Abstract
Investigations at St Mary Magdalen, Winchester, (2008 to 2015) have revealed a complex, multi-phase leprosy hospital (pre-1150 to 14th century) on the outskirts of Winchester, Hampshire, and to date remains one of Britain’s most extensively excavated leprosy hospitals. Excavation of St Mary Magdalen’s cemetery has revealed that 85% of the individuals buried at St Mary Magdalen, Winchester, suffered specifically from leprosy. As such, evidence of diet as revealed through the analysis of St Mary Magdalen’s faunal remains represent a unique opportunity to understand the roles in which animals, and animal products played towards the treatment of medieval leprosy sufferers specifically.This thesis presents new evidence from the analysis of the faunal remains from St Mary Magdalen, and discusses this evidence in context. Incorporating faunal evidence of diet from both regional and comparable hospital sites, this research highlights the significance of recorded butchery marks and patterns of fragmentation throughout various species of domestic livestock in association with the preparation of soup and broth. This evidence highlights the key role that diet played towards contemporary medical understanding, and the wider treatment of leprosy sufferers within medieval leprosy hospitals. This wider, more complete consideration has enabled conclusions to be drawn suggesting the sympathetic treatment of leprosy sufferers by medieval communities, which until now have been overlooked. This thesis concludes by arguing that faunal investigations should, when possible, adopt a holistic approach to study, considering the importance of wider contextual data, and discusses the implicaons of this more overarching approach.
| Date of Award | 8 Jul 2021 |
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| Original language | English |
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| Supervisor | Simon Roffey (Supervisor) |