“Throughout its history, leprosy has been feared and misunderstood. For a long time leprosy was thought to be a hereditary disease, a curse, or a punishment from God. Before and even after the discovery of its biological cause, leprosy patients were stigmatized and shunned.”
There are vast swaths of history often untouched and glossed over by most of us. This week we welcome Nick Rogers, who wrote his thesis on leprosy in Medieval Europe, one such topic. We discuss some of the approaches to the disease at the time, curious details and misconceptions surrounding it, medical practices in the Middle Ages and how we might learn from this historical period.
