IMC 2016: Sessions
Session 837: Leprosy and Identity, II: Lifestyle and Environment
Tuesday 5 July 2016, 16.30-18.00
| Sponsor: | International Network for the History of Hospitals |
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| Organiser: | Elma Brenner, Wellcome Library, London |
| Moderator/Chair: | Anna Peterson, St Andrews Institute of Mediaeval Studies, University of St Andrews |
| Paper 837-a | Being a Leper in Medieval Portugal: The Lepers and the Leper House of Coimbra, 12th-15th Centuries (Language: English) Index terms: Daily Life, Medicine, Monasticism, Religious Life |
| Paper 837-b | Leprosy, Disability, and Identity in Anglo-Saxon Great Chesterford (Language: English) Index terms: Anthropology, Demography, Medicine |
| Paper 837-c | Diet as a Marker of Identity in the Leper Houses of Medieval Northern France (Language: English) Index terms: Daily Life, Medicine, Monasticism, Religious Life |
| Abstract | This session explores ways of life within leper houses in Portugal, France, and England, in order to shed light on the varied social identities of leprosy sufferers. In particular, the papers consider how diet, eating arrangements, accommodation and clothing differentiated different categories of lepers from one another, as well as from non-leprous residents of leper houses, and played a role in lepers' bodily care. The session also addresses the physical and spiritual environment of leper houses, which further shaped the lifestyle and experiences of lepers. The discussion situates these issues within the broader context of medieval understandings of sickness, health and wellbeing. |