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Ebook has 274 lines and 15931 words, and 6 pages

PAGE

TITLE 1

DEDICATION 3

FORESPEECH 7

THE LEPROSY OF SCRIPTURE 9

THE LEPROSY OF THE MIDDLE AGES 13

LAZAR HOUSES 16

STATUS OF LEPERS 26

SUMMARY 29

" B.--ENGLISH LAZAR HOUSES 43

Dedicated TO THE VEN. R. FREDERICK L. BLUNT, A.K.C., M.A., D.D., ARCHDEACON OF THE EAST RIDING; CANON RESIDENTIARY OF YORK; VICAR OF SCARBOROUGH; CHAPLAIN-IN-ORDINARY TO THE QUEEN; SURROGATE; FELLOW OF KING'S COLLEGE, LONDON; CHAPLAIN TO THE ROYAL NORTHERN SEA-BATHING INFIRMARY, SCARBOROUGH, WHO OCCUPIED THE CHAIR ON THE OCCASION, AND AT WHOSE REQUEST, THE LECTURE WAS DELIVERED.

FORESPEECH.

The subject matter embraced within these covers, consists chiefly of notes, made for a lecture delivered in Christ Church Schoolroom, Scarborough, on Thursday, March 5th, 1891, and is published by special request.

No claim for originality is made. The works of the late Sir James Y. Simpson, Professor of Medicine in the University of Edinburgh, ; Sir Risdon Bennett, M.D., LL.D., F.B.S., "Diseases of the Bible"; Dr. Greenhill, in "Bible Educator"; Leland's "Itinerary"; Dugdale's "Monasticon," &c., &c., have been freely drawn upon, and to these writers, therefore, it is the desire here to acknowledge the indebtedness which is due.

Various Notes will be found in the Appendix, which it is hoped will prove of interest.

THE LEPER IN ENGLAND.

There is perhaps no subject of greater interest, nor one which awakens more sympathy, than that of the Leper; it affords a most curious, though painful topic of enquiry, particularly in the present day, when so much has been said and written, as to the probability and possibility of the loathsome scourge again obtaining a hold in this, our own country.

Much confusion and ignorance exists, as to what true Leprosy really is. I do not pretend, nor do I assume, to be in any way an authority on the disease, nor to be at all deeply versed in the matter; my remarks will consist chiefly in retailing to you, some of the many and curious circumstances connected with the malady, with which I have become acquainted in studying the various Lazar Houses and Leper Wells, once so liberally scattered all over the country, from an antiquary's point of view, and in examining the writings of those competent to express an opinion, from personal and other observations. Your kind indulgence is, therefore, asked for any shortcomings on my part.

THE LEPROSY OF THE BIBLE.

It is necessary at the outset, to state clearly, that the disease known as Leprosy in Holy Scripture, was an entirely and altogether different disorder, to that, which, in the Middle Ages, was so terribly prevalent, not in this country only, but over the whole Continent of Europe.

There are six cases only, which include nine instances of Leprosy, recorded in the Old Testament:--

Moses--Exodus, iv., 6. } Miriam--Numbers, xii., 10. } Miraculously Gehazi--2 Kings, v., 27. } afflicted. Uzziah--2 Chronicles, xxvi., 19. } Naaman--2 Kings, v., 1. Four Lepers--2 Kings, vii., 3.

In the New Testament we have but three cases, involving twelve persons, viz.:--

Man, recorded by St. Matthew, viii, 2; St. Mark, i., 40; St. Luke, v., 12.

Ten Lepers, St. Luke, xvii., 12.

Simon, St. Matthew, xxvi., 6; St. Mark, xiv., 3.

The first account or mention of the disorder in the Bible, is to be found in Leviticus; nearly three chapters, xiii., xiv., xv., being devoted to the examination and cleansing of the afflicted, with the minutest detail.

It is a most curious, and interesting problem which has yet to be solved, why a man should be "unclean" when he was but partially covered by the disease, and yet, when he was wholly covered with it, he should be "clean."

That the descriptions of the various forms of skin disease were intended, not to denote differences in their nature or pathology, but to enable the priests to discriminate between the "clean" and "unclean" forms, is manifest. They were intended purely for practical use.

THE LEPROSY OF THE MIDDLE AGES.

