Medical treatments in medieval leprosaria. Exploring healing remedies through dental calculus analysis (original) (raw)

Abstract

Leprosy was an iconic disease in medieval Europe. From the 11th century, several leprosy hospitals were founded as a mitigative response to the risk of infection. Medieval treatises and chronicles suggest that leprosy was treated with medicinal plants and other ingredients of mineral and animal origin. However, very little is known about the methods used to diagnose and treat this disease within leprosaria, and medical treatments of leprosy have very rarely put in their physical context so far. Through the analysis of the dental calculus, the MEDICAL project aims to explore the medical care offered to people who experienced leprosy and lived in leprosaria in Northern Europe during the medieval period (1100-1550AD). The research will be developed at the Department of Oral and Maxillo Facial Sciences at the Sapienza University in Rome and at the Department of Archaeology of Durham University.

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