Paris

Throughout Paris during the Middle Ages, the progress of hospitals began to thrive and expand throughout Europe with multiple structures with different purposes.

Hotel-Dieu

In 650, a hospital run by monks and nuns named Hotel-Dieu was created. Translating to ‘hostel of God’ in English, it signifies the efforts religious figures made to provide care and establish hospital ideals. They left a footprint on the future of hospitals, as it laid out an ethical and moral system of how care should be done. We see in Hotel-Dieu how the medicine and structure should be setup. Here, the idea of dividing the sicker from less sick individuals was put into practice, which developed along with the medical aspects of healthcare.

In this video, Hotel-Dieu is still standing, but now just represents the development of a once successful hospital in Paris.

Les Invalides

At a much later time of the Middle Ages in Paris in 1671, the creation of Les Invalides inspired the idea of having a close proximity between hospitals and churches. Les Invalides was and still is under control of the Ministry of Defense to this day. Its original purpose of the building was to provide hospital care for war veterans, but now serves as a museum for French history.

Having the presence of a church and a hospital in the same place was thought to be powerful for both the patients and caretakers at Les Invalides. The existence and close proximity of the church allowed for a stronger connection to God and for individuals to feel blessed while staying in the hospital. This enforcement was valued by people of the Christian faith, as it portrayed the importance of Jesus Christ’s acts during his life and the way they should care for the love of God.