Medicine in medieval England, c.1250-c.1500

Question 1

how did religious superstitions affect the view on illnesses?

Answer 1

In medieval England (c. 1250–c. 1500), people did not generally use science to understand medical conditions. England had a very religious society. As a result, religious beliefs and superstition were used to explain
diagnose and decide on treatments for illness.

Question 2

Why did people think that illness was sent by God?

Answer 2

In England, the church had great influence over people’s lives. People were very religious and followed the teachings of the
Catholic Church. It was believed that God controlled everything that happened in the world, including disease and illness.

Most people were Christians and believed that illness and disease were sent by God as punishment for sin. It was also thought that illness and disease could be a test of a person’s faith, either by God or by the Devil.

Question 3

How was astrology used as a treatment of illness?

Answer 3

Alongside religion, traditional beliefs were used to help diagnose disease and illness. One method of doing this was to use astrology, the study of the planets and stars. A physician would use a star chart. He would look at when a patient had been born and when they had become ill to decide what illness or disease they had.

The use of astrology to diagnose illness and disease became more popular after the Black Death. The impact of the disease was so huge that people strongly wanted to be able to explain why it had happened.

Question 4

What was the theory of the four humors?

Answer 4

The theory of the four humours came from Hippocrates and was the most important non-religious theory used to explain illness. It was a rational idea. The theory stated that the body was made up of four humours:

blood
phlegm - a liquid released by coughing or sneezing
black bile - a dark liquid released by vomiting
yellow bile - a light liquid released by vomiting

It was believed that the four humours had to remain in balance for good health. If the humours became unbalanced, this led to illness.

Question 5

What was the theory of opposites and what was its influence?

Answer 5

Galen developed Hippocrates’ theory of the four humours further.

Galen believed that the humours could be balanced using the theory of opposites. For example, if a patient had too much blood and was hot and dry, they could be treated with cucumber because it was cold and wet. The ideas of Hippocrates and Galen remained popular in medieval medicine.

Galen believed in the soul, and his ideas fit with the teachings of the Catholic Church. Because the Catholic Church controlled universities and medical teaching, Galen’s ideas remained central to learning about the body, disease, and medicine in the medieval period. For example, all books used for learning were produced in the
monasteries, and would therefore only contain these traditionally accepted ideas.

Question 6

What was the theory of miasma?

Answer 6

Another traditional idea was that illness and disease were caused by miasma, or poisoned air. It was believed that this poisoned air was what made people ill. Some people believed the air had been poisoned by God because they thought God caused all illness.

Question 7

why was there a strong focus on preventing illness?

Answer 7

Treatments for disease in the Middle Ages could not always be relied upon to be effective. Therefore, there was a strong focus on stopping people from becoming ill. People in medieval times took a variety of steps to try to prevent disease.

Question 8

What were the religious actions people took to prevent illness?

Answer 8

It was believed that disease could be prevented by the following religious actions:

-living a life free from sin
-attending church services and
processions
Prayer: People prayed for God’s forgiveness of their sins
-pilgrimages
-wearing magical or religious charms
-fasting
-flagellation: some people whipped themselves in public and asked God to forgive their sins

Pilgrimages, fasting and flagellation were all activities that would allow people to experience suffering, as Christians believed Jesus had done when he was
crucified. Suffering, through these methods or because of illness, was accepted. This was because it let people consider their Christian faith more closely.

Question 9

How did people purify the air to prevent illness?

Answer 9

The miasma theory indicated that unclean air could make people unwell. People tried to prevent disease and illness by cleaning the streets to make sure the air was clean. People would also try to prevent breathing in bad air by:

-carrying bunches of sweet-smelling herbs and flowers

lighting fires to drive away any bad air and sometimes burning herbs or substances to ‘clean’ the air.

-ringing bells or allowing birds to fly around the house to keep the air moving

Medieval towns, especially in late medieval England, worked hard to keep their streets clean. They did this by:

-employing rakers to keep the streets clean

-punishing people if they threw waste onto the streets; waste was not just everyday rubbish, as it could include human excrement as well

-making butchers dispose of their waste outside the city walls

-building public latrines

Question 10

Why did most rely on the community for treatment?

Answer 10

The majority of people in medieval England were unable to afford to visit a
physician when they were ill. Therefore, they relied on various people in the community for treatment.

Question 11

What were the traditional treatments in the community?

Answer 11

A common belief in medieval England was that illness was caused by an imbalance of the four humours in the body. If blood was thought to be out of balance, then people would carry out bloodletting.
This treatment might involve:

-cutting into a vein
-using leeches
-placing heated cups over a cut or scratch

It was also believed that food caused the humours to become imbalanced. To overcome this, people would rid the body of leftover food. Patients were given something to make them vomit or a laxative to clear their bowels.

