Mutilation and the Law in Early Medieval Europe and India: A Comparative Study -- OPEN ACCESS

This essay examines the similarities and differences between legal andother precepts outlining corporal punishment in ancient and medieval Indianand early medieval European laws. Responding to Susan Reynolds’s call for suchcomparisons, it begins by outlining the challenges in doing so. Primarily, the frag­mented political landscape of both regions, where multiple rulers and spheres ofauthority existed side­by­side, make a direct comparison complex. Moreover, thetime slippage between what scholarship understands to be the “early medieval”period in each region needs to be taken into account, particularly given the per­sistence of some provisions and the adapatation or abandonment of others. Thepaper goes on to consider how the body and face are presented as sites of injuryand punishment, and asks whether the prescriptive measures actually played outin practice. Despite tangible links between the Indian subcontinent and Europeduring the period under review, it is concluded that direct influence of one set oflaws upon the other is unlikely.