We think we know about the renaissance, but this talk offers a fresh perspective by looking at the period through deaf eyes. Rosamund Oates explores the lives of deaf people in early modern Europe (1450-1750), showing the importance of sign language in churches, courts and in families. She will then tell some little-known stories of deaf artists in the renaissance – with examples from the Sistine Chapel to the Dutch Golden Age – to ask what the experiences of deaf people can tell us about renaissance society.

Dr Rosamund Oates is an Associate Professor of History at Manchester Metropolitan University in the UK, where her research has been supported by the British Academy and the Leverhulme Trust. She is currently in Christchurch as a Canterbury Fellow with the department of History at the University of Canterbury. She has published widely on deafness and early modern religious cultures, appeared on Radio 4, and runs the Cultures of Disability research cluster.