medieval medicine

• in europe, monasteries became centres of learning as well as places of worship
• causes- religous

  the catholic church had great power and influence over peoples lives (they were everyone's landlords) it was believed god controlled everything including illness and disease

  -god punishing sin/humanity

  -illness and disease were a test of faith from the devil or god
• causes- superstitous

  astrology:

  • the study of the planets and the stars and their alignment
  • physicians would use star charts to determine cause and treatments
  • it became more popular after black deathas what happened was so severe and people wanted an explanation
• Religious beliefs and superstitions

  In medieval England (c.1250-1500), people didn't use science to understand medical issues
• England was a very religious society
• Religious beliefs and superstitions

  • Used to diagnose and explain illness and treatments
  • Supernatural and religious explanations were common
• Catholic Church


  • Had great influence over people's lives
  • People followed its teachings
  • Was everyone's landlord (mostly)
• • The country was run by the Catholic Church
  • You couldn't defy the Church, you'd be persecuted or even killed
• Illness/disease


  • Was believed to be sent by God as a punishment for sin
  • Or to test a person's faith, either by God or the devil
• Astrology


  • One method of diagnosis used by physicians
  • Physicians would use a star chart to check when the patient was born and when they became ill
• Astrology became more popular during the Black Death as people wanted an explanation for the huge impact of the disease
• Ancient medical theories


  • The teachings of the Church relied on ideas of ancient physicians like Hippocrates and Galen
  • Their work had been translated and made sense of by Islamic scholars
• Medieval physicians couldn't challenge these ancient Greek medical theories as they fitted with the teachings of the Bible
• Humours


  • The four humours (blood, phlegm, yellow bile, black bile) were believed to be linked to health and illness
  • An imbalance in the humours would cause illness
• Galen's theory of opposites


  Believed you could balance the humours using the theory of opposites, e.g. treating someone hot and dry with a cold and wet cucumber
• Galen's ideas remained central to medical learning about the body and disease
• Miasma theory

  Believed poisoned air (miasma) caused illness, as God had poisoned the air as punishment
• Religious actions to prevent/cure illness

  • Attending church services and processions
  • Praying for God's forgiveness
  • Pilgrimages
  • Wearing magical/religious charms
  • Fasting to show remorse
  • Flagellation (publicly whipping themselves)
• Flagellation and fasting were done so people could suffer like Jesus did when he was crucified, to be closer to their Christian faith
• Methods to purify the air

  • Cleaning the streets
  • Carrying sweet-smelling herbs and flowers
  • Lighting fires
  • Ringing bells or allowing birds to fly around houses
  • Employing scavengers to keep streets clean
  • Punishing people who threw waste onto the streets
  • Butchers disposing of waste outside city walls
  • Building public latrines
• People were advised by the Church and physicians to wash regularly, exercise, and rest to keep the four humours balanced - the same advice continues today
• Miasma theory

  Poisoned air made people ill
• God was thought to have poisoned this air
• Disease was believed to be caused by living life free from religious actions
• Religious actions believed to prevent disease

  • Attending church services and processions
  • Prayer for God's forgiveness of their sins
  • Pilgrimages
  • Wearing magical or religious charms
  • Confessing to show remorse for their sins
  • Flagellation - publicly whipping themselves
• Flagellation and fasting were done so people could suffer, as Jesus did
• Flagellation and fasting were believed to let people be closer to their Christian faith
• Purifying the air was believed to prevent disease
• Traditional beliefs about the cause of illness

  • The four humours
  • Imbalance of the humours
• Traditional treatments for illness

  1. Bloodletting

  2. Cupping

  3. Purging

  4. Laxatives

  5. Using opposites (e.g. chilli peppers for runny nose)
• Barber surgeons


  • Carried out basic surgery like bloodletting, sewing up wounds, removing external
  • Learned skills by reading books and watching others
• People who provided traditional treatments

  • Female family members
  • Wise women
• Herbal treatments


  • Linseed (laxative)
  • Coffee
• Apothecaries


  • Mixed herbal treatments for physicians
  • Mixed and sold their own herbal remedies
• Medieval hospitals

  • Run by the church, often monasteries or convents
  • Provided a place to rest and recover
  • Patients cared for by monks and nuns
  • Kept clean, with regular bedding changes
  • Provided fresh food, often salmon
• Leprosy


  • A skin disease leading to fingers/toes falling off, hair loss, eventual death
  • Highly contagious, so lepers were separated from the community and made to live in leper houses
• Medieval physicians

  • Studied at university for at least 7 years
  • Studied ancient texts like Galen and Hippocrates
  • Only the rich could afford to see them
• The Black Death outbreak in 1348 affected everyone in towns and villages
• Symptoms of the Black Death

  • Chest pains
  • Buboes
  • Fever
• Beliefs about the causes of the Black Death

  • Miasma
  • Imbalance of the four humours
  • Punishment from God
  • Alignment of the planets
  • Earthquakes