Christopher asked
> And curious to hear anyone's ideas on the elementary question (sorry)
> of why it was that Mary Magdalen was a favored hospital patron, at
> least in some regions (Chartres and Chateaudun, at least). ?
Fearful to start another thread with the equally elementary question: To what
extent was an equation drawn in the Middle Ages between sickness and sin?
(Hence recovery associates with repentence, and MM is the type of the repentent
sinner);
I hurry on to observe that the term 'hospital' was applied not only to places
for the sick in body. Refuges for 'fallen women' would be so named, for example.
(I can't immediately lay my hands on the references for MM's patronage in of
such refuges - Can some kind person help us, please?)
> And, while "Saint" Lazarus would seem to be a natural patron for the sick
> in general, why was he so popular for Leprsaria in particular?
Has this not to do with Luke's story of Dives and Lazarus? 'And the dogs licked
Lazarus' sores'? As to the extent to which these dedications were localised,
this is the sort of question that makes the TASC project worth attempting.
(Sorry about the plug, folks!) My hunch is that they were universal, but maybe
we shall have to wait to assess the systematically collected evidence.
Best wishes
Graham Jones
Leicester
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