So, someone sent this to me today and I was fascinated to read it. : http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs...

It is quite close to my heart because ,of couse, while the renaissance is known for its beauty and wonder, it was also a time of huge violence and brutality.  That I certainly believe. And given the levels of pain and limits of medicine or even medical hygiene, and the religious emphasis on body versus soul, I thing the human body itself was a more p