The following epigram on King Bladud, who was killed 844, B.C.,--father of King Leir, or Leal, d. 799, B.C.,--was written by a clergyman of the name of Groves, of Claverton:--

"When Bladud once espied some hogs Lie wallowing in the steaming bogs, Where issue forth those sulphurous springs, Since honour'd by more potent kings, Vex'd at the brutes alone possessing What ought t' have been a common blessing, He drove them, thence in mighty wrath, And built the mighty town of Bath. The hogs thus banished by their prince, Have lived in Bristol ever since."

Many Lazar or Leper Houses were built in England during the early part of the reign of William the Norman, who founded several.

"The occult premonitory signs of Leprosy are, a reddish colour of the face, verging to duskiness; the expiration begins to be changed, the voice grows hoarse, the hairs become thinned and weaker, and the perspiration and breath incline to foetidity; the mind is melancholic with frightful dreams and nightmare; in some cases scabs, pustules, and eruptions break out over the whole body; disposition of the body begins to become loathsome, but still, while the form and figure are not corrupted, the patient is not to be adjudged for separation; but is to be most strictly watched."

"The infallible signs, are, enlargement of the eyebrows, with loss of their hair; rotundity of the eyes; swelling of the nostrils ecourt has behaved to thion of them within; voice nasal; colour of the face glossy, verging to a darkish hue; aspect of the face terrible, and with a fixed look; with acumination or pointing and contraction of the pulps of the ear. And there are many other signs, as pustules and excrescences, atrophy of the muscles, and particularly of those between the thumb and forefinger; insensibility of the extremities; fissures, and infections of the skin; the blood, when drawn and washed, containing black, earthy, rough, sandy matter. The above are those evident and manifest signs, which, when they do appear, the patient ought to be separated from the people, or, in other words, secluded in a Lazar House."

"The signs of the last stage and breaking-up of the disease, are, corrosion and falling-in of the cartilage forming the septum of the nose; fissure and division of the feet and hands; enlargement of the lips, and a disposition to glandular swelling; dyspnoea and difficulty of breathing; the voice hoarse and barking; the aspect of the face frightful, and of a dark colour; the pulse small, almost imperceptible." Sometimes the limbs drop off, piecemeal or in their entirety.

LAZAR HOUSES.

The period from its introduction into this country, as far as we know, to its final or nearly final extinction, may be embraced within the 10th and 16th centuries. It was at the zenith of its height during the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries. As early as A.D. 948 laws were enacted with regard to Lepers in Wales by Howel Dda, the Good--the great Welsh King, who died 948.

The enormous extent to which it prevailed during that period may be gauged from the fact, that there were above 200 Lazar Houses in England alone, probably providing accommodation for 4,000 at least, and this, at a time when the whole population of England was only between 2,000,000 and 3,000,000 of persons; being something like two in every thousand.

I have been enabled to compile the following English Lazar Houses, which is however far from being a complete one. These Lazar Houses were founded by the charitably disposed, and were usually under ecclesiastical rule:--

Total: 173

They were presumably under the rule of S. Austin or Augustine.

A Prior--usually a Leper--and a number of Priests were attached to each house.

Where a chapel was not attached, the inmates appear to have attended the parish church for service.

The rules of these Lazar-houses were very strict. The inmates were allowed to walk within certain prescribed limits only, generally a mile from the house. They were forbidden to stay out all night, and were not on any account permitted to enter the bakehouse, brewhouse, and granary, excepting the brother in charge, and he was not to dare to touch the bread and beer, since it was "most unfitting that persons with such a malady, should handle things appointed for the common use of men." A gallows was sometimes erected in front of the houses, on which offenders were summarily despatched from this world, for breach of the rules.

The comforts in these houses varied greatly as the house was richly, or poorly endowed. At some of the smaller ones, the inmates would seem to have depended almost, if not entirely, on the precarious contributions of the charitably disposed for their very sustenance. At Beccles, in Suffolk, one of the Lepers of S. Mary Magdalene's, was by a royal grant empowered to beg on behalf of himself and his brethren. Sometimes, these poor and wretched outcasts would sit by the roadside, with a dish placed on the opposite side, to receive the alms of the good Samaritans that passed by, who would give them as wide a berth as possible. The Lepers were not allowed to speak to a stranger, lest they should contaminate him with their breath. To attract attention, they would clash their wooden clappers together.

