Medieval Charity Institutions


Figure 1.--

Institutions for poor relief appeared in the late middle ages. These institutions included foundling homes, colleges, and hospitals. The best known facility for the care of indigent children that we know of were foundling homes. They were not specufically for orphans. In fact parents often left children they could not care for at these homes. They were established by the Roman Catholic Church during the late Middle Ages as a deterent to infanticide by destitute parents. Foundling homes were widespread in Southern Europe by the late medieval era. Foundling homes were not orphanages in the modern sence. They were founded to care for infants, to ensure their proper baptism and nursing care. The children were placed with adoptive families as quivckly as they could be found. The responsibility for their care then became the responsibility of the adoptive family. Here a great deal depended on the adoptive parents. In some cases the children might come to be treated as actual natural born children. In many families they had as they grew up more the status of indentured servants. Another medieval institution was the college or orphanage to aid poor children. These were foundations that helped to provide basic school or training for poor children. They were not orphanages in the modern sence. Some provided or arranged housing and board for the children, but the emphasis at first was on schooling and often thev children had to support themselves, usually through begging. They were not specifically for orphans, but poor children in general. Also they were only for boys. At this times only boys were normally schooled and it was easier to place girls in homes as servants. Institutions like the Spanish Collegios de los Ninos de la Doctrina are examples of these institutions. Period documents note such institutions in several countries (including England, Germany, and Spain). The medieval hospitals some times took in orphans or other indigent children. This was the origins of the English hospital schools. Almhouses also began to appear in the late middle ages and cared for children. These were not especially orphans as often whole families accepted.

Late Middle Ages

Institutions for poor relief appeared in the late-middle ages. The first facilities appeared in the late middle ages. This probably reflects the growth of cities and expanding urbanization in the late-medievel era. The devetating plagues were another factor. War and the devestation left in the wake of wars also resulted in an increased number of orphans. Earlier children were commonly taken in by relatives, but in the more anonamous enviroment od cities, this was often not possible and in the case of the plagues, many relatives also died. Thus institutiions were needed to care for children who lost their parents. Often the children involved may have lost only one parent. But if that parent was the father, often the mother was without the ability to support the children. Or if she had to work as a day blaborer or servant did not have the abiklity to care for a child. There was also the problem of foundlings, usually children born out of wedlock or to poor families which could not care for them.

Institutions Aiding Children

As a result of the increasing problem of abandoned or orphaned children, medievel institutions evolved to aid children included foundling homes, colleges, and hospitals. For the most part this was the province of the church.

Foundling homes

The best known facility for the care of indigent children in medieval Europe that we know of were foundling homes. They were not specufically for orphans. In fact parents often left children they could not care for at these homes. They were established by the Roman Catholic Church during the late Middle Ages as a deterent to infanticide by destitute parents. Foundling homes were widespread in Southern Europe by the late medieval era. Foundling homes were not orphanages in the modern sence. They were founded to care for infants, to ensure their proper baptism and nursing care. Very largecnumbers of children were cared for in foundling homes. There were serious difficulties in operating a foundling home. Given the sanitation conditions until modern times (especially the pasteurization of milk in the 20th century) became widespread, a child was unlikely to survive unless he was fed by a lactating mother. Yet such large numbers of children were left at foundling homes in the larger cities that it was impractical to find an adequate number of lactating females. In addition the poorer women that might be enduced to nurse foundlings were often not in the best of health. Thus foundling homes sought to place their chsrghes in the homes of lactating mothers, preferably in rural areas. Foundling homes varied greatly in their finances. Those poorly financed homes which could not afford to foster out the infants normally experienced very high death rates. Leaving children at these homes was a virtual death sentence. Even in the best of foundling homes, infant mortality was higher than the case for the overall population which in itself was perilously high. [Kertzer and White] After the Reformation (16th cebtury), foundling homes were much more common in the Catholic countries of Europe than in the Protestant countries. [Kertzer, pp. 16-17.]

Adoption

The children were placed with adoptive families as quivckly as they could be found. The responsibility for their care then became the responsibility of the adoptive family. The adoptive children were normally expected to preform domestic services in their adoptive homes as soon as they were old enough. [Boswell, pp. 415-427.] Here a great deal depended on the adoptive parents. In some cases the children might come to be treated as actual natural born children. In many families they had as they grew up more the status of indentured servants.

