A major research project has assembled a collection of "skeletal biographies" that tell the story of medieval Cambridge life through their skeletal remains. These biographies reveal the daily experiences of people during and after the Black Death. The study was published alongside a new study that examines medieval poverty by examining remains from the cemetery of a former hospital for the poor and infirm.
Archaeologists from the University of Cambridge analyzed the remains of nearly 500 individuals excavated from cemeteries across the city and dated between the 11th and 15th centuries. The samples come from a series of excavations in the 1970s.
Researchers used the latest technology to examine the diet, DNA, activities and physical trauma of town residents, scholars, monks and merchants. The researchers focused on 16 remains that best represented different "social types."
The full 'Osteobiography' is available on a new website launched by Cambridge University's 'After the Plague' project:
https://www.aftertheplague.org/
A partial mugshot of number 766 ("Dickon") who died of the plague in Cambridge during the Black Death. Image source: "After the Plague"
Lead researcher Professor John Robb, from the Department of Archeology at the University of Cambridge, said: "Osteobiography uses all available evidence to reconstruct the lives of ancient people. Our team used techniques familiar from studies such as the Richard III skeleton, but this time to reveal unknown details of life - people we would never know otherwise."
After the Plague researcher Dr Sarah Inskeep, now at the University of Leicester, said: "The importance of using osteobiography of ordinary people rather than the elites recorded in historical sources is that they represent the majority of the population but are the people we know least about.
The project used statistical analysis of possible names appearing in written records of the time to create pseudonyms for the people studied. "Journalists report on anonymous sources using fictitious names. Death and time ensure the source's anonymity, but we want them to feel relatable," Rob said.
Illustration of Item 766 ("Dickon"), based on osteobiographical analysis of remains excavated from All Saints Cemetery. Deacon "was born in Cambridge between 1289 and 1317 and died around 1349. He may have experienced the Great Famine of 1315-1320 as a child, which may have stunted his growth. His incisors were severely worn, possibly due to the loss of his molars, and he had to rely on his front teeth for chewing. Deacon" likely died from the first wave of the Black Death, and his bones contain plague DNA. Photo credit: Mark Gridley/After the Plague
No. 92 ("Watt") survived the plague and eventually died as an old man with cancer in a charity hospital in the city; No. 335 ("Annie") was injured many times throughout his life, resulting in a shortened right leg and a hobbled walk.
No. 730 ("Edmund") suffered from leprosy, but contrary to stereotypes, he lived among ordinary people and was buried in a rare wooden coffin. And there was No. 522 ("Eudes"), a poor boy who grew up on a rich diet into a square-jawed monk and lived a long life despite the gout that afflicted him.
Entering the Medieval Welfare System
The site coincides with a study the team published in the journal Antiquity, which surveyed residents at St. John the Evangelist Hospital.
The college was founded around 1195 to provide assistance to the "poor and infirm" and could accommodate a dozen patients at a time. It existed for about 300 years before being replaced by St John's College in 1511. The site was excavated in 2010.
Rob said: "Like all medieval towns, a few lucky poor people could be housed and boarded in the hospital for life, and the selection criteria were a combination of material deprivation, local politics and spiritual values."
This research sheds light on the inner workings of the "medieval welfare system". "We know that lepers, pregnant women, and the mentally ill were prohibited from admission, and piety was required," Rob said. Inmates must pray for the souls of the hospital's benefactors to help them get through purgatory as quickly as possible. The hospital is a prayer factory. "
Illustration of Item No. 92 ("Wat"), an osteobiography based on analysis of remains excavated from the main cemetery of St. John the Evangelist Hospital, Cambridge. "Watt" was an older man, probably born between 1316 and 1347, and died between 1375 and 1475. He suffered from the Black Death and was admitted to St. John the Evangelist's Hospital, perhaps after growing old and impoverished. He died of cancer in the hospital. Image: Mark Gridley/After the Plague
Molecular, skeletal and DNA data extracted from more than 400 remains in the hospital's main cemetery showed the average prisoner was an inch shorter than the town's residents. They are more likely to die young and develop symptoms of tuberculosis.
Prisoners are more likely to have traces of childhood ravages of hunger and disease in their bones. However, they also had lower rates of physical trauma, suggesting that hospital life reduces physical hardship or risk.
The child buried in the hospital was five years younger than his peers. "The children in the hospital are likely to be orphans," Rob said. "Signs of anemia and injuries are common, and about a third of the children have lesions on their ribs, indicating respiratory disease such as tuberculosis."
In addition to the chronically poor, as many as eight hospital patients had isotope levels that suggested they had lower-quality diets in old age and may have been the "shamed poor": people who fell from comfort into poverty, perhaps after they were unable to work.
"Theological teachings encourage helping the shameful poor who threaten the moral order because they show that you can live a life of virtue and abundance and still fall victim to twists of fate," Rob said.
Members of the Cambridge archaeological team excavating St John the Evangelist's Hospital in 2010. Source: Cambridge Archaeological Team
Researchers believe that a diverse population within a hospital, from orphans to devout academics to former millionaires, may help attract diverse donors.
Researchers were also able to determine that some of the skeletons may be those of early university scholars. The clue is in the arm bone.
Nearly all town dwellers have asymmetrical arm bones, with the right humerus (upper arm bone) being thicker than the left humerus, reflecting a harsh labor regime, especially in early adulthood.
However, about 10 men in the hospital had symmetrical humeri, but they showed no signs of poor upbringings, restricted development or chronic disease. Most of these humeri are from the late 14th and 15th centuries.
Illustration of a medieval Cambridge market by artist Mark Gridley. Photo credit: Mark Gridley/After the Plague
Robb said: "These people did not have the habit of engaging in manual labor or handicrafts. They were healthy and well-nourished, and usually lived to a very old age. It seems likely that they were early scholars at Cambridge University. University priests did not have novice-to-grave support like monastic priests. The source of most scholars' livelihood was family property, teaching income or charitable sponsorship. Once sick or frail, scholars with poor financial conditions were likely to fall into poverty. As universities develop, more scholars will be sent to the hospital cemetery."
Isotope studies show that the first Cambridge students came mainly from the east of England, with some coming from the dioceses of Lincoln and York.
Map of medieval Cambridge showing the locations of three major burial sites used in the 'After the Plague' research project. Source: V.Herring/Antiquity
Most of the remains for this study came from three sites. In addition to the hospital, an overhaul of the university's new museum in 2015 uncovered the remains of the former Augustinian order, a project that also used bones exhumed in the 1970s from the courtyard of the medieval parish church All Saints at the Castle.
The team inventoried each skeleton and then took samples for radiocarbon dating and DNA analysis. "We had to track hundreds of bone samples moving around," Robb said.
In 1348-9, plague struck Cambridge, killing 40-60% of the population. Most of the dead were buried in town cemeteries or plague pits, such as the one on Binite Street next to the former monastery.
However, the team used the World Health Organization's method of calculating disease-adjusted life years (the number of years lost to a human's life and quality of life caused by a disease) to suggest that plague may have ranked only 10th or 12th on the list of risks of serious health problems faced by medieval Europeans. Everyday diseases such as measles, whooping cough, and intestinal infections ended up taking a much greater toll on medieval populations.
"Yes, the Black Death killed half the population in a year, but there was no Black Death in England before that, or in most years after. The greatest threat to life in medieval England, and throughout Western Europe, was chronic infectious diseases like tuberculosis."
Compiled source: ScitechDaily