Pathways to the medieval hospital: Collective osteobiographies of poverty and charity

Sarah Inskip; Craig Cessford; Jenna Dittmar; Alice Rose; Bram Mulder; Tamsin C. O'Connell; Piers D. Mitchell; Christiana Scheib; Ruoyun Hui; Toomas Kivisild; Mary Price; Jay Stock; John Robb

doi:10.15184/aqy.2023.167

Pathways to the medieval hospital: Collective osteobiographies of poverty and charity

Sarah Inskip, Craig Cessford, Jenna Dittmar, Alice Rose, Bram Mulder, Tamsin C. O'Connell, Piers D. Mitchell, Christiana Scheib, Ruoyun Hui, Toomas Kivisild, Mary Price, Jay Stock, John Robb^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Archaeology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Medieval hospitals were founded to provide charity, but poverty and infirmity were broad and socially determined categories and little is known about the residents of these institutions and the pathways that led them there. Combining skeletal, isotopic and genetic data, the authors weave a collective biography of individuals buried at the Hospital of St John the Evangelist, Cambridge. By starting with the physical remains, rather than historical expectations, they demonstrate the varied life courses of those who were ultimately buried in the hospital's cemetery, illustrating the diverse faces of medieval poverty and institutional notions of charity. The findings highlight the value of collective osteobiography when reconstructing the social landscapes of the past.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1581-1597
Number of pages	17
Journal	Antiquity
Volume	97
Issue number	396
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2023.167
Publication status	Published - 1 Dec 2023

Bibliographical note

Keywords

Cambridge
charity
England
isotope analysis
medieval hospitals
osteology
palaeopathology

Access to Document

10.15184/aqy.2023.167Licence: CC BY

Pathways to the medieval hospital: collective osteobiographies of poverty and charity
© The Author(s), 2023
Final published version, 4.29 MBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

@article{3516e4e5955749b88715055967047057,

title = "Pathways to the medieval hospital: Collective osteobiographies of poverty and charity",

abstract = "Medieval hospitals were founded to provide charity, but poverty and infirmity were broad and socially determined categories and little is known about the residents of these institutions and the pathways that led them there. Combining skeletal, isotopic and genetic data, the authors weave a collective biography of individuals buried at the Hospital of St John the Evangelist, Cambridge. By starting with the physical remains, rather than historical expectations, they demonstrate the varied life courses of those who were ultimately buried in the hospital's cemetery, illustrating the diverse faces of medieval poverty and institutional notions of charity. The findings highlight the value of collective osteobiography when reconstructing the social landscapes of the past.",

keywords = "Cambridge, charity, England, isotope analysis, medieval hospitals, osteology, palaeopathology",

author = "Sarah Inskip and Craig Cessford and Jenna Dittmar and Alice Rose and Bram Mulder and O'Connell, {Tamsin C.} and Mitchell, {Piers D.} and Christiana Scheib and Ruoyun Hui and Toomas Kivisild and Mary Price and Jay Stock and John Robb",

note = "{\textcopyright} The Author(s), 2023",

year = "2023",

month = dec,

day = "1",

doi = "10.15184/aqy.2023.167",

language = "English",

volume = "97",

pages = "1581--1597",

journal = "Antiquity",

issn = "0003-598X",

publisher = "Cambridge University Press",

number = "396",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Pathways to the medieval hospital

T2 - Collective osteobiographies of poverty and charity

AU - Inskip, Sarah

AU - Cessford, Craig

AU - Dittmar, Jenna

AU - Rose, Alice

AU - Mulder, Bram

AU - O'Connell, Tamsin C.

AU - Mitchell, Piers D.

AU - Scheib, Christiana

AU - Hui, Ruoyun

AU - Kivisild, Toomas

AU - Price, Mary

AU - Stock, Jay

AU - Robb, John

N1 - © The Author(s), 2023

PY - 2023/12/1

Y1 - 2023/12/1

N2 - Medieval hospitals were founded to provide charity, but poverty and infirmity were broad and socially determined categories and little is known about the residents of these institutions and the pathways that led them there. Combining skeletal, isotopic and genetic data, the authors weave a collective biography of individuals buried at the Hospital of St John the Evangelist, Cambridge. By starting with the physical remains, rather than historical expectations, they demonstrate the varied life courses of those who were ultimately buried in the hospital's cemetery, illustrating the diverse faces of medieval poverty and institutional notions of charity. The findings highlight the value of collective osteobiography when reconstructing the social landscapes of the past.

AB - Medieval hospitals were founded to provide charity, but poverty and infirmity were broad and socially determined categories and little is known about the residents of these institutions and the pathways that led them there. Combining skeletal, isotopic and genetic data, the authors weave a collective biography of individuals buried at the Hospital of St John the Evangelist, Cambridge. By starting with the physical remains, rather than historical expectations, they demonstrate the varied life courses of those who were ultimately buried in the hospital's cemetery, illustrating the diverse faces of medieval poverty and institutional notions of charity. The findings highlight the value of collective osteobiography when reconstructing the social landscapes of the past.

KW - Cambridge

KW - charity

KW - England

KW - isotope analysis

KW - medieval hospitals

KW - osteology

KW - palaeopathology

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85179959032&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.15184/aqy.2023.167

DO - 10.15184/aqy.2023.167

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85179959032

SN - 0003-598X

VL - 97

SP - 1581

EP - 1597

JO - Antiquity

JF - Antiquity

IS - 396

ER -

Pathways to the medieval hospital: Collective osteobiographies of poverty and charity

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Cite this