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SUMMARY:Leprosy and identity in medieval Rouen - Elma Brenner (Department 
 of History and Philosophy of Science)
DTSTART:20110303T163000Z
DTEND:20110303T180000Z
UID:TALK28978@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Nicky Reeves
DESCRIPTION:Leprosy (Hansen's disease) has been described as the disease o
 f the Middle Ages\, and my research examines the impact that it had on the
  society of Rouen\, one of the leading cities of medieval Western Europe. 
 This paper will approach leprosy and its sufferers through the concept of 
 identity\, from the twelfth to the sixteenth centuries. Firstly\, it will 
 consider how the identity of lepers themselves was affected by their affli
 ction. The social identity of individual lepers prior to contracting the d
 isease undoubtedly played an important part in shaping their fate\, since 
 those who had financial backing entered monastic leper hospitals\, while p
 oorer lepers were left to beg. However\, the language used to describe lep
 ers suggested that their social status was transformed by the disease. Lep
 ers were labelled as 'leprosus'\, 'infirmus'\, 'pauper Christi'\, 'ladre'\
 , 'mesel' and\, for those lepers who begged\, 'leprosus extraneus' or 'lé
 preux forain'. In addition\, lepers' physical appearance\, particularly th
 eir facial features\, degenerated as a result of their disease. Since a pe
 rson's facial appearance is understood to reflect their individual persona
 lity\, what impact did this have on the perception of lepers by others? Wa
 s their physical decay understood to reflect the sinfulness of their souls
 ? The second part of the paper will examine the identity of the disease. C
 lerics and\, in the later Middle Ages\, physicians and surgeons\, were cal
 led upon to diagnose suspected cases of leprosy. Sometimes cases were misd
 iagnosed\, but recent archaeological work at a leper hospital cemetery nea
 r Rouen has revealed that the vast majority of residents indeed suffered f
 rom Hansen's disease. The cemetery also contains skeletons exhibiting sign
 s of other conditions such as polio. The paper will consider whether lepro
 sy was linked to other illnesses that resulted in disability and physical 
 degeneration\, and the extent to which it was viewed by contemporaries as 
 the disease afflicting their society.
LOCATION:Seminar Room 2\, Department of History and Philosophy of Science
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