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Leprosy in Medieval England
A major reassessment, based on hitherto unpublished manuscript material, of a disease whose history has attracted more myths and misunderstandings than any other.
One of the most important publications for many years in the fields of medical, religious and social history. Rawcliffe's book completely overhauls our understanding of leprosy and contributes immensely to our knowledge of the English middle ages. This is a fascinating study that will be a seminal work in the history of leprosy for many years to come. EHR
Set firmly in the medical, religious and cultural milieu of the European Middle Ages, this book is the first serious, comprehensive study of a disease surrounded by misconceptions and prejudices. Even specialists will be surprised to learn that most of our stereotyped ideas about the segregation of medieval lepers originated in the nineteenth century; that leprosy excited a vast range of responses, from admiration to revulsion; that in the later Middle Ages it was diagnosed readily even by laity; that a wide range of treatment was available; that medieval leper hospitals were no more austere than the monasteries on which they were modelled; that the decline of leprosy was not monocausal but implied a complex web of factors - medical, environmental, social and legal. Written with consummate skill, subtlety and rigour, this book will change forever the image of the medieval leper.
One of the most important publications for many years in the fields of medical, religious and social history. Rawcliffe's book completely overhauls our understanding of leprosy and contributes immensely to our knowledge of the English middle ages. This is a fascinating study that will be a seminal work in the history of leprosy for many years to come. EHR
Set firmly in the medical, religious and cultural milieu of the European Middle Ages, this book is the first serious, comprehensive study of a disease surrounded by misconceptions and prejudices. Even specialists will be surprised to learn that most of our stereotyped ideas about the segregation of medieval lepers originated in the nineteenth century; that leprosy excited a vast range of responses, from admiration to revulsion; that in the later Middle Ages it was diagnosed readily even by laity; that a wide range of treatment was available; that medieval leper hospitals were no more austere than the monasteries on which they were modelled; that the decline of leprosy was not monocausal but implied a complex web of factors - medical, environmental, social and legal. Written with consummate skill, subtlety and rigour, this book will change forever the image of the medieval leper.
440 pages, Paperback
First published October 19, 2006
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About the author
Carole Rawcliffe
22 books6 followersCarole Rawcliffe was an editor on the History of Parliament Trust (1979-92) before becoming a Senior Wellcome Trust Research Fellow at UEA (1992-7). She was made Reader in the History of Medicine (1997-2002) and Professor of Medieval History (2002).
Her research focuses upon the theory and practice of medicine in medieval England, with particular emphasis upon hospitals, the interconnection between healing and religion, and urban health. As editor of The History of Norwich (2004), she maintains an interest in the East Anglian region, and has written extensively on its medical provision. Her most recent book, Leprosy in Medieval England (2006), is a study of medieval responses to disease. She is currently investigating concepts of health and welfare before the Reformation.
Her research focuses upon the theory and practice of medicine in medieval England, with particular emphasis upon hospitals, the interconnection between healing and religion, and urban health. As editor of The History of Norwich (2004), she maintains an interest in the East Anglian region, and has written extensively on its medical provision. Her most recent book, Leprosy in Medieval England (2006), is a study of medieval responses to disease. She is currently investigating concepts of health and welfare before the Reformation.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 2, 2020
Very nearly the perfect work of historical research. Rawcliffe starts by exposing the exaggerations and outright myths that have accumulated over centuries concerning medieval lepers. As Rawcliffe sums up:
Rawcliffe draws upon a huge range of primary and secondary sources (and her career-long experience in the medical history of medieval England) to explore many angles of leprosy in later medieval England. Her topic is of course limited by her sources - there is very little documentation of the smaller leper hospitals, and practically nothing concerning those vagrant 'wild' lepers who could not even obtain entry to a leprosarium. Occasionally this lack of evidence leads her to make unsubstantiated assertions (see p.200 for a good example). But for the most part, Leprosy in Medieval England is a consummate work of historical narrative, founded upon a truly impressive range of research.
Epitomised by an enduring - but entirely unfounded - belief that the medieval leper was subject to a variety of cruel and bizarre rituals of exclusion, these myths and misunderstandings have largely obscured a far more complex and revealing picture of responses to human suffering. (p.354)Rawcliffe deliberately chooses to retain the terms 'leper' and 'leprosy' as these were the terms applied in the period she discusses. We cannot in hindsight apply the modern medical designation 'Hansen's disease' to all those who were called 'lepers' in medieval England - they may not have all been infected with Mycobacterium leprae, although archaeology indicates that some certainly were. What was important was that their contemporaries treated them as 'lepers'. And that treatment was not always negative, as Rawcliffe emphasises. After all, Jesus was said to have had a particular fondness for healing lepers. What was more, Christ's sufferings on the cross made him, according to some, akin to a leper in his bodily afflictions. Through their sufferings, lepers might actually come nearer to God than an ordinary, unafflicted person.
Rawcliffe draws upon a huge range of primary and secondary sources (and her career-long experience in the medical history of medieval England) to explore many angles of leprosy in later medieval England. Her topic is of course limited by her sources - there is very little documentation of the smaller leper hospitals, and practically nothing concerning those vagrant 'wild' lepers who could not even obtain entry to a leprosarium. Occasionally this lack of evidence leads her to make unsubstantiated assertions (see p.200 for a good example). But for the most part, Leprosy in Medieval England is a consummate work of historical narrative, founded upon a truly impressive range of research.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews