Papers by Marie-Louise Leonard
This thesis investigates how health officials sought to preserve or recover good health during pl... more This thesis investigates how health officials sought to preserve or recover good health during plague epidemics in Mantua, from 1463-1577. Scholarship on health boards in Italy has focused primarily on larger cities such as Milan, Florence and Venice, while many smaller cities and states which formed part of the wider network of interdependent health offices have yet to receive significant attention. This study attempts to address this imbalance by focussing on Mantua, a hitherto neglected area in the heart of northern Italy. Historians have shown by the sixteenth century health offices had wide-ranging responsibilities, yet their most important function remained tackling plague outbreaks through measures including trade and travel bans, quarantine periods and lazaretti. An analysis of the Mantuan health office’s actions and reactions reveal that it does not fit neatly with the health board model historians have established elsewhere in northern and central Italy. I will argue that while the hallmarks of the ‘Italian system’ of public health procedures are evident, closer examination of their organisation and composition reveals that they were shaped by the incidence and severity of outbreaks. Above all, however, they were dependent upon and defined by the evolving state apparatus and by participation of the wider community, both lay and ecclesiastic. Contrary to the view that permanent Italian health offices enforced plague regulations uniformly, there was a degree of flexibility in application within the structures created to fight plague. Further, it will be argued that by examining in detail symbolic acts, such as processions, in conjunction with practical methods we see with greater clarity how civic and ecclesiastical authorities worked together in the attempt to restore the city to good health. By exploring the dialogues between civic authorities, the people they governed and interactions between specific health agencies across the peninsula, this thesis contributes to the understanding of the Gonzagan state-building process and concepts of public health in Renaissance Italy.
Science Museum Group Journal, 2019
In 1576 a plague epidemic inflicted physical and psychological wounds on the community of Mantua.... more In 1576 a plague epidemic inflicted physical and psychological wounds on the community of Mantua. This article examines the role of processions in healing those wounds and discusses the programme of processions organised by the city's health office in conjunction with religious groups including Mantua's confraternities. Processions were staged at various points during the epidemic for different purposes: to celebrate dates on the religious calendar, such as the feast of Corpus Domini, and to reintegrate those cured at the plague hospital to the city. Participation was not limited to those in the processional body; for instance, people quarantined in their homes could watch the event, hear the prayers, and join in by singing. Therefore, processions provided a link between the sick and the healthy and illustrate the collective experience of illness and healing in early modern society. Furthermore, processions with returning convalescents in Mantua illustrate complex attitudes towards the sick poor and their role in healing the city.
Conferences and workshops by Marie-Louise Leonard
Pioneering works in the sociology of risk describe risk society as a uniquely modern phenomenon r... more Pioneering works in the sociology of risk describe risk society as a uniquely modern phenomenon resulting from technological, economic and political developments over the last two centuries (Beck 1992 [1986]; Giddens 1991). Meanwhile, a few recent studies have suggested in one way or another that early modern risk can and should be reconsidered from a number of disciplinary perspectives, and that it can shed light on later developments (Walter 2008; Niget and Petitclerc 2012; Bertrand 2014; Nacol 2017). This panel will consider how sophisticated approaches to risk and risk management manifested in early modernity on a variety of fronts: the metaphysical and theological, the natural philosophical, the environmental and institutional, and the medical.
Research Projects by Marie-Louise Leonard
IDEA Bibliography
http://isabelladeste.web.unc.edu/
IDEA Bibliography is an extensive bibliography of published ... more http://isabelladeste.web.unc.edu/
IDEA Bibliography is an extensive bibliography of published primary sources and secondary literature related to all disciplines represented in IDEA: Isabella d'Este Archive. The bibliography is easy to use and designed for anyone with an interest in Isabella, from those looking for introductory or biographical material to experienced researchers. As a living resource, IDEA Bibliography is updated regularly with new publications on the “first lady” of the Renaissance.
IDEA Bibliography has been produced by Dr. Marie-Louise Leonard (University of Glasgow) and Dr. Sarah Cockram (University of Edinburgh), kindly supported by funding from the University of Glasgow.
