1.1. Ideas about the cause of disease and illness

Question 1

Impact of the church in medieval England

Answer 1

• Majority of ppl in medieval England were v religious
  > attended service regularly and expected to give tithe
• Church used tithes to pay for care of community (e.g. basic medical care given by nuns and monks of church)
• Ordinary ppl received most of their teaching from church, as they didn’t receive any formal education
• Majority of ppl couldn’t read or write so learnt from stories they heard and paintings at church
• Malnutrition, particularly in times of famine, made ppl more likely to fall ill
• A lack of scientific knowledge at the time meant causes of illness and disease were a mystery
  > Church used religion to answer the questions ppl had about illness and disease

Question 2

Sin and punishment

Answer 2

• Church often explained famine by saying that God had sent it as punishment for sin
  > logical to blame ppl’s sins for their illnesses
• When ppl recovered Church could declare a miracle had happened, blaming illness on God provided evidence of His existence
• Explains why Church supported idea
• Church also taught disease was sent by God to cleanse ones soul of sin
  > God sends illness to purify your soul or test your faith
• Believed God controlled every aspect of the world (ideas v believable at the time)

Question 3

Leprosy

Answer 3

• Bible uses leprosy as an illustration of a punishment for sin
• Usually begins as a painful skin disease, followed by paralysis and eventually death
• No cure
• Lepers were banished from their communities; usually had to move to leper houses or to isolated island communities
• They Believed their breath was contagious; not true but showed medieval ppl had some correct ideas about how some diseases were transmitted
• Lazar houses helped ppl suffering; commonly known as leper colonies

Question 4

Astrology

Answer 4

• Alignment if planet and stars was considered v important when diagnosing illness
• Physician would consult star charts, looking at when patient was born and when they fell ill
• Traditionally church frowned on this (one step away from fortune telling); after Black Death arrived it became more popular and church became more accepting
• Many ppl believed the Black Death was caused by a bad alignment of the planet
• Supernatural explanation for diseases
• During c1250-1500 was considered important bc of influence of Hippocrates