Preliminary Programme

Wed 30 March
    8.30 - 10.30
    11.00 - 13.00
    14.00 - 16.00
    16.30 - 18.30

Thu 31 March
    8.30 - 10.30
    11.00 - 13.00
    14.00 - 16.00
    16.30 - 18.30

Fri 1 April
    8.30 - 10.30
    11.00 - 13.00
    14.00 - 16.00
    16.30 - 18.30

Sat 2 April
    8.30 - 10.30
    11.00 - 13.00
    14.00 - 16.00
    16.30 - 18.30

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Wednesday 30 March 2016 14.00 - 16.00
U-3 SOC03 Hospital Inmates in the Early Modern Society – Winners or Losers?
Aula 17, Nivel 1E
Network: Social Inequality Chair: Christina Vanja
Organizer: Christina Vanja Discussant: Martin Scheutz
Fritz Dross : The Comings and Goings: Entering and Leaving Nuremberg Leprosaria in 16th and 17th Century
In the case of medieval and early modern leprosy, discrimination and segregation of lepers was based on specific concepts of disease and legitimised by Holy Scripture, resulting in the social practise of expelling or separating lepers from communities. Reflected in medicine and religion, literature and the arts while at the ... (Show more)
In the case of medieval and early modern leprosy, discrimination and segregation of lepers was based on specific concepts of disease and legitimised by Holy Scripture, resulting in the social practise of expelling or separating lepers from communities. Reflected in medicine and religion, literature and the arts while at the same time deeply rooted in every day life, leprosy can serve as paradigm for the social practise of exclusion. In historiography, concepts of leprosy and medieval leprosaria have been comprehensively examined. On the other hand, the statutes of the leprosaria show how various contacts between the inmates of the leprosaria and the pre-modern urban society had been regular part of their daily life, as well as registers of inmates of the Nuremberg leprosaria very clearly show, that for several reasons “lepers” had been leaving the leprosaria. The paper aims at analysing the situation of pre-modern leprosy and leprosaria by focusing individual and collective strategies to deal with leprosy, developed in urban communities, within the brotherhoods of the leprosaria and by individual lepers themselves. (Show less)

Sarah Pichlkastner : Beer, Cereals, Credit Business, Subjects, Wine – but Inmates? Searching for Inmates in the Archival Sources of the Early Modern Viennese Civic Hospital
By definition, the purpose of a hospital should lie in the care of inmates. At first glance, the available archival sources of the Viennese Civic Hospital (“Wiener Bürgerspital”) suggest something different: It seems to have been mostly occupied with wine and beer production, farming activities, credit business and manorial administration. ... (Show more)
By definition, the purpose of a hospital should lie in the care of inmates. At first glance, the available archival sources of the Viennese Civic Hospital (“Wiener Bürgerspital”) suggest something different: It seems to have been mostly occupied with wine and beer production, farming activities, credit business and manorial administration. Nevertheless, the multifunctional hospital, founded in the middle of the 13th century, was the leading institution for poor relief and health care within the city. Like other medieval and Early Modern hospitals it had to rely on self-financing, and therefore maintained a large economic business. For this reason, only a small part of the hospital staff was actually occupied with the caring for inmates, and the percentage of money spent on inmates was relatively low. Throughout the archival sources, traces of inmates are quite rare. This paper examines these traces and the contexts in which they occur in the sources. For example, important information about inmates can often be found in documents produced for the purpose of economic gain (reduction of taxes, debt relief, exemption of charges etc.). Provocatively put: Was caring for inmates perhaps only a means to an end for maintaining a big economic business? (Show less)

Irmtraut Sahmland : Winners or Losers? Negotiating Inmates’ Discharge and Expulsion Out of the Hessian High Hospitals (18th Century)
At first it seems to be obvious: Persons no longer able to manage their daily lives caused by their suffering from chronic illnesses or handicaps must be seen as winners when being granted reception into one of the Hessian High Hospitals. For them a principally lifelong relief was conferred whereas ... (Show more)
At first it seems to be obvious: Persons no longer able to manage their daily lives caused by their suffering from chronic illnesses or handicaps must be seen as winners when being granted reception into one of the Hessian High Hospitals. For them a principally lifelong relief was conferred whereas others longed for this gratitude without success. But besides this – maybe even though predominant effect – the inmates lost their social network including at least their family, village community, and parish contexts. Instead they were to fit into an institution that had it’s own regulations, rules, and regimes. The inmates met a special setting of hierarchic structures that controlled and restricted free individual actions, besides the many circumstances for conflicts among themselves. Thus it is very difficult to weigh up the pros and the cons in general; and in particular out of our modern time’s perspective.
In order to still assess hospital life with regard to individual profit or loss we can study those cases inmates wanted to take some time off. This was by no means unusual; 70 out of nearly 400 inmates were temporarily absent around 1800. In other, though fewer, cases they even applied for discharge. Their motivations are informative concerning the hospitals ‘value’ from the patient’s view. Furthermore there were several cases of expulsion due to untolerated misbehaviour of male as well as female inmates. The contexts of these decisions and the then following stories also give valuable insights to the real significance of having been admitted to institutional care. (Show less)

Alfred Weiss : Inmates as Actors or Chess Pieces in Early Modern Hospital Orders? The Example of Austria
In the last few years, German hospital research has increasingly investigated the hospital as a special form of life where inmates were supposed to comply with certain rules. However, it is important to emphasize that they didn‘t “have to“, but rather that they “should“ obey these regulations. Women, men and ... (Show more)
In the last few years, German hospital research has increasingly investigated the hospital as a special form of life where inmates were supposed to comply with certain rules. However, it is important to emphasize that they didn‘t “have to“, but rather that they “should“ obey these regulations. Women, men and sometimes even children went to the hospital voluntarily, or sometimes due to poverty, to live there for a longer period of time or sometimes even for the rest of their lives. They were granted a place to sleep, had access to a dry living area and were (usually) provided with sufficient food – life continued in a predictable pattern (safety regulations). In return, the city magistrate expected the inmates to subordinate themselves, to work at the hospital (housework, farming, cleaning the church, etc.) and, in particular, to say numerous, thankful prayers for the founders and the ruling class. However, as most of the clientele were not only elderly people who were waiting for death, but rather consisted of a young, fun-loving group of people who wanted to assert their right of residence, conflicts were bound to occur. Young and elderly people, whom mayors and councils intended to treat like mute chess figures, revealed themselves to be agile actors who caused headaches among those responsible for them, due to their requests and their behaviour (fights, alcohol abuse, selling food, indoor games, sexual contacts, etc.). The presentation will investigate whether the rebellious actors were able to assert themselves in the hospital, how their (special) requests were responded to and whether he/she was eventually domesticated. (Show less)



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