To contact the IDEA Bibliography team with comments or suggestions of additions, please email: [email protected]
La bibliografia IDEA offre una vasta raccolta di testi e documenti relativi a Isabella d’Este, marchesa di Mantova (1474-1539). Questo repertorio bibliografico si situa all'interno di IDEA, un vasto progetto collaborativo su Isabella d'Este, che ha gia' creato un numero di portali digitali liberamente accessibili. La bibliografia, dedicata a materiali incentrati principalmente su Isabella, raccoglie fonti primarie edite e fonti secondarie derivate da un ampio ventaglio di discipline. Questa risorsa è di semplice utilizzo ed è intesa per chiunque sia interessato alla figura di Isabella d’Este, a partire dalla ricerca di materiali introduttivi o biografici, fino a comprendere ricerche più specifiche ed avanzate. Si tratta di una bibliografia ‘vivente’ che continua ad essere aggiornata regolarmente con le più recenti pubblicazioni.
Per contattare il team della bibliografia IDEA e per inviare commenti, suggerimenti o integrazioni, si prega di mandare una mail a: [email protected].
Uploads
Papers by Marie-Louise Leonard
Conferences and workshops by Marie-Louise Leonard
Research Projects by Marie-Louise Leonard
IDEA Bibliography is an extensive bibliography of published primary sources and secondary literature related to all disciplines represented in IDEA: Isabella d'Este Archive. The bibliography is easy to use and designed for anyone with an interest in Isabella, from those looking for introductory or biographical material to experienced researchers. As a living resource, IDEA Bibliography is updated regularly with new publications on the “first lady” of the Renaissance.
IDEA Bibliography has been produced by Dr. Marie-Louise Leonard (University of Glasgow) and Dr. Sarah Cockram (University of Edinburgh), kindly supported by funding from the University of Glasgow.
To contact the IDEA Bibliography team with comments or suggestions of additions, please email: [email protected]
La bibliografia IDEA offre una vasta raccolta di testi e documenti relativi a Isabella d’Este, marchesa di Mantova (1474-1539). Questo repertorio bibliografico si situa all'interno di IDEA, un vasto progetto collaborativo su Isabella d'Este, che ha gia' creato un numero di portali digitali liberamente accessibili. La bibliografia, dedicata a materiali incentrati principalmente su Isabella, raccoglie fonti primarie edite e fonti secondarie derivate da un ampio ventaglio di discipline. Questa risorsa è di semplice utilizzo ed è intesa per chiunque sia interessato alla figura di Isabella d’Este, a partire dalla ricerca di materiali introduttivi o biografici, fino a comprendere ricerche più specifiche ed avanzate. Si tratta di una bibliografia ‘vivente’ che continua ad essere aggiornata regolarmente con le più recenti pubblicazioni.
Per contattare il team della bibliografia IDEA e per inviare commenti, suggerimenti o integrazioni, si prega di mandare una mail a: [email protected].
IDEA Bibliography is an extensive bibliography of published primary sources and secondary literature related to all disciplines represented in IDEA: Isabella d'Este Archive. The bibliography is easy to use and designed for anyone with an interest in Isabella, from those looking for introductory or biographical material to experienced researchers. As a living resource, IDEA Bibliography is updated regularly with new publications on the “first lady” of the Renaissance.
IDEA Bibliography has been produced by Dr. Marie-Louise Leonard (University of Glasgow) and Dr. Sarah Cockram (University of Edinburgh), kindly supported by funding from the University of Glasgow.
To contact the IDEA Bibliography team with comments or suggestions of additions, please email: [email protected]
La bibliografia IDEA offre una vasta raccolta di testi e documenti relativi a Isabella d’Este, marchesa di Mantova (1474-1539). Questo repertorio bibliografico si situa all'interno di IDEA, un vasto progetto collaborativo su Isabella d'Este, che ha gia' creato un numero di portali digitali liberamente accessibili. La bibliografia, dedicata a materiali incentrati principalmente su Isabella, raccoglie fonti primarie edite e fonti secondarie derivate da un ampio ventaglio di discipline. Questa risorsa è di semplice utilizzo ed è intesa per chiunque sia interessato alla figura di Isabella d’Este, a partire dalla ricerca di materiali introduttivi o biografici, fino a comprendere ricerche più specifiche ed avanzate. Si tratta di una bibliografia ‘vivente’ che continua ad essere aggiornata regolarmente con le più recenti pubblicazioni.
Per contattare il team della bibliografia IDEA e per inviare commenti, suggerimenti o integrazioni, si prega di mandare una mail a: [email protected].