Blogging Assignment #1
Hunter
October 14th 2012
Disability is defined as: A physical or mental condition
that limits a person’s movements, senses, or activities. As for my first
blogging assignment I will be focusing on the limitations a person with a
disability has, that makes them have a much more difficult time within
‘transportation’. I chose a book that focused on Europe in the Medieval Ages
that dealt with the impairment of people. This booked titled: “Disability in
Medieval Europe: Thinking about physical impairment during the high Middle
Ages, c.1100-1400”. The European society had difficulty transporting people
with disabilities because they didn’t have any of the technology that we have
today. It is much easier for disabled people to get around because we have so
many things to help them. We have buses just for people with wheelchairs,
ramps, elevators, cars with installed places for wheelchairs and much more.
Back in the European society, they didn’t have any of this. To get a disabled
person from one place to another they had a much harder time – and it wasn’t
easy or safe. It was such a hassle for them because they could never be independent
because they always had to depend on someone to help them. So now we wonder,
how did disabled people really get around before, and what were some of their
troubles?
In the European society they had multiple ways to get a
disabled person from one place to another. They mainly used their methods of
transportation that they already did have and would work with it. Since the
wheelchair was not invented yet, lower class people would use sticks or as we
would call them crutches (Metzler 172). The sticks they used were legitimate sticks that were
uncomfortable, and unsafe. You would then have people who would carry the disabled
person from one place to another. They would physically carry them, put them on
a pallet, in a box, chest, and even a basket (Metzler 170). If a friend or relative had a
horse and buggy/basket they would allow them to ride with them in that as well.
Some of the disabled people were treated poorly, leaving them to be strapped on
a horse like a “sack of potatoes” (Metzler, 227). Also another way disabled people got from
place to place was by pilgrims. Lastly, the pilgrims would get paid a penny or
more to carry a disabled person to their destination (Metzler, 170).
In class we learned that pilgrims were on the lower class
scale and they would work for the lord and get paid pennies. They were like
little slaves that pretty much did all the dirty work and had little, but some
rights for certain things such as land. This connects to the book because the
Pilgrims also got the “yucky job” of carrying around disabled people. The
pilgrims would be hired by someone and would get paid a penny or more to carry
the disabled person from one place to another (Metzler, 170). Another way it relates is that
in class we were discussing Feudalism and the scale that went along with
Feudalism. You had:
1)
The King
2)
Nobility
3)
Knights
4)
Vassals
Depending on where you
landed on this social structure determined how, you as a disabled person, got
from one destination to another. If you were on the lower class scale you more
than likely got carried by a friend or relative, and sometimes if that friend
or relative had a horse and buggy they would allow you to ride in it (Metzler, 170). If they
did not, they would literally have to carry the disabled person from one place
to another. Usually the lower class people would have less money so they had to
work with what they had (Metzler 169,170). Where upper class people who did have money could hire
a pilgrim and let them be responsible for getting the disabled person from one
place to another (Metzler 169,170).
Even though much has changed from the Medieval times to our
present times, we can still connect a similarity. People who are disabled in
present life still have troubles with transportation. Even though we have safer
and more variety for transportation, they are still a lot of the times
inaccessible. Coach buses and airplanes are two prime examples (Bendall,Howman, 163). I feel as if we
will always have trouble with transporting people with disabilities because it
seems like “such a hassle” to everyone. It also doesn’t help that in the
Medieval times they thought as disabled babies were from the devil (Metzler, 62). These
babies more than likely didn’t get cared for as they were supposed to, so
transportation probably wasn’t really an “important” thing to people living in
the Medieval era.
In conclusion, disabled people who lived in the middle Ages
had a tough time getting around due to the lack of having proper ways of
transportation for them. They had to work with what they had to get a disabled
person to their destination. As of today it is much easier for disabled people
to get around and they can feel a sense of dependence. We now have new
technology such as wheelchairs and crutches that are specifically designed for
disabled people. We still use the “base way” of their means of transportation,
we have just upgraded from “horse and buggy” to motorized vehicles. Over the
years we have developed new and safe technology for the people with
disabilities to make their life a little simpler.
Metzler, I. (2006). Disability in Medieval Europe.
Retrieved from
frontcover#v=snipper&q=transportation&f=false
Bendall, Mark., Howman, Brian. (2006). Decoding
Discrimination. Retrieved from
hl=en&lr=&id=K0fjEAX_65QC&oi=fnd&pg=PA148&dq=Medieval+Europe+%2B+Transport+%2B+Disability&ots=3_Y6-FJnxh&sig=Ti-ZM70-lx8dXUsXJ0y-DbS8Rus#v=onepage&q=Medieval&f=false
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