Plastic surgery in 17th century Europe. case study: Nicolae Milescu, the snub-nosed.

The rising and the existence of plastic and aesthetic surgery in early modern Europe did not have a specific pattern, but was completely different from one nation to another. Colleges of Physicians could only be found in some places in Europe; different Parliaments of Europe's nations did not always elevate being a surgeon to the dignity of a profession, and being a surgeon did not always come with corporate and municipal privileges, or with attractive stipends. Conversely, corporal punishments for treacherous surgeons were ubiquitous. Rhinoplasty falls into the category of what Ambroise Paré named "facial plastic surgery". The technique is a medical source from which many histories derive, one more fascinating than the other: the history of those whose nose was cut off (because of state betrayal, adultery, abjuration, or duelling with swords), the history of those who invented the surgery of nose reconstruction (e.g. SuSruta-samhita or Tagliacozzi?), the history of surgeries kept secret in early modern Europe (e.g. Tropea, Calabria, Leiden, Padua, Paris, Berlin), and so on. Where does the history of Nicolae Milescu the Snub-nosed fall in all of this? How much of this history do the Moldavian Chronicles record? Is there any "scholarly gossip" in the aristocratic and diplomatic environments at Constantinople? What exactly do the British ambassadors learn concerning Rhinoplasty when they meet Milescu? How do we "walk" within these histories, and why should we be interested at all? What is their stike for modernity? Such are the interrogations that this article seeks to provoke; its purpose is to question (and eventually, synchronise) histories, and not exclusively history, both in academic terms but also by reassessing the practical knowledge of the 17th century.

Rendering justice in witch trials: the case of the val de Lièpvre.

The borderland of the val de Lièpvre, with lands in Alsace and in the Duchy of Lorraine, and divided by religion and language, offers a rich collection of sources for the history of witchcraft persecution. The territory sharply reveals what was undoubtedly characteristic of witchcraft trials more widely. The crime of witchcraft was considered abominable before the Christian community and God, and its prosecution justified abandoning many of the safeguards and constraints in legal procedure, whether restrictions on the use of torture, the reliance on dubious testimony or even denial of advocacy to the witches. The action of the judges was nonetheless, as they understood it, the rendering of true justice, by punishing the culprits with a harshness that would expiate their crimes before the community and preserve them from damnation in the face of God's judgment.

"The Root is Hidden and the Material Uncertain": the challenges of prosecuting witchcraft in early modern Venice.

The rich archival records of the Holy Office of the Inquisition in Venice have yielded much information about early modern society and culture. The transcripts of witchcraft trials held before the Inquisition reveal the complexities of early modern conceptions of natural and supernatural. The tribunal found itself entirely unable to convict individuals charged with performing harmful magic, or maleficio, as different worldviews clashed in the courtroom. Physicians, exorcists, and inquisitors all had different approaches to distinguishing natural phenomena from supernatural, and without a consensus guilty verdicts could not be obtained.

[Salic law and punishment by castration]. / Salijski zakon i kazna kastracije.

Lex Salica was made at the end of the 5th century and it governed the Salian Franks. In those times, there were other so-called leges barbarorum, which together formed (as well as Lex Salica) important source of early feudal law in Western Europe. Lex Salica included common law of the Salian Franks which was adopted by the government and therefore had the effect of the law. Most provisions included punishment by whipping, and there were two cases of punishment by castration, although, the alternative to this punishment was a hefty fine that a slave could never pay. Punishment by castration in Lex Salica was intended only for male slaves (while it was strictly forbidden to punish free people in this way) in two cases: - A slave "had sexual relations" (presumably involuntary) with another master's female slave, if such act caused the death of said female slave. - A slave committed burglary (breaking and entering). The existing legal texts do not provide a clue as to who performed the castration of these slaves.

Corporal punishment of children in England and the United States: current issues.

Proverbs has eight sets of instructions on beating children, but that book does not contain the often cited proverbial "spare the rod and spoil the child." This form of discipline, which is thousands of years old, has only recently been abandoned and forbidden in many states in the US, and in much of Europe. It is still legal in Britain and some US states, and remains a controversial issue.

"I've tried the switch but he laughs through the tears:" the use and conceptualization of corporal punishment during the Machine Age, 1924-1939.

OBJECTIVE: To examine attitudes, conflicts, images, circumstances, and time-period effects associated with corporal punishment and other forms of adult-to-child violence during the early 20th century in the United States. METHOD: A sample of 147 letters, referencing corporal punishment and dating from 1924 to 1939, were analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative techniques. The letters were addressed to Angelo Patri (1876-1965), a popular child-rearing expert during the interwar years (also known as the Machine Age), and written primarily by middle class parents with everyday worries about child rearing and proper discipline. RESULTS: People who sought advice emphasized the practical significance of corporal punishment over and above the idea that it violated children's rights to be protected against harm. One in four letters cited conflicts with significant others about corporal punishment. Generally, children were perceived as frail, defiant, or feral. Rarely, were they seen as devilish or, conversely, innocent. Children's disobedience and disrespect were cited more than other misbehaviors as reasons for corporal punishment. Age and gender of the focal child varied by time period when letters from the 1920s and 1930s were compared. CONCLUSIONS: A full understanding of parent-to-child violence cannot be achieved without a firm grasp of its genealogy. The growing popularity of child psychology during the Machine Age had a measurable impact on how children were viewed. A utilitarian frame of interpretation was an important part of the everyday "work" associated with child rearing during this time, foreshadowing the tendency today to emphasize efficacy more than rights when evaluating the legitimacy of corporal punishment.