
Complexion in humans is the natural
color
Color (or colour in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) is the visual perception based on the electromagnetic spectrum. Though co ...
, texture, and appearance of the
skin
Skin is the layer of usually soft, flexible outer tissue covering the body of a vertebrate animal, with three main functions: protection, regulation, and sensation.
Other animal coverings, such as the arthropod exoskeleton, have different ...
, especially on the face.
History
The word "complexion" is derived from the
Late Latin
Late Latin is the scholarly name for the form of Literary Latin of late antiquity.Roberts (1996), p. 537. English dictionary definitions of Late Latin date this period from the 3rd to 6th centuries CE, and continuing into the 7th century in ...
''complexi'', which initially referred in general terms to a combination of things, and later in physiological terms, to the balance of
humors.
The four humours were four
fluid
In physics, a fluid is a liquid, gas, or other material that may continuously motion, move and Deformation (physics), deform (''flow'') under an applied shear stress, or external force. They have zero shear modulus, or, in simpler terms, are M ...
s that were thought to permeate the body and influence its health. The concept was developed by ancient Greek thinkers around 400 BC and developed further by
Galen
Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus (; September 129 – AD), often Anglicization, anglicized as Galen () or Galen of Pergamon, was a Ancient Rome, Roman and Greeks, Greek physician, surgeon, and Philosophy, philosopher. Considered to be one o ...
.
[Matthew Simon, ''Emergent Computation: Emphasizing Bioinformatics'' (Springer, 2005), 145.] People were thought to be either of the
four temperaments: choleric, melancholic, phlegmatic, or sanguine.
During the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
in
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
, the
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
term ''complexio'' served as the translated form of the
Greek word ''crasis'', meaning
temperament
In psychology, temperament broadly refers to consistent individual differences in behavior that are biologically based and are relatively independent of learning, system of values and attitudes.
Some researchers point to association of tempera ...
.
[ The term "temperament" referred to the balance of the qualities of hot, wet, cold, and dry; each human body carried a different mixture of the elements.][ Thus, the ]Scythians
The Scythians ( or ) or Scyths (, but note Scytho- () in composition) and sometimes also referred to as the Pontic Scythians, were an Ancient Iranian peoples, ancient Eastern Iranian languages, Eastern Iranian peoples, Iranian Eurasian noma ...
, who lived in a cold climate, were considered colder and moister in complexion; the Aethiopians were hotter and drier.[ Complexion was defined as "that quality which results from the mutual interaction and interpassion of the four contrary primary qualities residing within the elements. These elements are so minutely intermingled as each to lie in very intimate relationship to one another. Their opposite powers alternately conquer and become conquered until a quality is reached which is uniform throughout the whole: this is the complexion."
As Matthew Simon writes, "Since it served as a fundamental concept, not only in physiology but also in ]pathology
Pathology is the study of disease. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in the context of modern medical treatme ...
and therapy
A therapy or medical treatment is the attempted remediation of a health problem, usually following a medical diagnosis. Both words, ''treatment'' and ''therapy'', are often abbreviated tx, Tx, or Tx.
As a rule, each therapy has indications a ...
, complexion theory provided important support for the idea that medicine constituted a unified and rational body of knowledge."[ By observation and judgment, medieval physicians determined the proper complexion of the individual when healthy.][Paul F. Grendler, ''The Universities of the Italian Renaissance'' (JHU Press, 2002), 315.] The body was healthy when all was in balance, but diagnosis was difficult, as there was no absolute measure of the right complexion, since this varied for individuals.[ Balance was thought to be restored by various remedies, which included bloodletting, scarifying, purging, and eating certain foods.
Complexion was thought to be an indicator of one's character. The Spanish work known as ''Corbacho'', written by Alfonso Martínez de Toledo (c. 1398—c. 1470), includes a chapter called "De las complexiones." In it he describes the personalities of men of varying complexions: "There are others who are melancholic: these men correspond to the Earth, which is the fourth element, which is cold and dry. These men are very angry, without a sense of tact or moderation... They have no sense of temperance in anything they do, and only bang their head against the wall. They're very iniquitous, petulant, miserable..."
Complexion, in its original sense, engaged the attention of philosophers and musical theorists from ancient times right through to the Renaissance and beyond, in relation to the most favourable balancing of the 'qualities' or elements in order to heal and invigorate the soul: from Pythagoras and the musical theorist Aristoxenus, through Plato's dialogue ''Phaedo'', Aristotle, Saint Augustine in his thesis on music, and Aquinas; and in the Florentine Renaissance, Marsilio Ficino in his work on the immortality of the soul, the ''Theologia Platonica''.
