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Des « gens de métier » à la tête d’un hôpital. Enjeux de la fondation et de la gestion hospitalière à Bruxelles et Malines au XIVe siècle

par Jacobs, Thibault
Référence Noordbrabants historisch jaarboek, 35
Publication A Paraître, 2018-11

Article révisé par les pairs

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Résumé :

During the first half of the 14th century, the cities of the duchy of Brabant witness deep transformations. The economic prosperity offers numerous opportunities to the thriving urban societies. Among the characteristic developments of this period, one can highlight the progressive emancipation and organisation of tradesmen on one side and a renewal in the hospitals foundations on the other. One might think that these two trends are only loosely connected, but they are for some part deeply intertwined. This article explores the participation and the investment both in terms of time and money of tradesmen in several hospitals for short term stays or gasthuizen.In Mechelen, the hospital of Saint-Julian founded by a textile worker maintains the link with this trade through its later administrators. The origin of Saint-Jacob in the same city is more obscure but the hospital fraternity, chairmen and debtors show close ties with the fishers’ and boatmen trades. Many different skills from weavers to dyers and butchers gather round the foundation of Saint-Jacob in Brussels. The meat workers take an important role in the administration of the hospital and its fraternity. The same trade is also later involved in the foundation of Saint-Cornelius on the other side of the city. The founders of Saint-Julian in Brussels, two tanner brothers, bring their social and trade network along while building their hospital and legacy, strengthening the ties within their tanners’ neighbourhood.The hospital administrators ensure indeed the continuity of the mission defined by the founders. In these hospitals, the (mostly) unpaid position is always held by tradesmen. If we analyse their collective profile, we can demonstrate that they belong, however, to an elite within this social class. They are an elite within their respective profession, occupying for example the most stalls in the ducal butcher’s hall in Brussels. They also belong to the wealthiest part of society, giving among the most substantial contribution to the restoration of the patron saint's shrine in Mechelen. They also rise high above their co-workers in terms of political representation in the city councils.Their involvement in hospital foundation and administration might answer several goals. First, it is a personal religious gesture as well as a public ostentatious one. The hospital can also serve the administrator and its group, through mutual help but also rents and loans. It might have a cohesive as well as political power for the tradesmen group trying to emerge. The hospital appears to be a very convenient tool, to use according various economic, political or social purposes.