Medieval Monks were Riddled with Worms, Study Finds

[CalMeacham]

This gives new meaning to “Diet of Worms”

London (CNN)When we think of medieval friars, we may well picture Robin Hood’s jolly Friar Tuck, known for his rotund figure and love of food and drink.

But it turns out some of these monks were full of more than just cakes and ale.

According to a study released on Friday, Augustinian friars in medieval England were nearly twice as likely to suffer from intestinal parasites as other people, despite most monasteries being equipped with washing facilities – a rarity for ordinary citizens.

Researchers from the University of Cambridge’s Department of Archaeology excavated the remains of 19 friars from the grounds of a former Augustinian friary in Cambridge, England.

By comparing soil samples taken from around the pelvises of the friars and 25 townspeople of low socioeconomic status from the same 12th-14th-century era, the researchers were able to compare the prevalence of parasites in people with vastly different lifestyles, according to the study, published in the International Journal of Paleopathology.

The analysis revealed that 11 of the friars (58%) were infected with worms, compared with just eight of the locals (32%).
The percentage of parasitic presence in locals was as expected, similar to that found in previous studies on European medieval burials, but the researchers said the infection rates from the former friary remains are high.

“The friars of medieval Cambridge appear to have been riddled with parasites,” Piers Mitchell, the study’s lead author, said in a press release.
It’s the first time anyone has tried to work out how common parasites were in people with different lifestyles from the same medieval town, he added.
…
“One possibility is that the friars manured their vegetable gardens with human faeces, not unusual in the medieval period, and this may have led to repeated infection with the worms,” Mitchell explained.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/19/uk/medieval-monks-parasites-study-gbr-scli-intl-scn/index.html

[nightshadea]

@CalMeacham

“One possibility is that the friars manured their vegetable gardens with human faeces, not unusual in the medieval period, and this may have led to repeated infection with the worms,

that’s the same reason the roman empire had the same problem …

[Dewey_Finn]

There was a recent thread in which someone asked what diseases a time traveler might get from the local cuisine. This research suggests one answer.

[jnglmassiv]

A sample size of 44 is awfully low.

[Qadgop_the_Mercotan]

Based on what I’ve gleaned from treating a number of parasitic diseases over the last few decades, I’d wager your average human being who lived during the middle ages had intestinal parasites far more often than not.

[wolfpup]

Also true in the modern era under conditions of poor hygiene and malnutrition:

What parasitic worms in defector reveal about conditions in North Korea | CNN

[Dewey_Finn]

If it’s possible to do so without getting too gross, can you describe what symptoms a person infected with intestinal worms would experience?

[keeganst94]

There’s not really a good way to describe symptoms of intestinal worms in general. There are dozens, maybe even hundreds of species of parasitic worms that can live in the human digestive tract, so it really depends on the type. Symptoms will also vary with the parasite load, ie the number of worms that are present, which is often related to the age and health of the patient. Most worms have no symptoms, and you’ll never know they’re there. Others have minor symptoms like itching or discomfort, and some can result in more serious symptoms like dramatic weight loss or dysentery.

[SmartAleq]

Given how prevalent cat ownership is and how few people require their cats to be indoor only and given how lax many people are with washing their hands it’s amazing to me that more people don’t have tapeworms. Because cats get fleas, ingest those fleas during grooming then get a lovely case of tapeworms from it. Then they go all over the house dropping those little wiggly bits everywhere. It’s amazing to me we don’t all have the damned things. Gross. When I was a kid it wasn’t unusual for a child to have picked up pinworms, usually discovered via the kid constantly having their hands down their pants to scratch their bums. Gross. We may be apex predators but everybody gets eaten by something, right? Gross. Sofa king gross.

[nearwildheaven]

(dodges rotten tomatoes) Somebody had to do a study for this? I’d be surprised if anyone from that era WASN’T infected with parasites.

[Jaycat.again]

@SmartAleq

Given how prevalent cat ownership is and how few people require their cats to be indoor only and given how lax many people are with washing their hands it’s amazing to me that more people don’t have tapeworms. Because cats get fleas,

Indoor cats don’t get fleas if they’re not in contact with other cats with fleas.

[SmartAleq]

Kind of my point, most people don’t keep their cats indoors so they’re out catching rat fleas and mouse fleas and squirrel fleas and who knows what else. My cats are indoor only and they aren’t exposed to any fleas because my dogs never miss a dose of their flea/heartworm meds. Also their Sentinel Spectrum is a dewormer, just in case. Parasites are disgusting.

[Cervaise]

@Dewey_Finn

can you describe what symptoms a person infected with intestinal worms would experience?

I picked up a common intestinal worm on a tropical vacation many years ago. My primary symptoms were increased heartburn and a very itchy anus.

[Moonrise]

@nearwildheaven

(dodges rotten tomatoes) Somebody had to do a study for this? I’d be surprised if anyone from that era WASN’T infected with parasites.

Sure, but now we have figures.

[Toxylon]

@jnglmassiv

A sample size of 44 is awfully low.

Ancient burials with organic remains to study in detail are extremely rare in the big picture. A sample size of 44 is exceptionally good in this context.

[Toxylon]

@nearwildheaven

Somebody had to do a study for this?

WAGs aren’t worth their three letters. Myriad assumptions about ancient peoples have been blown apart by actually collecting and looking at data. So we study things.

[APB]

@nearwildheaven

(dodges rotten tomatoes) Somebody had to do a study for this? I’d be surprised if anyone from that era WASN’T infected with parasites.

They didn’t do the excavation just for the hell of it. The site with the monks’ skeletons was being redeveloped by the university anyway, so they first carried out the legally-required archaeological investigation. Having had to dig up the skeletons, it was then an obvious step for them to see what they could reveal. And what they discovered was that most people were not infected with intestinal parasites, but that the monks were.

[aceplace57]

I had young relative that saw something wriggling in the toilet. I can’t recall if it was an over the counter or prescription med that got rid of them.

She was told not to kiss the dog and wash her hands after petting it.

[jnglmassiv]

@Toxylon

Ancient burials with organic remains to study in detail are extremely rare in the big picture.

It may be a lot of burials in proximity for the time but it’s not a lot to draw conclusions about levels of disease and parasite load proportions among the populations. It’s all we have to study this stuff but I wouldn’t put too much confidence in ‘58% of friars had worms but only 32% had the same.’

[nearwildheaven]

Oh, I understand the rationale behind the study - not just that they had infestations, but WHAT they were infested with.