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"Medieval monks had a relatively peaceful life, at least compared to other folks of their time. They lived within friaries or other monastic complexes, studied religion, and tended to their garden and picturesque lifestyle. ...
In medieval times, regular folks were buried in a communal parish cemetery, naked and only wrapped in a shroud, giving very few clues to work with. Without any tomb, any clothes, and any indication of what life they lived, this leaves archaeologists little to go on.
But monks are different. Monks and nuns were typically buried in separate cemeteries, which allows archaeologists to carry out a comparative study and see what differences they can find between monks and the general population. The new study focused on 44 people (19 monks from the friary grounds and 25 locals) from medieval Cambridge, UK. ...
The Augustinian friary was an international study house — or a studium generale as it was known, where clergy not only from Britain but also from Europe could come to read manuscripts ...
The Augustinian friary was an international study house — or a studium generale as it was known, where clergy not only from Britain but also from Europe could come to read manuscripts ...
It’s not the first study of this type. Previous research has shown that monks had a longer average lifespan and a better diet than the general population (although the monks’ diet was also far from ideal). But when researchers looked at parasites, they found that 58% of Augustinian friars were infected with roundworm or whipworm, compared to only 32% from the parish cemetery. ...
Friars enjoyed a higher general standard of life than the general population. They had purpose-built latrines and hand-washing facilities, which was a rare luxury at the time. ...
An explanation could be fertilizers — monks took good care of their gardens, but at the time, taking good care included some practices that seem rather questionable now. For instance, they would fertilize their gardens with feces, but this also includes human poop that would presumably be taken from the latrines. This would create a cycle where if they had parasites, they would be passed on through poop, and then reach the garden and reinfect the friars. ..."
An explanation could be fertilizers — monks took good care of their gardens, but at the time, taking good care included some practices that seem rather questionable now. For instance, they would fertilize their gardens with feces, but this also includes human poop that would presumably be taken from the latrines. This would create a cycle where if they had parasites, they would be passed on through poop, and then reach the garden and reinfect the friars. ..."
Intestinal parasite infection in the Augustinian friars and general population of medieval Cambridge, UK (open access)
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