Foreword

dear museum friend, dear reader,

The building, the history and the collections of Sint-Janshospitaal illustrate a unique and extraordinary story – one stretching back for centuries – of care for the body and the soul. All too often, the public focuses exclusively on the marvellous group of works here by Hans Memling. Yet there is much more to Sint-Janshospitaal than those paintings, even though they are among the city’s crowning artistic glories. The complex of which it forms part is testimony to an eventful history of more than eight centuries of health care. While we should not underestimate its importance to the treatment of bodily ailments in the late Middle Ages, the hospital’s predominant concern for many years was caring for the soul, comforting the dying and preparing them for the afterlife. As you will see in this special issue of the Museum Bulletin, all that began to change rapidly in the sixteenth century. Although spiritual care remained very much to the fore until the end of the eighteenth century, fundamental changes occurred in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Europe in medicine and health care: developments that laid the foundations for the medical treatment we know today. It is an intriguing thought that this remarkable blend of continuity and innovation in medical knowledge and practice was concentrated at a single location in Bruges for over eight centuries. The hospital did not leave the site until 1976, when it relocated to the edge of the city, physically separating the historical collections from contemporary health care. The intrinsic link between the ‘old’ and the ‘new’ Sint-Janshospitaal has nevertheless remained, not least because OCMW Brugge – the municipal social services organization and heir to the former hospital trustees – continues to administer the modern institution and still owns the celebrated collections at the old Sint-Janshospitaal. The management, conservation and museum presentation of those collections were, however, entrusted over twenty years ago to the Bruges municipal authority and to Musea Brugge. It was the firm wish of both Musea Brugge’s administrators and the staff of the Hospitaalmuseum to organize a temporary exhibition to fill the many gaps in the permanent collection that have prevented the full story from being told of health care prior to 1800. The recent, authoritative publication by Dr Pannier – full of fresh insights – on the history of medical care in Bruges in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries offered an ideal opportunity to realize that dream. I am exceptionally grateful to Dr Pannier and to Montanus vzw – a group of enthusiastic Bruges medical specialists committed to the study and presentation of the history of medicine in the city – for offering their expertise and helping develop the substantive concept of the exhibition. Without their passion, unselfish effort and specialist knowledge, neither the exhibition nor this publication would have been possible. Our sincere gratitude is also due to the municipal authorities, the working group, the exhibition partners (Stedelijke Openbare Bibliotheek Brugge, Stads- en Rijksarchief Brugge), the technical workshop and all the authors. We are equally grateful to the OCMW Brugge, and especially to curator and archivist Hilde De Bruyne, who has actively supported the project from the outset. It goes without saying too that this venture would not have been possible without the contribution of many people at Musea Brugge. I would also like to thank our colleagues at the Hospitaalmuseum, particularly the project coordinator, Sibylla Goegebuer. PK Projects – an established partner of Musea Brugge – is responsible for the attractive design of the exhibition. And a special word of thanks, of course, must go to all the lenders, who were willing to entrust their precious items to the exhibition. I very much hope that we succeed in conveying our fascination for this subject to the people who visit the exhibition and who read this Bulletin. The occasion also provides the perfect opportunity for visitors to renew their acquaintance with Sint-Janshospitaal and the magnificent collections it contains.

Manfred Sellink