The Cemetery of the Leper Hospital of St Margaret, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire

Farley, Michael; Manchester, Keith

doi:10.1080/00766097.1989.11735520

Cited by 9 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…[5] , [6] , [11] , [12] , [13] but the disease did not become a serious public health problem in Europe until the Middle Ages [10] . Asylums were established by the 7 th century in France [14] and skeletal evidence for the disease is well documented for Medieval European skeletal collections from the United Kingdom [10] , [15] , [16] , [17] , Denmark [18] , Italy [19] , Czech Republic [14] , and Hungary [20] , [21] .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ancient Skeletal Evidence for Leprosy in India (2000 B.C.)

et al. 2009

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BackgroundLeprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae that affects almost 250,000 people worldwide. The timing of first infection, geographic origin, and pattern of transmission of the disease are still under investigation. Comparative genomics research has suggested M. leprae evolved either in East Africa or South Asia during the Late Pleistocene before spreading to Europe and the rest of the World. The earliest widely accepted evidence for leprosy is in Asian texts dated to 600 B.C.Methodology/Principal FindingsWe report an analysis of pathological conditions in skeletal remains from the second millennium B.C. in India. A middle aged adult male skeleton demonstrates pathological changes in the rhinomaxillary region, degenerative joint disease, infectious involvement of the tibia (periostitis), and injury to the peripheral skeleton. The presence and patterning of lesions was subject to a process of differential diagnosis for leprosy including treponemal disease, leishmaniasis, tuberculosis, osteomyelitis, and non-specific infection.Conclusions/SignificanceResults indicate that lepromatous leprosy was present in India by 2000 B.C. This evidence represents the oldest documented skeletal evidence for the disease. Our results indicate that Vedic burial traditions in cases of leprosy were present in northwest India prior to the first millennium B.C. Our results also support translations of early Vedic scriptures as the first textual reference to leprosy. The presence of leprosy in skeletal material dated to the post-urban phase of the Indus Age suggests that if M. leprae evolved in Africa, the disease migrated to India before the Late Holocene, possibly during the third millennium B.C. at a time when there was substantial interaction among the Indus Civilization, Mesopotamia, and Egypt. This evidence should be impetus to look for additional skeletal and molecular evidence of leprosy in India and Africa to confirm the African origin of the disease.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ancient Skeletal Evidence for Leprosy in India (2000 B.C.)

et al. 2009

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“…1997) or children at St Bartholomew's Hospital, Bristol (Price & Ponsford 1998). Palaeopathological studies also can also reveal the medical conditions that the hospitals’ residents suffered from, for example, leprosy at St Margaret's, High Wycombe (Farley & Manchester 1989) or more general complaints, as at St Giles by Brompton Bridge, North Yorkshire (Cardwell et al . 1995).…”

Section: Medieval Hospitals Poverty and Charitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Demographic studies of residents, using both textual and archaeological sources, can reveal whether hospital managers followed the institutional rules for the admission of individuals of specific ages and/or sexes, for example, admitting infants at St Mary Spital, London (Thomas et al 1997) or children at St Bartholomew's Hospital, Bristol (Price & Ponsford 1998). Palaeopathological studies also can also reveal the medical conditions that the hospitals' residents suffered from, for example, leprosy at St Margaret's, High Wycombe (Farley & Manchester 1989) or more general complaints, as at St Giles by Brompton Bridge, North Yorkshire (Cardwell et al 1995). Such studies complement documentary records, yet hospital patients "remain an often intangible presence" (Rawcliffe 1999: 162).…”

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confidence: 99%

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

Inskip,

Cessford,

Dittmar

et al. 2023

Antiquity

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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.

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“…Cases of lepromatous leprosy have occasionally been recorded in prehistoric and antique series (Köhler et al, 2017;Mariotti et al, 2005;Molto, 2002;Robbins et al, 2009), but the vast majority of cases in Europe occur during the Medieval period. Cases are reported from Italy (Belcastro et al, 2005;Rubini and Zaio, 2009;Rubini et al, 2012), Hungary (Donoghue et al, 2015;Marcsik et al, 2002;Palfi, 1991;Palfi et al, 2002), the Czech Republic (Likovsky et al, 2006;Strouhal et al, 2002), Scandinavia (Andersen, 1969;Arcini, 1999;Boldsen, 2005Boldsen, , 2006, and the United Kingdom (Farley and Manchester, 1989;Manchester, 1981;Rawcliffe, 2006;Roberts, 1986Roberts, , 2002Taylor et al, 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The earliest recorded case of lepromatous leprosy in continental Croatia

Bedić

Šlaus

Donoghue

2019

Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports

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Among 89 skulls from the Bijelo Brdo site in mainland Croatia dated between the 10 th and 11 th centuries, two show osteological features characteristic for lepromatous leprosy. Both skulls were female. The older, estimated between 30 to 40 years age-at-death exhibits inflammatory changes on the palatine process and on the alveolar process of the maxilla, on the inferior nasal conhae and the nasal septum, as well as on the anterior nasal spine. The younger, aged between 15 to 17 years at time of death exhibits less pronounced changes on the inferior nasal conhae, and on the anterior nasal spine. Differential diagnosis excluded fungal infections (aspergillosis, mucormycosis), bacterial infections (actinomycosis, tuberculosis), and granulomatous disorders (sarcoidosis, and treponemal diseases). Molecular genetic analysis targeting the repetitive elements RLEP (36 copies/cell) and RepLep (15 copies/cell) of the M. leprae genome confirmed the presence of the disease in the older individual. The possible geography of the spread of this infectious disease in Croatia is discussed.

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The Cemetery of the Leper Hospital of St Margaret, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire

Cited by 9 publications

References 2 publications

Ancient Skeletal Evidence for Leprosy in India (2000 B.C.)

Ancient Skeletal Evidence for Leprosy in India (2000 B.C.)

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

The earliest recorded case of lepromatous leprosy in continental Croatia

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