MEDIEVAL MEDICINE
SUMMARY
Key events:
1348 – The black death arrived in England
Key words:
Apothecary – a medical practitioner who mixed herbal remedies for physicians or directly for
patients
Barber Surgeon – barbers who carried out medical procedures such a bleeding and smaller
surgeries
Dissection – cutting something open (e.g. a human body) to study the inside of it
Excommunicate – to expel someone from the church and condemn them to hell
Monks and nuns – members of religious communities who are entirely devoted to God
Physician – someone who practices medicine (the word doctor was not used in the Middle Ages)
Beliefs about the cause of disease:
Theory of the four humours:
- Stated that blood was made up of four liquids (blood, yellow bile, black bile, and phlegm)
- It was believed that disease was caused when they were unbalanced
Religion:
- The church taught that God sent disease as a punishment for those who had sinned
Miasma:
- A miasma was bad air believed to be filled with harmful fumes which could cause illness
Astrology:
- The belief that the misalignment of the planets and stars could cause disease
Treatment of disease:
Bleeding/bloodletting:
- Taking blood out of the body to cure illness by restoring the balance of the four humours
Religious treatments:
- Healing prayers
- Fasting
Herbal remedies:
- Many remedies were mixtures made up of common herbs and spices
- Aloe Vera, for example, was used to improve digestion
Theory of opposites:
- Illnesses were treated by using something with opposite qualities
- E.g. too much blood (hot) was treated with something cool like a cucumber
,Beliefs about the cause of disease:
Keeping the four humours balanced:
- Diet: people thought carefully about what they ate and avoided overeating
Preventing punishment from God:
- Regular prayer and confession of sins was believed to prevent illness sent by God
Preventing miasma:
- Bathing
- Carrying flowers or wearing herbs in jewellery
- Local councils tried to keep towns clean e.g. preventing rotting animals from being left
around
Who provided treatment:
Hospitals:
- Run by the church
- Nuns washed and cleaned patients while monks said prayers for the sick
- However, most people received treatments at home
Physicians:
- Doctors had 7-10 years professional training at university
- They diagnosed illness and recommended treatments
- Doctors were very expensive, so few people could afford them
Barber surgeons:
- Good barbers who performed small surgeries such as bleeding
Apothecaries:
- Mixed herbal remedies, with knowledge from herbal manuals or family members
Individuals:
Hippocrates:
- Ancient Greek physician
- Created the Theory of the Four humours
Galen:
- Ancient Greek physician
- Liked and developed the ideas of Hippocrates
Roger Bacon:
- Imprisoned by the church for encouraging scientific experimentation
Factors for continuity:
The church:
- Controlled copying of books
- Punished those who challenged its teachings
- Controlled education
Attitude in society:
- Respect for traditional ideas
- Dissection to prove existing ideas
- Respect for the teachings of the church
,CONTEXT
Timeline of medicine in the Middle Ages:
11th century – Latin translations of Hippocrates' and Galen's works started to appear in Europe
1215 – The Church banned members of the clergy from carrying out operations that involved cutting
a patient
1348 – The Black Death arrived in England
Specialist terminology:
Apothecary – a medical practitioner who mixed herbal remedies for physicians or directly for
patients
Astrology – the study of the planets and stars
Barber Surgeon – barbers worked with sharp knives, so also carried out medical procedures such a
bleeding and smaller surgeries
Bleeding/blood-letting – taking blood out of the body to cure or prevent an illness
Cupping – a method of bleeding where a heated cup was placed over a cut to draw blood out of it
Emetic – something taken to make a person vomit
Leprosy – begins as a painful skin disease, followed by paralysis and eventually death; fingers and
toes often fall off
Miasma – bad air believed to be filled with harmful fumes which could cause illness
Physician – someone who practices medicine (the word doctor was not used in the Middle Ages)
Purging – removing leftover food from the body
Self-flagellation – whipping yourself to show God that you are sorry for your sins
Theory of the Four Humours – this stated there were for liquids that made up the body, and were
created by digesting different foods
Theriaca – a spice-based mixture used to treat illness
Vivisection – execution in which the criminal was dissected alive and examined by physicians and
medical students
Glossary of new words:
Clergy – everyone who works for the church
Excommunicate – to expel someone from the church and condemn them to hell
Monks and nuns – members of religious communities who are entirely devoted to God
Pilgrimage – a journey to an important religious monument, shrine, or place
Key individuals/institutions:
The church:
- A religious organisation spread all over Europe
- Headed by the pope
Galen:
- An ancient Greek physician
- Liked and developed ideas of Hippocrates
Hippocrates:
- Ancient Greek physician
- Created the Theory of the Four Humours in the 5th century BC
What were the key features of life in the Middle Ages:
Role of the crown and government:
- The King's man tasks were to defend his people in wartime and to keep the country
peaceful by punishing lawbreakers. Taxes were only raised to pay for wars
, - Keeping streets clean and towns healthy was the work of local councils, but they had little
to no money
The Church:
- The Christian Church was incredibly powerful across Europe in the Middle Ages, headed
by the pope
- People were very religious and almost everyone followed the teachings of the Church
- They attended Church services regularly and were expected to give a sum of money (the
tithe) to the Church each month
- The Church punished people who challenged its ideas and authority
- The Church built churches, monasteries, and convents, which became important centres of
the community, providing a range of services beyond religion
- The largest libraries were in monasteries where monks copied books by hand