Colleges

Colleges today are generally seen as academic institutions. Americans think of small lineral arts tertisary-level institutions. Many foreigners think of secindary-level schools. The term is used in many other ways (Electoral College and the College of Cardinals) reflecting the older use of the term. The term college in the Medieval era was used to mean some kind of organized societies of persons engaged in common or similar functions and occupations. The society were formed because they offered members rights and privileges. The medieval college might take the form of a vocational association, guild, or club. Such a college would consist of a group of people joined together in a more-or-less self-governing society. There were akso religious colleges where priests might live together under the rule of a superior. The most common purpose of these religious colleges was to provide prayers and masses for an individual or a group. Colleges were also formed by the wider staff of a laege cathedral (musicians and chantry priests). These colleges helped to discipline the staff as well as to provide for their care, such as afordable shelter and food). The modern academic college grew out of these early associations, specifically church men involved in education. Forming college provided both the framework for individual scholars to organize the educational program, acquire buildings, provide for the welfare of the masters, and suprervise the students. Some of these colleges with their Church associations founded and supported boy choirs for religious services. There were also colleges or orphanages founded to aid poor children. These were foundations that helped to provide basic school or training for poor children. They were not orphanages in the modern sence. Some provided or arranged housing and board for the children, but the emphasis at first was on schooling and often thev children had to support themselves, usually through begging. They were not specifically for orphans, but poor children in general. Also they were only for boys. At this times only boys were normally schooled and it was easier to place girls in homes as servants. Institutions like the Spanish Collegios de los Ninos de la Doctrina are examples of these institutions. Period documents note such institutions in several countries (including England, Germany, and Spain). [Scherpner, 16-26 and Martz, 222-223.]

Hospitals

The medieval hospital was not the hospital of modern times focusing on illness and medicine. The Roman Catholic Church opened thousands of hospital throughout Europe during the late medieval era. (I'm not sure about the Eastern Church.) These insitutions began to appear in the 11th century. They were operated by monks and nuns and not doctors, The medieval monestary received much more attention than hospitals, bit the number of hispitals probably rivaled the number of monestaries. The function of the medieval hospital can be seen in the origins of the word. The term hospital originated from the Latin word hospes, which variably was used for guest, stranger or foreigner. Medievel hospitals where not run by doctors or establihed to treat sick people. Rather hospitals served a variety of other purposes. Every hospital had rules as to who they admitted and this could vary quite a bit from hospital to hospital. They offered shelter to travelers. The word hospitality is derived from this function. Some hospitals took in indivifduals who were precived as potential trouble makers such as vagrants or delinquent children who were controlled and perhaps reforned by the descipline of hospital life. They also cared for elderly peopl and took in the sick and dying. Here there was no real effort made to cure the sick, although there were efforts made to make them comfortable out of which nursing skills developed. This began to change after the Plague (1347-51) devestated Europe. For the Church an important aspect of the hospital was the salvation of souls. Wealthy people help support the hospitals and those taken in by the hospital were expected to pray for the souls of others, especially wealthy patrons. Some hospitals specialised. There were some devoted to lepers. There was no cure, but this isolated lepers and provided care for them. Medieval hospitals some times took in orphans or other indiget children. This was the origins of the English hospital schools. The children at the English hospital schools wore uniforms. I am not sure about other such institutions.

Alms houses

Alms are donations (money, food, or other item) donated to assist the poor. The Church in the early medieval era would collect alms and provide the assistance to the needy. Only later did alms houses develop. Some alms houses evolved from hospitals others were established in the late medieval period. Children were placed in almhouses, but this did not normally mean orphans as whole families were cared for in the almshouses.

Sources

Boswell, John. The Kindness of Strangers. The Abandonment of Children in Western Europe from Late Antiquity to the Renaissance (New York, 1990).

Kertzer, David I. Sacrificed for Honor (Boston: Beacon, 1993).

Kertzer, David I. and Michael J. White. "Cheating the angel-makers: Surviving infant abandonment in nineteenth-century Italy" Continuity & Change 9 (1994), pp. 451-480.

Martz, Linda. Poverty and Welfare in Habsburg Spain. The Example of Toledo (Cambridge, 1983).

Scherpner, Hans. Geschichte der Jugendfürsorge (Göttingen 1979).







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Created: 5:36 AM 7/11/2004
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