Epistemologies of Touch in Early Modern Holy Autopsies

• Published in: Renaissance quarterly Vol. 75; no. 2; pp. 542 - 582
• Main Author: von Hoffmann, Viktoria
• Format: Journal Article Web Resource
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge Cambridge University Press 01.01.2022; Renaissance Society of America
• Subjects: Arts & humanities; Arts & sciences humaines; Autopsies; Cadavers; Dissection; Early modern period; Epistemology; Haptics; Histoire; History; Knowledge; Religion; Renaissance period; Senses; Touch; touch - anatomy - Renaissance Italy

This article explores the epistemic value of touch in Italian Renaissance anatomy. Using archival and printed postmortem records from canonization processes and anatomical writings, it shows that haptic expertise (Greek ἅπτομαι [haptomai] : to touch) entailed not only the acquisition of practical sk...