Philanthropy and places of care (xenodochia) in the late Roman empire, 350-600 CE

Resumo

Hospitals and places of care in general are topics that have received little attention from historians of Late Antiquity. The scarcity of detailed studies, although explained by a proportional scarcity of primary sources, written or archaeological, seems unjustified. The study of places of care can be a good tool to assess changes in power relations in the Later Roman Empire, as well as a way of comprehending important features of the Late Antique landscape that affected the general population in a myriad of ways. Our research chiefly intends to learn how Byzantine places of care related to the social surroundigs from the fourth to the sixth centuries of the Common Era, while also aiming to understand internal aspects of these institutions, ranging from its healthcaring practices to the objectives of their members.