Medieval

• Medieval/Middle ages 1250-1500

  Main cause – God, Main treatment – Herbal remedies AT HOME
• Beliefs on causes of disease in the Medieval/Middle ages

  • Disease was a punishment from God (believed by most)
  • Miasma (bad air)
  • Astrology – Drs would consult star charts and zodiac man
  • 4 Humours – Hippocrates – illness was personal to the patient, caused by their humours being unbalanced
• Treatments in the Medieval/Middle ages

  • Galen – Theory of opposites – would base treatment on the opposite of the humour
  • Bleeding and purging – would be prescribed by physicians
  • Religious treatments – praying, flagellation
  • Herbal remedies (most common form of treatment to the majority)
• Prevention in the Medieval/Middle ages

  • Regimen Sanitatis – Hippocrates – Promoted a healthy lifestyle and good hygiene
  • Prayer and pilgrimage, touching holy relics
  • Purifying the air – smelling herbs, fresh flowers
  • Diet – overeating was seen to imbalance the humours
• Medieval medics

  • Physicians (Drs)
  • Apothecaries
  • Barber surgeons
  • Wise woman
• Hospitals in the Medieval/Middle ages

  • Most didn't offer treatment, just hospitality (bed and food) to travellers and pilgrims
  • Many were run by monks and nuns
  • Others were run by charities
  • No physicians would be in the hospitals
• Drs Training in the Medieval/Middle ages

  • At university – would study for around 7-10 years
  • Used books – mainly Galen
  • Training controlled by the Church
  • Human dissection was banned by the Church
• Black Death – 1348

  > Cause- Religious, position of the planets, miasma

  > Treatment – Confession of sins, bleeding and purging. Things to ward off bad air – lighting fires, herbs etc.

  > Prevention – Prayer/pilgrimage, carrying sweet herbs, quarantine of those infected and their families
• Factors that caused continuity/stopped change in the Medieval/Middle ages

  • The Church
  • Attitudes – sticking to tradition
  • Education
  • Government