Megan Cassidy-Welch, of the University of Divinity, CI for our international research project “Pursuing Public Health in the Preindustrial World”, will present at Flinders University in Adelaide on 24 May. Her presentation focuses on the health practices of pilgrims as they travelled to the Holy Land. More information can be found here.
OVERVIEW
- When: 11.15 – 12.30 (Melbourne local time)
- Where: Social Sciences South 149 (Bedford Park, SA) / Microsoft Teams
Abstract:
This paper will explore some of the ways in which medieval pilgrims managed their health prior to and en route to the holy land at the time of the crusades. Using narrative accounts, sermons, letters and medical texts, I examine the management of spiritual and physical health during travel, particularly during the 12th and 13th centuries, to show the variety of healthcare knowledges and practices available to medieval travellers. Far from leaving their fate entirely in the hands of God as they set off on arduous and dangerous journeys, medieval pilgrims and crusaders possessed sophisticated understandings of preventive healthcare management that were mobilised throughout their travels. Such knowledges also reveal a complex interplay between physical and spiritual health.