In the larger and richer houses, the inmates were well provided for. The account of the food supplied to the inmates of the Lazar House of S. Julian, at S. Albans, c. 1335-1349, is very curious:--"Let every Leprous brother receive from the property of the Hospital for his living and all necessaries, whatever he has been accustomed to receive by the custom observed of old, in the said Hospital, namely--Every week seven loaves, five white, and two brown made from the grain as thrashed. Every seventh month, fourteen gallons of beer, or 8d. for the same. Let him have in addition, on the feasts of All Saints, Holy Trinity, S. Julian, S. John the Baptist, S. Albans, The Annunciation, Purification, Assumption, and Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, for each feast, one loaf, one jar of beer, or 1d. for the same, and one obolus which is called the charity of the said Hospital; also, let every Leprous brother receive, at the feast of Christmas, forty gallons of good beer, or 40d. for the same; two qrs. of pure and clean corn--which is called the great charity; also at the Feast of S. Martin, each Leper shall receive one pig from the common stall, or the value in money, if he prefer it." The pigs were selected by each leper according to his seniority in having become an inmate; also, each Leper shall receive on the Feast of S. Valentine, for the whole of the ensuing year, one quarter of oats; also, about the feast of S. John the Baptist, two bushels of salt, or the current price; also, on the feast of S. Julian, and at the feast of S. Alban, one penny for the accustomed pittance; also, at Easter, one penny, which is called by them 'Flavvones-peni'; also, on Ascension Day, one obolus for buying pot herbs; also, on each Wednesday in Lent, bolted corn of the weight of one of their loaves; also, on the feast of S. John the Baptist, 4s. for clothes; also, at Christmas, let there be distributed in equal portions, amongst the Leprous brethren, 14s. for their fuel through the year, as has been ordained of old, for the sake of peace and concord; also, by the bounty of Our Lord the King, 30s. 5d. have been assigned for ever for the use of the Lepers, which sum, the Viscount of Hertford has to pay them annually, at the feasts of Easter and Michaelmas.

At the Lazar House, dedicated in honour of "The Blessed Virgin, Lazarus, and his two sisters Mary and Martha," at Sherburn, Durham, which accommodated no less than 65 Lepers, a more varied, and at the same time less complex dietary was in vogue. The daily allowance was a loaf of bread weighing 5 marks and a gallon of ale to each; and betwixt every two, one mess or commons of flesh, three days in the week, and of fish, cheese, and butter, on the remaining four. On high festivals, a double mess, and in particular on the Feast of S. Cuthbert. In Lent, fresh salmon, if it could be had, if not, other fresh fish; and on Michaelmas Day, four messed on one goose. With fresh flesh, fish, or eggs, a measure of salt was delivered. When fresh fish could not be had, red herrings were served, three to a single mess; or cheese and butter by weight; or three eggs. During Lent, each had a razer of wheat to make furmenty, and two razers of beans to boil; sometimes greens or onions; and every day, except Sunday, the seventh part of a razer of bean meal; but on Sundays, a measure-and-a-half of pulse to make gruel. Red herrings were prohibited from Pentecost to Michaelmas, and at the latter, each received two razers of apples. They had a kitchen and cook in common, with utensils for cooking, etc.:--A lead, two brazen pots, a table, a large wooden vessel for washing, or making wine, a laver, two ale and two bathing vats. The sick had fire and candles, and all necessaries, until they became convalescent or died.

Each Leper received an annual allowance for his clothing, three yards of woollen cloth, white or russet, six yards of linen, and six of canvas. Four fires were allowed for the whole community. From Michaelmas to All Saints, they had two baskets of peat, on double mess days; and four baskets daily, from All Saints to Easter. On Christmas Day, they had four Yule logs each a cartload, with four trusses of straw; four trusses of straw on All Saints' Eve, and Easter Eve; and four bundles of rushes, on the Eves of Pentecost, S. John the Baptist, and S. Mary Magdalene; and on the anniversary of Martin de Sancta Cruce, every Leper received 5s. 5d. in money.

This luxurious living was not without its leaven. The rules of the House were strict, and enforced religious duties on its inmates, of a most severe and austere nature. All the Leprous brethren, whose health permitted, were required daily to attend Matins, Nones, Vespers, and Compline.

The bed-ridden sick were enjoined to raise themselves, and say Matins in their bed; and for those who were still weaker, "let them rest in peace." During Lent and Advent, all the brethren were required to receive corporal discipline three days in the week, and the sisters in like manner.

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