Two Patients before a Doctor

From the Getty Museum record

This image of a doctor speaking with two bandaged patients using crutches once preceded a French encyclopedic text on the human body. One patient has seemingly acquired an amputation of his left foot. The doctor proffers a small jar, which possibly includes a balm or salve to alleviate pain or fend off infection. The image positively shows the ways in which people with disabilities (whether temporary or permanent) received care in the Middle Ages. That said, a reality for people with congenital or acquired disabilities in the medieval period was their social exclusion, an inability in many cases to work, and an increased likelihood of becoming destitute. Although some systems were in place to support these groups, including the foundation of parochial hospitals and almshouses, these systems were frequently discriminatory and many of the sick, injured, and impaired were forced into beggary, something which could require a license.