Religious and Devotional Practices in Late Medieval Health Care Spaces: Healing with Christ and other Ways to Console the Soul

Abstract

Although the influence of Christian values in the configuration of assistance institutions is evident, as well as the coexistence of sanitary and religious practices, it must be acknowledged that the study of the latter has often been relegated to a secondary role. Starting from the premise that, in a context of physical illness, the healing of the spirit through devotion can be considered as a remedy when facing death, this article aims to provide an overview of the different ways in which convalescent people received spiritual assistance in medieval hospitals, making use of a wide range of testimonies.
Apart from the epistemological valorisation of sensory perception and the belief that the patient had to be actively involved in the healing process, the visualisation of devotional images and the act of hearing liturgical services played an essential role. In order to understand the therapeutic virtue of these activities and the objects involved, the study has been approached from two different perspectives: firstly, an analysis of some statutes to explore how hospital administrations managed the official domain of spiritual services offered; and secondly, an examination of the relationship between the artistic apparatus deployed within a hospital and the visual stimulation of devotio.