Medicine in Medieval England (1250-1500)

• In medieval England (c.1250-c.1500), people did not generally use science to understand medical conditions
• England had a very religious society
• Religious beliefs and superstition


  Used to explain, diagnose and decide on treatments for illness
• The Church had great influence over people's lives
• People were very religious and followed the teachings of the Catholic Church
• Illness and disease


  Believed to be sent by God as a punishment for sin or a test of a person's faith
• Astrology


  Used to diagnose disease and illness
• The use of astrology to diagnose illness and disease became more popular after the Black Death
• Physicians in medieval England were always men as women could not go to university
• Hippocrates


  An ancient Greek physician living in Rome in the 5th century BC
• Galen


  An ancient Roman physician in the 2nd century AD
• Ibn Sina (Avicenna)


  Islamic scholar who translated and made sense of the work of Hippocrates and Galen after the Roman Empire had ended and the Islamic Empire had become a centre of learning
• Medieval physicians in Catholic Europe were discouraged from challenging the ideas of Hippocrates and Galen because their medical theories fitted in with the teachings of the Bible
• Four humours


  Four bodily fluids - yellow bile, black bile, blood and phlegm - used in ancient times to analyse and describe people's state of health
• The theory of the four humours was the most important non-religious theory used to explain illness in the Middle Ages
• Phlegm


  A thick mucus discharged through the mouth and nose
• It was believed that the four humours had to remain in balance for good health, and if the humours became unbalanced, this led to illness
• Theory of opposites


  Galen's idea that the humours could be balanced by using treatments that were the opposite of the excess humour, e.g. using cold and wet cucumber to treat a patient with too much hot and dry blood
• Galen's ideas fitted with the teachings of the Catholic Church, and 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
• Miasma


  Smells from decomposing material, such as animal and human waste, that were thought to cause disease
• Some people believed the air had been poisoned by God, because they thought God caused all illness
• Medicine in medieval England was based on religious, supernatural and rational ideas
• The Church held great power over the practice of medicine
• The Black Death reached Britain in 1348
• Steps taken to prevent disease in the medieval period

  • Religious actions
  • Purifying the air
  • Other methods of prevention
• Religious actions


  • Living a life free from sin
  • Attending church services and processions
  • Prayer for God's forgiveness
  • Wearing magical or religious charms
  • Fasting
  • Flagellation
• Miasma theory


  Unclean air could make people unwell
• Methods to purify the air

  • Carrying posies
  • Lighting fires
  • Burning herbs or substances
  • Ringing bells
  • Allowing birds to fly around the house
• Medieval towns worked hard to keep their streets clean
• Steps taken by medieval towns to keep streets clean

  • Employing rakers
  • Punishing people for throwing waste onto streets
  • Making butchers dispose of waste outside city walls
  • Building public latrines
• Advice from Church and physicians


  Wash regularly, exercise and rest to balance the four humours
• People are advised to look after our health in these ways today, but this is because society now possesses more accurate scientific knowledge about the body and the spread of disease
• Physician


  A person who practises medicine
• Medicine in medieval England

  • Based on religious, supernatural and rational ideas
  • The Church held great power over the practice of medicine
• The Black Death reached Britain in 1348
• Four humours


  Four bodily fluids - yellow bile, black bile, blood and phlegm - used in ancient times to analyse and describe people's state of health
• Bloodletting


  1. Cutting into a vein

  2. Using leeches

  3. Placing heated cups over a cut or scratch
• Laxative


  A medicine or mixture used to loosen the bowels and make the patient go to the toilet
• Barber surgeons


  • Carried out basic surgery, such as bloodletting, sewing up wounds and removing growths from the outside of the body
  • Learned their skills from watching others and reading books about surgery
• Family traditions and treatments

  • Most people were treated by female family members
  • Traditions and treatments were passed down from one family member to the next
  • Some women were known as 'wise women' and were viewed as particularly knowledgeable about treatments and remedies