medieval period

• Natural causes of disease:

  • Miasma- bad air and was understood to be found near swaps, corpses/ rotting objects, if breathed in miasma was believed to cause disease
  • Urine- physicians believed in examining the urine of the patients and was believed the urine indicated which humour was unbalanced, they would check colour, consistency, smell and compared it to a urine chart
• Four humours:

  -Hippocrates theorised the body was made up of four humours; blood, phlegm, black bile and yellow bile

  -people believed that a person to be healthy the 4 humours should be balanced
• 4 humours linked to elements and seasons

  blood--- air---spring

  yellow bile---fire---summer

  phlegm---water---winter

  Black bile---Earth---autumn
• Importance of Galen to medicine

  • he publicly dissected animals which proved evidence for his theories on the structure of functions of organs however the use of pigs meant his ideas were incorrect when applied to humans
• why were Galen and Hippocrates so popular in medieval england?

  • both theories did not require human dissection which allowed the church to support them
  • The church did not believe in cutting the body as for a persons soul to go to heaven, there body's needed to be intact
  • Many people could not read or write, Physicians who read Galens/Hippocrates were better educated, people did not question physicians
• Supernatural causes of disease- religion

  • if you sinned it was believed that God had the power to make you ill and punish you eg leprosy
• Supernatural causes of disease: astrology?


  • the study of the positions of planets
  • the church did not like the use of astrology but it linked up with Hippocrates theory of the four humours
  • physicians would consult star charts and look at the patients date of birth to help diagnose illness
• Natural treatments in medieval medicine

  herbal remedies

  • herbs were mixed together to create remedies a patient could drink, breathe in or bathe in
  • natural elements possessed healing powers eg aloe vera
• Natural treatments in medieval medicine: diet

  • belief that some foods had healing qualities
• Natural treatments in medieval medicine: bathing

  • hot baths was commonly prescribed to melt excessive humours
• Supernatural treatments: astrology

  • the use of star charts to create treatments and to consult by physicians at every stage of treatment
• Supernatural treatments in medieval medicine was religion which included praying and fasting
• supernatural causes of the black death(religion)

  • many people believed the black death was a sign of God abandoning humans due to their sins
  • Christians believed it was judgement day (Jesus would destroy heaven and earth)
• Supernatural causes for the black death (astrology)

  • 1345, there was an unusual positioning of mars, Jupiter and Saturn which people believed was a sign of bad things to come
• Supernatural causes for the black death (jews)

  • in Europe, many people believed Jewish people caused the black death in England, the Jewish population had been exiled in the 13th century
• Natural causes for the black death: miasma

  • people believed that breathing in impure air corrupted the body's humours
  • the miasma was thought to have originated from the fumes of volcanoes an earthquakes from other countries
  • the bad air also come from rubbish in streets, swaps, dead bodies
• symptoms of the black death

  • fever
  • coughing and sneezing blood
  • buboes
  • chest pain
• Supernatural treatment for the black death:

  • the church advised everyone should confess their sins and pray for forgiveness
  • ordinary people felt helpless to treat their symptoms as they believed it was God's judgement about whether they should live or die and were too scared too challenge this by seeking treatment
• Natural treatments for the black death

  • physicians tried bleeding/purging however this resulted in patients dying quicker
  • strong smelling herbs e.g. aloe were recommended to clean bad air
  • some physicians lanced (cut open) buboes, this was a much more effective method as it removed the infection encouraging healing
• Supernatural prevention for the black death:

  • praying
  • fasting
  • self flagellate( to show how sorry their were)
• Natural prevention for the black death

  • moving to cleaner air in the countryside to avoid miasma
  • caring flowers/herbs and holding them under their noses
  • avoiding bath as people believed that water could open pores allowing bad air in the body
• preventing the black death: Government actions

  • new quarantine laws introduced to prevent people from moving too much and people new to the area had to stay away for 40 days
  • local government stopped cleaning the streets as they believed the bad smells would drive the miasma away
  • considerations of banning preaching and religious ceremonies to stop the spread of the black death was considered but did not happen because of the churches immense power