Reforming Charity and Medicine: Christoph Wirsung, 1500–71

In the development of poor relief institutions in early modern Europe, care for the poor prompted leaders to consider ways to care for the sick. Early modern reformers sought to consolidate the practices of charity and to centralize poor relief organizations. In particular, Protestant cities sought to reduce or eliminate begging, which had become a serious social problem and Protestant reformers offered a different religious view about poverty and wealth that no longer highlighted the poor as being closer to Christ, but rather emphasized meeting the needs of the poor and the proper use of wealth, so that begging would become unnecessary. In many cities, the development of hospitals, including travelers’ hospital and plague hospitals often served as the main poor relief institutions. While some poor remained in their homes, some people, including widows and orphans, gained admittance into the hospitals. While these places, often converted monasteries, convents, and chapels, became centers of poor relief, they also became the site for physicians and surgeons to visit regularly. Poor relief legislation and church orders sets in place laws and policy that assigned physicians and surgeons to oversee medical care for the poor at the city hospital or through visitations of the house poor.

In addition, both Catholics and Protestants recognized the biblical mandates to care for the poor, sick, and vulnerable. In light of this religious value to love one’s neighbor, various physicians published their medical knowledge so that even the commoner or the poor would have some knowledge of self-care and access to simple medications. Since sickness often caused poverty, healing the sick would result in many people being able to work themselves out of poverty.