The disease that 'burnt bodies' was associated with the Egyptian-born St Anthony the Abbot from the twelfth century onwards. This coincided with the spread of the Order of the Hospital Brothers of Saint Anthony, founded in the South of France where the remains of the saint were said to have been translated from Constantinople. The author illustrates the legends explaining the presence of three bodies of the same saint in three separate French locations. By translating and analysing documents relating to the hospital at the Order's mother house, she also reveals which patients were admitted there. These were not technically ergotism sufferers but those affected with gangrene of any aetiology who needed to have the affected limb amputated and required permanent accommodation to avoid swelling the ranks of beggars.
St. Anthony the Abbot, Thaumaturge of the Burning Disease, and the Order of the Hospital Brothers of St. Anthony
Foscati, Alessandra
2020-01-01
Abstract
The disease that 'burnt bodies' was associated with the Egyptian-born St Anthony the Abbot from the twelfth century onwards. This coincided with the spread of the Order of the Hospital Brothers of Saint Anthony, founded in the South of France where the remains of the saint were said to have been translated from Constantinople. The author illustrates the legends explaining the presence of three bodies of the same saint in three separate French locations. By translating and analysing documents relating to the hospital at the Order's mother house, she also reveals which patients were admitted there. These were not technically ergotism sufferers but those affected with gangrene of any aetiology who needed to have the affected limb amputated and required permanent accommodation to avoid swelling the ranks of beggars.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
