The Dying, at the Side of the Road, from the series Les Grandes Misères de la Guerre (The Miseries of War),

1633

Prior to the mid-seventeenth century, most French hospitals—a name originating from the Latin <em>hospes</em>, meaning “guest” or “stranger”—were under the auspices of local churches, monasteries, or convents. The emphasis was on charity—caring for, but not curing, the poor. As evoked in these two etchings by Callot, created during the devastation of the Thirty Years’ War (1618–48), the poor included large numbers of soldiers. In the upper scene, a group of disabled veterans gathers before the small hospital adjoining the church. In the lower scene, located outside the town, several soldiers lie dying (one is being given last rites)—victims of either famine or disease, both of which ravaged the troops.