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Outcasts or chosen by God? Reconsidering the social stigmatisation of Medieval leprosy sufferers

Abstract

Ever since the beginning of the previous century, leprosy has been one of the few diseases investigated extensively and through a variety of different disciplines, such as medicine, sociology and archaeology. Still today, however, there is an ongoing controversial debate among scholars, regarding the nature of the disease and its social dimensions. Difference in opinions span from the transmission dynamics of the bacteria and the origin and spread of the disease on the one hand, to the social implications during the Middle Ages of the physical disfigurement caused by leprosy on the other hand. Consequently, the disease remains a medical and social enigma. What was the medieval perception towards leprosy? Which was the identity of medieval “lepers”, and how were they treated by their contemporaries? Were they marginalised or taken care of? Were they sinners or chosen by God to suffer an earthly purgatory? Did any temporal and/or regional differences of attitudes exist? Historians and archaeologists have put forth a plethora of different views regarding the social dimensions of leprosy during the Middle Ages. For example, it has been suggested that the hitherto prevailing opinion of medieval leprosy sufferers living as segregated outcasts describes an outdated conception that should be subjected to scrutiny. Social reactions towards specific diseases or ill health in general are influenced by socioeconomic and cultural determinants, and thus mirror the cultural traditions of each society. Through the investigation of historical and archaeological evidence, the present paper considers and re-examines the concept of the socially stigmatised medieval leprosy sufferers.

 

 

 

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Type
Journal Article
Author
Brozou A