Thus there are many references which filter through into Shakespeare's plays and sonnets derived from this body of thought; particularly in the description of important characters, and to the power of music above all to 'charm the savage breast', adjust the elements, and restore the equilibrium and balance, the 'harmony' of the soul: his characters call for music and are spellbound or restored by it, and in elevated mood, may hear it in the air, or sense its immortal harmonies everywhere.
Many surnames arose out of the existence of a complexion whose particularities may have differed from that of the village or town's population, and thus attracted enough notice to warrant a nickname. The Irish surname ''Rogan'' (from ''Ruadhán'') referred to a person with ]red hair
Red hair, also known as ginger hair, is a human hair color found in 2–6% of people of northern Europe, Northern or Northwestern European ancestry and lesser frequency in other populations. It is most common in individuals Zygosity#Homozy ...
, or a ruddy complexion. The Scottish surname ''Bain'' (from ''bàn'') referred to a fair
A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Fairs showcase a wide range of go ...
-haired person, while ''Dunn'' (from ''donn'') implies brown/ dark hair, and ''Duff'' (from ''dubh'') implies black hair. The English surname ''Brown'', an extremely common surname in the English-speaking world, was originally applied to anyone with a slightly darker complexion, in the same manner that the surname White was applied to anyone with a particularly light complexion. The surname ''Gough'' is derived from the Welsh ''goch'' or ''coch'', meaning "red" or "ruddy." King William II of England
William II (; – 2 August 1100) was List of English monarchs, King of England from 26 September 1087 until his death in 1100, with powers over Duchy of Normandy, Normandy and influence in Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland. He was less successfu ...
was called William Rufus ("the Red") because of his ruddy complexion. Ludovico il Moro ("the Moor") was called as such because of his swarthy complexion.
Complexion and biology
A person's complexion is a biological trait. The family of biological pigments known as melanin is mainly responsible for variation in tone. Melanocytes insert granules of melanin called ''melanosomes'' into the other skin cells of the human epidermis. The melanosomes in each recipient cell accumulate atop the cellular nucleus, where they protect the nuclear DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...
from mutations caused by the sun's ionizing radiation. The human body tends to protect itself against harmful surroundings. The epidermis of the body, very sensitive and delicate, reacts almost immediately to most outside effects. People whose ancestors lived for long periods in the regions of the globe near the Equator
The equator is the circle of latitude that divides Earth into the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Southern Hemisphere, Southern Hemispheres of Earth, hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, about in circumferen ...
generally have more active melanocytes, and therefore larger quantities of melanin in their skins. This makes their skins very dark and protects them against high levels of exposure to the sun (it also depends on the country). In areas of the globe closer to the poles, people have far less need for protection from ionizing radiation
Ionizing (ionising) radiation, including Radioactive decay, nuclear radiation, consists of subatomic particles or electromagnetic waves that have enough energy per individual photon or particle to ionization, ionize atoms or molecules by detaching ...
, so their skin is usually lighter.
A study published in the Journal of Human Evolution proposes that people in the Tropics have developed dark skin to block out the sun and protect their body's folate reserves. Those living away from the equator have developed a fair skin to absorb enough sunlight to maintain adequate vitamin D in their bodies.
See also
* Humorism
* Fitzpatrick scale
*Human skin color
Human skin color ranges from the Dark skin, darkest brown to the Light skin, lightest hues. Differences in Human skin, skin color among individuals is caused by variation in pigmentation, which is largely the result of genetics (inherited from o ...
*Skin
Skin is the layer of usually soft, flexible outer tissue covering the body of a vertebrate animal, with three main functions: protection, regulation, and sensation.
Other animal coverings, such as the arthropod exoskeleton, have different ...
*Pigment
A pigment is a powder used to add or alter color or change visual appearance. Pigments are completely or nearly solubility, insoluble and reactivity (chemistry), chemically unreactive in water or another medium; in contrast, dyes are colored sub ...
*Racism
Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...
*Discrimination based on skin color
Discrimination based on skin tone, also known as colorism or shadeism, is a form of prejudice and discrimination in which individuals of the same race receive benefits or disadvantages based on the color of their skin. More specifcally, coloris ...
References
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Skin
Humorism