International Medieval Society, Paris
Société Internationale des Médiévistes, Paris

Symposium 2005 Abstracts

The leper house of Mont-aux-Malades, at Rouen before 1135, was a significant institution, patronized by the dukes of Normandy and, after 1204, the kings of France. In this paper, I will discuss the patronage of Henry II (duke of Normandy 1149/50-89), the French kings Philippe III (1270-85) and Philippe IV (1285-1314), and their ducal/royal courts, for this hospital/monastery; I will also evaluate the support of Rouen’s upper bourgeoisie. I will argue that, while ducal/royal patronage evidences the deployment of charity to demonstrate status and piety, gifts by the bourgeois leaders of Rouen’s civic government reflect the emergence of this group as the city’s new ‘courtly’ elite.

Henry II was a major patron of Mont-aux-Malades, refounding the house (1174) and issuing seven acts in its favour. Simultaneous patronage by members of Henry II’s family and nobility suggests that the Anglo-Norman courtly elite strove to emulate the duke’s philanthropy, perceiving charity as a collective, aristocratic enterprise. Furthermore, Mont-aux-Malades was supported by Rouen’s secular clergy, revealing that the clerical elite were equally concerned to participate in this ‘courtly’ activity.

Following the incorporation of Normandy into the French kingdom (1204), the French kings also patronized Mont-aux-Malades. Louis IX confirmed the house’s property (1269), while Philippe III and Philippe IV granted considerable Norman possessions. Lawrence Chamberlain, panetier royal in Rouen, was another important donor, indicating that, from their court in Paris, the kings instructed their officers to fulfil royal patronage in the localities.

Mont-aux-Malades’ most numerous patrons, however, were the bourgeois of the communal government. Rouen’s mayors and leading families generously endowed the leper house, also participating in its religious life. Thus, as the dukes/kings increasingly governed indirectly by means of the commune, the latter assumed the former’s ‘courtly’ functions. Elite charitable patronage reflects the political climate, and social transformation, of twelfth- and thirteenth-century Rouen.