ABSTRACT
In the early years of the mendicant Orders' existence the donation of land and buildings to the friars by enthusiastic and pious patrons meant that the first convent sites were not always ideal for their purposes. The health-related considerations which were associated with the development of the mendicant infirmary and its gardens can be set in the context of prevailing intellectual, medical and social influences. Physical health has been shown to have had significant consequences for the achievement of the friar's vocation and the Order's mission. The guidance of religious prescripts meant that physical measures were permitted to obtain cure or relieve symptoms. The friars' understanding of aetiology would make it logical for them to take appropriate measures to avoid illness where possible. Connections were made between the occurrence of disease in areas that were known to foster illnesses such as fevers in marshy places or chest complaints where there were fogs and miasmas.
