MS Yates Thompson 8, f.92 - Blind Man's Bluff

This artifact is a manuscript image in which individuals are playing the game "Blind Man's Bluff." In this game, the person who is "it" wears a blindfold in order to make it seem like they are blind.  The person who is "it" in the image has a sack over their head and is attempting to tag two other people who are also playing the game. The two people playing the game are holding objects in their hand, which enhances the idea of how vulnerable the person who is under the sack is once they lose their vision. The two people who are trying to avoid being tagged by the person under the sack are taunting the person because he does not have vision. They seem to feel powerful over this person who is temporarily blind.  It is as if they are taking advantage of the "blind man" because they have something he does not: sight.

Blindness is defined as the state or condition of being unable to see because of injury, disease, or a congenital condition. In the medieval West, blindness was understood in many different ways.  Some may have thought that blindness could be a divine gift, but in other texts, blindness was seen as a physical impairment that needed to be cured. If people look at blindness as something that needs to be cured they are making it seem as though you cannot reach your full potential without sight and people who are blind are being seen as less capable than those who are able to see. Also, blindness was sometimes understood as a sin or a person’s spiritual imperfection. This leads to a stigma surrounding people who are blind because they may be led to believe that they deserve to be blind and they deserve to suffer (Hsy).

Also, blinding was used as a form of legal punishment in late medieval France. This caused many negative beliefs towards blindness since it could be the result of wrongdoing. Hospices were established to house people who were blind for reasons other than punishment, also called “innocent” blind people.

Blindness can be studied as either a medical issue that should be cured or seen from a religious perspective. In the medieval manuscript, the blindness can be perceived as a disability that needs to be cured in order for the person to be able to function “normally.” The sack over their head is clearly causing the person to struggle with their assigned task, to tag the other people. If the sack was not on their head, it would be much easier for them to tag the other two people.  This popular game contributed greatly to a negative stigma surrounding blindness and other disabilities.  This portrays people who are blind as less capable and unable to do everyday tasks, which is not true.

The visual aspect of this manuscript could have many different meanings.  There seems to be an underlying message that physical blindness is associated with spiritual blindness. The person who is "it" in this manuscript is blinded using a sack, which could represent this individual’s refusal of Christian beliefs.  According to the article, “To to see or not to see in the Middle Ages: Blind Jews in Christian eyes," Jews were thought to be spiritually and carnally blind.  A blindfold was used to identify Jews in order to denote their different status. The blindfold also made it clear that Jewish people were thought to be outdated and unable to understand the Christian gospel (Alvarez). This is a way of blaming a person for being blind and making it seem like it is their fault and they deserve to be blind.

This game also teaches people that they have power over those with a disability.  It makes the people who are unable to see feel vulnerable and they believe that because they cannot see they are giving those who can permission to torment them. Since children are playing this game at such a young age they will most likely continue this behavior when presented with anyone whom they see as less capable than them.

It is important to study artifacts like this because it can help us to understand how long this kind of discrimination has been going on. This game is clearly a form of discrimination against people with a disability, even if the children playing do not realize it.  It is also important to understand how people interpreted blindness in the Middle Ages in order to see how their views have been carried into today’s society.  This game greatly contributes to the harsh stigmas surrounding not only blindness but many other disabilities as well.  Playing games like “Blind Man's Bluff” does not allow us to move forward as a society, and it continues to allow people to perceive those with a disability as less capable than people without a disability.