Blind lives: the sightless and society in early modern England

The historiography on blindness in the early modern period has focused almost entirely on the condition itself, rather than the lived experiences of the blind. It is often suggested that before the modern age it is impossible to access their lives. This article challenges that assumption. The evidence, though fragmentary, is far richer than has been supposed. The article shifts the focus to the blind themselves: their emotional responses, experiences and lives, and the impact on their families. It demonstrates how the experience of blindness was shaped by factors such as age, social status, gender, occupation, and the degree of disability. The well-to-do found ways to adapt, while the poor faced a desperate struggle to survive. The blind continued to live among their neighbours, and through recovering their experiences we also gain a more nuanced picture of social attitudes across the early modern period.