Leper Knights: The Order of St Lazarus of Jerusalem in England, c.1150-1544 (Studies in the History of Medieval Religion) (Volume 20)

One of the most unusual contributions to the crusading era was the idea of the leper knight - a response to the scourge of leprosy and the shortage of fighting men which beset the Latin kingdom in the twelfth century. The Order of St Lazarus, which saw the idea become a reality, founded establishments across Western Europe to provide essential support for its hospitaller and military vocations. This book explores the important contribution of the English branch of the order, which by 1300 managed a considerable estate from its chief preceptory at Burton Lazars in Leicestershire. Time proved the English Lazarites to be both tough and tenacious, if not always preoccupied with the care of lepers. Following the fall of Acre in 1291 they endured a period of bitter internal conflict, only to emerge reformed and reinvigorated in the fifteenth century. Though these late medieval knights were very different from their twelfth-century predecessors, some ideologies lingered on, though subtly readapted to the requirements of a new age, until the order was finally suppressed by Henry VIII in 1544. The modern refoundation of the order, a charitable institution, dates from 1962. The book uses both documentary and archaeological evidence to provide the first ever account of this little-understood crusading order.DAVID MARCOMBE is Director of the Centre for Local History, University of Nottingham. CONTENTS ......Page 6 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ......Page 8 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......Page 12 ABBREVIATIONS ......Page 16 INTRODUCTION ......Page 20 Historians of the order......Page 22 Who was St Lazarus?......Page 24 The order in the Holy Land, c.1130-1291......Page 27 Papal support for the order......Page 36 European hospitals and preceptories......Page 37 The order in Europe, 1291–2000......Page 41 Archaeology and iconography......Page 46 Patrons and their motives......Page 53 The extent of the estate in 1291......Page 69 Henry II’s grant of alms and the gift of St Giles’s, Holborn......Page 70 The London estate and its problems......Page 72 Holy Innocents’, Lincoln......Page 74 The value of the estate......Page 76 Privileges and feudal obligations......Page 79 The English province......Page 87 The years of crisis, c.1330–1420......Page 96 The order redefined, c.1420–1500......Page 107 The outlying estates......Page 122 The Burton Lazars demesne......Page 130 The St Giles’s demesne......Page 141 Relations with tenants......Page 144 Industrial activity and milling......Page 146 Difficulties and responses......Page 150 Medieval lepers and leprosy......Page 156 Burton Lazars: Leprosarium or preceptory?......Page 163 The daughter houses......Page 175 St Giles’s, Holborn, and Holy Innocents’, Lincoln......Page 182 Provision for the poor......Page 192 Spiritual privileges......Page 196 Alms gathering......Page 199 Indulgences......Page 202 The confraternity......Page 207 Support from the laity......Page 215 Parish churches......Page 218 Appropriation of tithes......Page 222 The importance of spiritual income......Page 224 The provision of clergy......Page 227 Parochial life......Page 229 Parish church architecture......Page 230 The order under the Tudors, 1485–1526......Page 236 Sir Thomas Ratcliffe, 1526–1537......Page 238 Sir Thomas Legh, 1537–1544......Page 246 Redistribution of property......Page 255 The archaeology of Burton Lazars......Page 258 CONCLUSION ......Page 268 APPENDIX 1: Masters-General of the Order of St Lazarus,Masters of Burton Lazars and its daughter houses......Page 272 APPENDIX 2: Letters of Confraternity and Indulgence......Page 277 APPENDIX 3: The Valor Ecclesiasticus (1535)......Page 279 BIBLIOGRAPHY ......Page 286 INDEX......Page 312 An illustrated history of the English branch of the Order of St Lazarus, founded to care for lepers and send leper knights to the Crusades.One of the most unusual contributions to the crusading era was the idea of the leper knight - a response to the scourge of leprosy and the shortage of fighting men which beset the Latin kingdom in the twelfth century. The Order ofSt Lazarus, which saw the idea become a reality, founded establishments across Western Europe to provide essential support for its hospitaller and military vocations. This book explores the important contribution of the English branch of the order, which by 1300 managed a considerable estate from its chief preceptory at Burton Lazars in Leicestershire. Time proved the English Lazarites to be both tough and tenacious, if not always preoccupied with the care of lepers. Following the fall of Acre in 1291 they endured a period of bitter internal conflict, only to emerge reformed and reinvigorated in the fifteenth century. Though these late medieval knights were very different from their twelfth-century predecessors, some ideologies lingered on, though subtly readapted to the requirements of a new age, until the order was finally suppressed by Henry VIII in 1544. The modern refoundation of the order, a charitable institution, dates from 1962. The book uses both documentary and archaeological evidence to provide the first ever account of this little-understood crusading order.DAVID MARCOMBE is Director of the Centre for Local History,University of Nottingham. "One of the most unusual contributions to the crusading era was the idea of the leper knight - a response to the scourge of leprosy and the shortage of fighting men which beset the Latin kingdom in the twelfth century. The order of St. Lazarus, through which the idea became a reality, founded establishments across Western Europe to provide essential support for its hospitaller and military vocations." "This book explores the important contribution of the English branch of the order, which by 1300 managed a considerable estate from its chief preceptory at Burton Lazars in Leicestershire. Time proved the English Lazarites to be both tough and tenacious: following the fall of Acre in 1291 they endured a period of bitter internal conflict, yet they emerged reformed and reinvigorated in the fifteenth century." "Though these late medieval knights were very different from their twelfth-century predecessors, some ideologies lingered on, though subtly readapted to the requirements of a new age, until the order was finally suppressed by Henry VIII in 1544. The modern refoundation of the order, as a charitable institution, dates from 1962. The book uses both documentary and archaeological evidence to provide the first ever account of this little-understood crusading order."--BOOK JACKET Lepers And Knights -- Lands And Patrons -- Crusading, Crisis And Revival -- Land And Livelihood -- Care And Community -- Privileges, Pardons And Parishes -- Dissolution And Dispersal -- Conclusion -- Appendix 1: Masters-general Of The Order Of St. Lazarus, Masters Of Burton Lazars And Its Daughter Houses -- Appendix 2: Letters Of Confraternity And Indulgence -- Appendix 3: The Valor Ecclesiasticus (1535). David Marcombe. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [265]-290) And Index. This book explores the important contribution of the English branch of the Order of St Lazarus, which by 1300 managed a considerable estate from its chief preceptory at Burton Lazars in Leicestershire