BURGUNDY - France 2014 - page 1273

Paupers' Ward: This grandest room of the hospital was the ward for the poorest pa-
tients. The vault, typical of big medieval rooms, was constructed like the hull of a ship.
The screen separates the ward from the chapel at the front. Every three hours, the door
was opened, and patients could experience Mass from their beds. Study the ceiling. Cross-
beamsareheldbythemouthsofcreativelycarvedmonsters—eachmouthisstretchedreal-
istically, and each face has individual characteristics. Between the crossbars are busts of
real 15th-century townsfolk—leading citizens, with animals humorously indicating their
foibles (for example, a round-faced glutton next to a pig).
The carved wooden statue over the door you just entered shows a bound
Christ—demonstrating graphically to patients that their Savior suffered and was able to
empathize with their ordeal. Its realism shows that Gothic art had moved beyond the stiff
formality of Romanesque carving. Behind the little window next to the statue was the
nuns' dorm. The sisters (who were the first nurses) would check on patients from here.
Notice the scrawny candleholder; if a patient died in the night, the candle was extin-
guished.
Findthesmalltablesnearthebedsontheright.Rolin,whobelievedeverypatientde-
served dignity, provided each patient with a pewter jug, mug, bowl, and plate. A painting
on an easel at the left shows patients being treated in this room in 1949, 500 years after
the hospital's founding. During epidemics, there were two to a bed. The ward didn't get
heat until the 19th century (notice the heating grates on the floor), and the staff didn't get
theconceptofinfection(andthebasicpracticesofhand-washingandcoveringyourmouth
when coughing) until the late 19th century (thanks to Louis Pasteur). Before then, most
patients would have been better off left in a ditch outside.
Chapel: The hospice was not a place of hope. People came here to die. Care was
moreforthesoulthanthebody.(LocalguidesareroutinelyinstructedinwritingbyAmer-
ican tour companies not to use the word “hospice,” because it turns off their clients. But
this was a hospice, plain and simple, and back then, death was apparently less disturbing.)
The stained glass shows Nicolas Rolin (lower left) and his wife, Guigone (lower right),
dressed as a nun to show her devotion. Nicolas' feudal superior, the Duke of Burgundy,
is portrayed above him. Notice the action on Golgotha. As Jesus is crucified, the souls
of the two criminals crucified with him (portrayed as miniature naked humans) are being
snatchedup—onebyanangelandtheotherbyareddevil.Atthebottom,Marycradlesthe
dead body of Christ. You're standing on tiles with the love symbol (or “gallant device”)
designed by Nicolas and Guigone to celebrate their love (as noble couples often did). The
letters N and G are entwined in an oak branch, meaning that their love was strong. The
word seule (“only one”) and the lone star declare that Guigone is the only star in Nicolas'
cosmos.