482 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



munities, formed the nucleus of many of the larger cities of the feudal 

 period. Undoubtedly of much earlier origin was the Hospital Scotho- 

 rum, which was built on the continent at a remote period by missionary 

 Irish monks. This was destroyed and later was restored by order of 

 the Council of Meux (a.d. 845). These were probably the same monks 

 who founded the monasteries of Bobbio and St. Gall, and carried the 

 art of illuminating manuscripts as well as the gospel itself to the semi- 

 barbarous peoples beyond the Alps. 



The idea of medical missionary work is not a new, but a very old, 

 idea. Barbarous Europe was converted by medical missionaries ; prac- 

 tically all of the monasteries of the monks of the west did hospital work. 



This monastic influence reached its zenith in the tenth century, 

 and the most famous hospital-monastery of that day was the Benedic- 

 tine abbey of Cluny, founded in 910, and commanding not only a local 

 reputation, but famed through Italy and France. 



Originally each monastery had its infirmary for inmates, and this 

 under the laws of hospitality was open to sick travelers. Before long 

 the crying need of medical aid extended the ministrations of the in- 

 firmary to the people of the neighborhood, or to any who might seek it. 

 The monastery was the repository of medical as well as all other written 

 knowledge of that period, and it has been proved that among the pro- 

 fane authors copied by the monks in their scriptoria were some of the 

 classical authors on medicine. 



We must not imagine that the cathedral hospital languished during 

 the preponderance of monastic medicine; according to Virchow, 155 

 hospitals were founded in Germany alone from 1207 to 1577. With the 

 growing importance of the hospital it is no surprise to find religious 

 communities springing up whose chief and surpassing occupation was 

 to be the care of the sick. The first of these was organized in Siena, 

 a cradle of Italian genius, during the ninth century. Soror, the 

 founder of the hospital of Santa Maria de la Scala, drew up the rules 

 for its administration with his own hands. The management was 

 largely in the hands of citizens, subject to the bishop's control. Many 

 such communities were established in Italy and lived under the rule of 

 St. Augustine. 



From this time onward the religious orders strongly influenced hos- 

 pital development. In the twelfth century the Beguines and Beghards 

 were hospital orders which flourished especially throughout Belgium, 

 France and Germany, while the Alexians and Antonines established 

 and managed hospitals in various parts of Italy as well. Leprosy fol- 

 lowing in the wake of the crusades, special communities were formed 

 to care for lepers. Thousands of leper houses arose in all parts of 

 Europe — it is estimated that 2,000 existed in Germany alone. The 

 plague was eventually stamped out, an achievement in a public health 



