Mediaeval Hospitals Of England

When the able author of this book asked me to write a Preface to a work on Hospitals, I replied that I must first see the sheets in proof. This was not due to any doubt of the ability of the writer, it was due to some doubt as to the adequacy of the material at her disposal. This doubt has been much more than removed. The mass of the material collected is remarkable. Still more remarkable is the evidence of the very large part played by Hospitals—in the widest senses of the word—in the social life of the people of this land in the earlier Middle Ages. For the fuller understanding of the social life of our ancestors, this book contributes information of the most luminous character. It will serve also as an example and pattern for young and earnest students of real history, the history of ordinary human beings rather than of generals and of kings. And it must be added that, although the division into numerous headings leads to frequent repetitions of the names and characters of institutions of the nature of Hospitals, it has the great advantage of reducing to order a mass of material which might under less careful treatment have had a chaotic appearance. As a book of reference for readers and writers, this treatise on the Mediæval Hospitals of England ought to hold a distinguished place.

This Is A New Release Of The Original 1909 Edition.

Excerpt from The Mediaeval Hospitals of England Write a Preface to a work on Hospitals, I replied that I must first see the sheets in proof. This was not due, to any doubt of the ability of the writer, it was due to some doubt as to the adequacy of the material at her disposal. This doubt has been much more than removed. The mass of the material collected is remark able. Still more remarkable is the evidence of the very large part played by Hospitals - in the widest senses of the word - in the social life of the people of this land in the earlier Middle Ages. For the fuller understanding of the social life of our ancestors, this book contributes information of the most luminous character. It will serve also as an example and pattern for young and earnest students of real history, the history of ordinary human beings rather than of generals and of kings. And it must be added that, although the division into numerous headings leads to frequent repetitions of the names and characters of institutions of the nature of Hospitals, it has the great advantage of reducing to order a mass of material which might under less careful treatment have had a chaotic appearance. As a book of. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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This new study concentrates on the architectural remains- many of which are still in good condition and in daily use- to evoke a vivid picture of this development through four centuries. There were almost as many hospitals and almshouses in medieval England as there were monasteries. The original hospitals often based on their monastic counterparts and frequently administered by a religious order, were little more than repositories for the cleansing of souls in the time before death and salvation. Hospitals constructed for the cure of the body are not recognizable until the early sixteenth century. The hospitals gradually adapted to changing social and economic forces, becoming more secular in organization and architectural provision. After the Black Death, monastic-style foundations of the eleventh and twelfth centuries gave way to smaller, more private establishments. Many of the older style institutions failed to survive the Reformation. Generally, the new foundations, sponsored by a new class of founder, flourished. They had changed considerably in character, offering a permanent place of rest in some comfort: so evolved the almshouses as we know it today. -- from Publisher description.

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