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DraMaFlo t1_j7un513 wrote

>She was an anchoress, a woman who was walled into a cell to live a life of
prayer and contemplation, who lived at All Saints Church in Fishergate
in York, the researchers said.
>
>Dr McIntyre said the woman had septic arthritis and advanced venereal syphilis, which would have left her disfigured.

Yeah, great lifestyle

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CupcakeValkyrie t1_j7xad6t wrote

To be fair, they didn't say it revealed a fun lifestyle, just a lifestyle.

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Tutualulu t1_j7xvyb2 wrote

And with disease like that, maybe the lifestyle allowed her to at least be taken care of.

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encisera t1_j7uxzyc wrote

How do you get syphilis if you’re walled into a cell to live a life of prayer and contemplation?

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rbk12spb t1_j7uz96k wrote

Probably contracted it before, or was abused by someone with it before she became a nun. Lots of women that were victims of abuse were shuttered away in convents to hide what was done, or were sent there for their own protection. Not a good time to be a woman

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Accujack t1_j7vkeb4 wrote

History shows us it's rarely a good time to be a woman.

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Benaferd t1_j7z1u4e wrote

History being, I cannot think of a time ever when it was really that great for a woman. Like how did humans even keep existing? We suck

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SpacecaseCat t1_j80mm5i wrote

We don't even have to go back in time far to explain that. In 1969 a nun at a Catholic all girl's high school in Baltimore was murdered for helping the victims of sexual abuse at her school. Turns out multiple priests were sexually abusing the underage students and prostituting them out to others, and the nun was the only one who listened and wanted to help. No one was ever charged with a crime.

Now imagine it's medieval Europe, there's nowhere to run, and Monsieur Pedo has the power to imprison you and have you tortured.

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love_cici t1_j8e7w3o wrote

Is this the story that they made the Netflix show "The Keepers" about?

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Clio90808 t1_j7uxq5m wrote

well if this is correct, it is a huge discovery as afaik syphilis hasn't been verified in Europe this early. see link on history of syphilis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_syphilis

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Mechanisedlifeform t1_j7vmxjk wrote

From your link:

>In the Apple Down cemetery in West Sussex, UK archaeologists uncovered the skeleton of a young man with extensive damage to both his skull and long bones, a combination typical of syphilis. He died in the sixth century AD. Ref 16 - Cole, G. and T. Waldron (2011) “Apple Down 152: a putative case of syphilis from sixth century AD Anglo-Saxon England.” American Journal of Physical Anthropology Jan;144(1):72-9. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.21371. Epub 2010 Aug 18. PMID 20721939.

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johnn48 t1_j7xbx7h wrote

It would definitely call into question that it was brought to Europe by Columbus and his crews. I had always been told that syphilis was a New World disease. It’s sounding like it was more a case of being endemic and not recognized.

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Billy1121 t1_j7xk01c wrote

They often hypothesized that it was related to yaws, another new world spirochete. But syphilis could have been one of those diseases lumped in with leprosy and such. Poorly understood

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rbk12spb t1_j7zy84s wrote

I think that was debunked. Syphilis is actually present in all regions, and previously spread throughout eurasia.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3956094/#:~:text=Throughout%20the%20centuries%2C%20syphilis%20has,prevention%20programs%20control%20the%20disease.

I learned a bit reading here. It was more mild according to that write-up, but evolved to become more brutal. Interesting point, it mentions that in Europe it was mistaken for leprosy, so she may have decided to be sealed in due to the similarities in her condition. Hard to say.

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