The community also followed Galen’s ideas. For example, if an ill person was believed to have too much phlegm
(demonstrating characteristics that were cold and wet), they would be given a treatment that was hot and dry, such as eating a hot pepper. Or, if they were believed to have too much yellow bile (hot and dry), they would be given a cold treatment, such as drinking water.

Question 12

What were barber surgeons?

Answer 12

Barber surgeons would carry out basic surgery, such as bloodletting, sewing up wounds, and removing growths from the outside of the body. They learned their skills from watching others and reading books about surgery.

Question 13

What were wise women?

Answer 13

Most people in medieval England were treated by female family members, such as their wife or mother. Traditions and treatments were passed down from one family member to the next. Sometimes individual women would be viewed as particularly knowledgeable about treatments and remedies. They were known as ‘wise women’.

Question 14

What was an apothecary?

Answer 14

Sometimes, people in the community would visit an apothecary when they required a treatment for illness - though this cost money. Similarly to wise women, apothecaries mixed together the ingredients for herbal treatments. They did this for physicians and they also mixed their own herbal treatments, which they sold to the sick. Apothecaries learned how to mix these treatments from other apothecaries.

Question 15

What were the purpose of hospitals?

Answer 15

Most of the hospitals in England were owned and run by the Church - for example, they were often linked to
monasteries or convents.
Some were paid for by wealthy people when they died - often in exchange for a promise that their soul would go the heaven. This indicates the importance of religious belief.

Hospitals did not always treat the sick but cared for them through prayer and by providing an environment where they could rest and recover. The patients were cared for by monks and nuns. Hospitals also offered a place to stay for travellers and those on
pilgrimage.

Hospitals were kept clean, and the monks and nuns were tasked with ensuring that the bedding was changed and washed regularly. The patients were allowed to take part in church services from their beds. One of the most famous medieval hospitals was St Bartholomew’s in London, which is still taking care of patients today.

Question 16

How was leprosy treated in hospitals?

Answer 16

Leprosy was a skin disease that led to fingers and toes falling off, hair falling out, and eventually death.

If someone caught leprosy, they were separated from the community and made to live in a ‘leper house’. They would also wear a cloak and ring a bell. This was to warn others of their presence and let them know to stay away. It was believed, at the time, that leprosy was highly
contagious.

Those suffering with leprosy or another infectious disease
were not allowed to receive care in a hospital. They were cared for in separate facilities called leper houses. This was because it was recognised that the illnesses could be spread quickly to other patients, even if it was not known how this happened.

Question 17

who were medieval physicians?

Answer 17

Medieval physicians trained at a university for at least seven years. There, they studied the books of ancient physicians such as Hippocrates and Galen. A physician would diagnose a patient’s illness and recommend treatment after close observation.

Physicians were expensive and only the rich could afford to see them. The poor were treated by female family members or women within their community.

Question 18

When was the black death?

Answer 18

In 1348 a new
infectious disease
spread throughout the British Isles. Thousands were killed. In England, the impact was huge. The disease became known as the Black Death or the Plague.

Question 19

What were the symptoms, and who did it affect?

Answer 19

The Black Death affected both the rich and the poor. It also affected both those who lived in the towns and those who lived in the countryside. The main symptoms of the Black Death were buboes in the armpit or groin, chest pains and a fever. When people caught the Black Death, they could die within days. Hardly anyone who caught it survived.

Question 20

What were the approaches to treatment?

Answer 20

When the Black Death arrived in England, it spread rapidly. Most people who caught it died within days, so there was not much time for treatment. We therefore do not have much knowledge about what treatments were used. However, it is known that the following methods were used, depending on what people believed about the causes of the Black Death:
Sent by God as a punishment for sin->Confession of sins or prayer

Breathing in bad air->smelling strong-smelling herbs, sweet-smelling flowers or lighting a fire

An imbalance of the four humours->Bloodletting or purging (eg vomiting or use of laxatives)

Question 21

What were the attempts to prevent The Black Death by individuals?

Answer 21

Because death happened quickly when people caught the Black Death, most people focused on trying to prevent the spread of the disease. Some of the methods used to try to prevent the spread of the disease were the same as the treatments. For example, common actions included confession, prayer,
fasting,
and carrying posies (bunches of flowers) and herbs.

Question 22

what were the attempts made by the authorities to prevent the spread of The Black Death?

Answer 22

-Under quarantine
laws, people new to an area had to stay away from others for 40 days. Houses were placed in quarantine where there had been an outbreak of the Black Death. Sometimes marks were placed on the doors of those believed to have been affected.

Strangers were not allowed to enter a village.

-Local authorities stopped cleaning the streets because they believed the smells from the waste would drive away any bad air.

-Events that attracted large crowds, such as religious processions, were banned.

-Huge burial sites were created where the dead would be buried in mass graves. This was done quickly and without much religious ceremony.

However, all of these actions were difficult to enforce because the Church continued to have a lot of power. Individuals continued to follow the advice given by the Church, which meant they tried to prevent the spread of the Black Death with prayer, fasting and confession of sins.