In 1179, the Third Lateran Council mandated the segregation of lepers from healthy communities throughout Christendom, formalizing the establishment of leprosaria and legal restrictions on those afflicted with leprosy. This decree reflected the prevailing attitudes towards disease and morality during the medieval period, reinforcing social stigmas. The segregation laws had lasting implications for the treatment of individuals with infectious diseases and shaped societal responses to illness.

Leprosy segregation laws in medieval Europe became powerful metaphors in poetry for social exclusion and moral decay. Troubadours and hagiographers used the leper's plight to explore themes of sin, redemption, and compassion, enriching the moral landscape of their works.