Claes Janszoon Visscher II (1586–1652), Parade of Lepers in a Village

In the late Middle Ages and early modern period, leprosy did not involve complete isolation. Numerous lepers lived their lives as itinerant beggars; those cared for in leprosariums had the right to beg outside their respective hospitals.

Claes Janszoon Visscher (II) (1586–1652), Optocht van leprozen in een dorp, etching / engraving, 17.4 cm x 23 cm, ca. 1608; source: Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.190863, public domain.