Publication details
Traces of leprosy from the Czech Kingdom
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2002 |
| Type | Article in Proceedings |
| Conference | The Past and Present of Leprosy |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Field | Archaeology, anthropology, ethnology |
| Keywords | Leprosy; iconography; paleopathology; M. leprae; DNA |
| Description | Leprosy in the Medieval Czech Kingdom has yet to be thoroughly studied. Traces of the disease are, however, found in three independent data sources. Historical texts mention "leper" houses in several towns, including the one adjacent to the St. Lazarus chapel outside the Old Town of Prague, operating from the mid-13th to the end of the 15th century AD. Iconographic evidence of facies leprosa and thickening of the toes have been recently recognized in one of the "Three Apostles" from an anonymous painting dated AD 1510 in the National Galery in Prague. In addition, a male skull from an ossuary sample (n=554) at Křtiny near Brno, displays osseous changes suggestive of the rhinomaxillary syndrome of leprosy. The diagnosis was confirmed by the isolation of Mycobacterium leprae DNA in a bone sample.This is the first osteoarchaeological evidence of leprosy published from the territory of the former Czech Kingdom. |
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