographies

Anne Sophie Haar Refskou, University of Aarhus

Phd candidate, Comp. Lit, Institute of Aesthetics and Communication

Laura Søvsø Thomasen, University of Aarhus

Phd candidate, Comp. Lit, Institute of Aesthetics and Communication

Downloads

Published

2018-02-25

How to Cite

Refskou, Anne Sophie Haar, and Laura Søvsø Thomasen. “Handling the Theme of Hands in Early Modern Cross-over Contexts”. Early Modern Culture Online, vol. 5, Feb. 2018, pp. 31-51, doi:10.15845/emco.v5i0.1291.