The Mediæval Hospitals of England by Rotha Mary Clay

The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Mediæval Hospitals of England This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook. Title: The Mediæval Hospitals of England Author: Rotha Mary Clay Author of introduction, etc.: G. F. Browne Editor: J. Charles Cox Release date: November 19, 2015 [eBook #50501] Most recently updated: October 22, 2024 Language: English Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/50501 Credits: Produced by Chris Curnow, RichardW, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) *** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MEDIÆVAL HOSPITALS OF ENGLAND *** THE MEDIÆVAL HOSPITALS OF ENGLAND, BY ROTHA MARY CLAY; A PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK. THE ANTIQUARY’S BOOKS GENERAL EDITOR: J. CHARLES COX, LL.D., F.S.A. THE MEDIÆVAL HOSPITALS OF ENGLAND [Illustration: _THE SOUTH-EAST VIEW OF THE HOSPITAL OR MAISON-DIEU AT DOVER._ ST. MARY’S HOSPITAL, DOVER] THE MEDIÆVAL HOSPITALS OF ENGLAND BY ROTHA MARY CLAY WITH A PREFACE BY THE LORD BISHOP OF BRISTOL WITH 78 ILLUSTRATIONS METHUEN & CO. 36 ESSEX STREET W.C. LONDON _First Published in 1909_ DEDICATED TO FRANCES ARNOLD-FORSTER WITH GRATEFUL AFFECTION PREFACE 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. G. F. BRISTOL _July, 1909._ CONTENTS Preface by the Lord Bishop of Bristol . . . vii