Reading the body: dissection and the 'murder' of Sarah Stout, Hertfordshire, 1699.
This article is concerned with forensic medical evidence and the several forms in which it was supplied to courts in early modern England. A specific trial is described and interpreted in detail, with particular attention being given to the kinds of information derived from the decomposed body of a young Quaker woman, believed either to have drowned or been murdered. The role of medical and lay evidence is evaluated and attention directed towards the ways in which the proceedings were recounted and recycled in post-trial publications. Major themes include popular attitudes towards dissection, the roles of lay and professional witnesses and the role of women as traditional sources of knowledge about the body.
McMahon
Vanessa
V
The American International University in London, Queen's Road, Richmond-upon-Thames TW10 6JP, UK. mcmahov@richmond.ac.uk
D004210:Dissection / Q000266:history*; D004739:England; D005260:Female; D005554:Forensic Medicine / Q000266:history*; D049670:History, 17th Century; D006801:Humans