This hybrid talk, in partnership with the Scottish History Society, will be presented by Professor Alison Beach.

About the Lecture

People with physical impairments lived, worked, and participated in communities throughout premodern Europe, yet their experiences remain absent from history.

Through Pictish case studies featured in the History in Our Bones exhibition at The McManus: Dundee's Art Gallery & Museum, this lecture introduces Visible Disabilities in Premodern Europe, a project combining skeletal evidence, historical sources, biomechanics, and creative practice to investigate disability, mobility, assistive technologies, and care.

Together, these approaches restore disabled people as participants in the social worlds of the past.

This lecture is delivered in partnership with the Scottish History Society.

About the Speaker

Alison I. Beach is Professor of Medieval History at the University of St Andrews, where she directs the Centre for Archaeology, Technology, & History.

She is Co-Investigator on Visible Disabilities in Premodern Europe and Project Lead for the AHRC-funded project Word of Mouth: Embodied Stories of Premodern Women at Work. Bringing together history, archaeology, and bioarchaeology, Word of Mouth recovers the lives, work, and embodied experiences of medieval religious women across Europe.

Format

This will be a hybrid event which will take place both in Augustine United Church and live-streamed online, with the recording uploaded to our YouTube channel and Spotify account shortly after the lecture. Please keep an eye on the Society website and e-newsletters for the latest news and further information on Society events.

Doors open at 5:45pm. The main lecture will be preceded by a short presentation by early career researcher Dr Eleanor (Nora) Farber entitled Introducing ‘Word of Mouth': Embodied Stories of Premodern Women at Work.

The lecture will be followed by a Q&A, for which Professor Beach and Dr Farber will be joined by their colleague Dr Tobias Houlton, Director of Houlton Forensic Imaging & Digital Consultancy.

In-person attendees are also welcome to stay for a free drinks reception from approximately 7pm where you can discuss the lecture and other interests with the speakers, Society Fellows and other attendees.

Discount on Society Books

All in-person and online attendees of this event are entitled to £5 off the purchase of any Society book.

Books will be available to purchase from our stall at Augustine United Church at the event, and online attendees will receive a code in their reminder emails to use in our online shop, which will be valid until midnight (UK time) on Saturday 17 October 2026.

Please note: Fellows who are logged in receive a 20% discount on books at checkout on the Society's online shop. This may be combined with the £5 off event discount code. The 20% off for Fellows is an online-only discount and is not redeemable in person at the venue.

Content Warning

This lecture (and the preceding presentation) will include images of archaeological human skeletal remains and discusses disability, physical impairment, and death in archaeological contexts.

While all material is presented respectfully and for educational purposes, some attendees may find this content distressing.

Your Ticket

Booking is essential for members of the public and Fellows of the Society. If you have reserved a ticket and can no longer attend, please cancel your ticket via Eventbrite or contact events@socantscot.org to allow someone else to take your place.

House Rules

The Society has a zero-tolerance policy on harassment and bullying.

All attendees are requested to act with respect to one another during this hybrid event.

Anyone making comments which we believe to be inappropriate (for example, offensive or abusive) will be removed from the event immediately. Equivalent procedures (for example, with regards to spam) will apply online.

Active and Sustainable Travel

To help to tackle climate change and decrease congestion and pollution from cars, the Society encourages you to walk, wheel, cycle or use public transport to travel to and from this event if possible.

Lothian Buses run services along George IV Bridge, Forrest Road and nearby South Bridge. There are also bicycle racks directly outside the venue.

Accessibility and Venue

The main entrance to the church is up four steps with a handrail.

A standard accessible toilet is available on the ground floor and lower level (accessible via lift).

Assistance dogs are welcome inside the venue.

Please note, the hearing loop facility is unavailable. The venue is working on a replacement and hope to have it up and running soon. We apologise for any inconvenience.

If attending via Zoom, captions are included.

If you require step-free access or any other assistance to enjoy the event as an online or in-person attendee, please let us know by answering the accessibility question at booking.

If there are any other ways we can make this event more access

Description supplied by the event organiser.