Attitudes towards science:
- People were taught to respect ancient ideas and what was written in the Bible
- Very few people used scientific methods of experimentation and observation to challenge
ideas or find new ones
Education:
- The Church controlled education, including universities where physicians were trained
- Ordinary people also received most of their education from the Church
- Most people could not read or write, so they learned from the stories they heard and the
paintings they saw in church
Communication:
- Books had to be written and copied by hand usually by members of the Church
(particularly monks)
Living conditions:
- Disease spread easily in cities where there were crowded and dirty streets and no drains
for waste
Work:
- 90% of England's population worked as farmers, growing, and harvesting crops for
wealthy landowners
Diet:
- Sickness was often caused by poor nutrition, especially when food was scarce after bad
harvests
Overview of health and disease in the Middle Ages:
Average life expectancy:
- Around 30 years old
- Nearly half the population died before reaching adulthood
Common diseases:
- Dysentery (which causes serious diarrhoea) spread by contaminated food or water
- Lung diseases (caused by open fires in homes)
Beliefs about the causes of disease:
- Set by God
- Misalignment of the planets and stars
- The theory of the four humours
- Miasma (bad air)
SUMMARY
Key events:
1348 – The black death arrived in England
Key words:
Apothecary – a medical practitioner who mixed herbal remedies for physicians or directly for
patients
Barber Surgeon – barbers who carried out medical procedures such a bleeding and smaller
surgeries
Dissection – cutting something open (e.g. a human body) to study the inside of it
Excommunicate – to expel someone from the church and condemn them to hell
Monks and nuns – members of religious communities who are entirely devoted to God
Physician – someone who practices medicine (the word doctor was not used in the Middle Ages)
Beliefs about the cause of disease:
Theory of the four humours:
- Stated that blood was made up of four liquids (blood, yellow bile, black bile, and phlegm)
- It was believed that disease was caused when they were unbalanced
Religion:
- The church taught that God sent disease as a punishment for those who had sinned
Miasma:
- A miasma was bad air believed to be filled with harmful fumes which could cause illness
Astrology:
- The belief that the misalignment of the planets and stars could cause disease
Treatment of disease:
Bleeding/bloodletting:
- Taking blood out of the body to cure illness by restoring the balance of the four humours
Religious treatments:
- Healing prayers
- Fasting
Herbal remedies:
- Many remedies were mixtures made up of common herbs and spices
- Aloe Vera, for example, was used to improve digestion
Theory of opposites:
- Illnesses were treated by using something with opposite qualities
- E.g. too much blood (hot) was treated with something cool like a cucumber
,Beliefs about the cause of disease:
Keeping the four humours balanced:
- Diet: people thought carefully about what they ate and avoided overeating
Preventing punishment from God:
- Regular prayer and confession of sins was believed to prevent illness sent by God
Preventing miasma:
- Bathing
- Carrying flowers or wearing herbs in jewellery
- Local councils tried to keep towns clean e.g. preventing rotting animals from being left
around
Who provided treatment:
Hospitals:
- Run by the church
- Nuns washed and cleaned patients while monks said prayers for the sick
- However, most people received treatments at home
Physicians:
- Doctors had 7-10 years professional training at university
- They diagnosed illness and recommended treatments
- Doctors were very expensive, so few people could afford them
Barber surgeons:
- Good barbers who performed small surgeries such as bleeding
Apothecaries:
- Mixed herbal remedies, with knowledge from herbal manuals or family members
Individuals:
Hippocrates:
- Ancient Greek physician
- Created the Theory of the Four humours
Galen:
- Ancient Greek physician
- Liked and developed the ideas of Hippocrates
Roger Bacon:
- Imprisoned by the church for encouraging scientific experimentation
Factors for continuity:
The church:
- Controlled copying of books
- Punished those who challenged its teachings
- Controlled education
Attitude in society:
- Respect for traditional ideas
- Dissection to prove existing ideas
- Respect for the teachings of the church
,CONTEXT
Timeline of medicine in the Middle Ages:
11th century – Latin translations of Hippocrates' and Galen's works started to appear in Europe
1215 – The Church banned members of the clergy from carrying out operations that involved cutting
a patient
1348 – The Black Death arrived in England
Specialist terminology:
Apothecary – a medical practitioner who mixed herbal remedies for physicians or directly for
patients
Astrology – the study of the planets and stars
Barber Surgeon – barbers worked with sharp knives, so also carried out medical procedures such a
bleeding and smaller surgeries
Bleeding/blood-letting – taking blood out of the body to cure or prevent an illness
Cupping – a method of bleeding where a heated cup was placed over a cut to draw blood out of it
Emetic – something taken to make a person vomit
Leprosy – begins as a painful skin disease, followed by paralysis and eventually death; fingers and
toes often fall off
Miasma – bad air believed to be filled with harmful fumes which could cause illness
Physician – someone who practices medicine (the word doctor was not used in the Middle Ages)
Purging – removing leftover food from the body
Self-flagellation – whipping yourself to show God that you are sorry for your sins
Theory of the Four Humours – this stated there were for liquids that made up the body, and were
created by digesting different foods
Theriaca – a spice-based mixture used to treat illness
Vivisection – execution in which the criminal was dissected alive and examined by physicians and
medical students
Glossary of new words:
Clergy – everyone who works for the church
Excommunicate – to expel someone from the church and condemn them to hell
Monks and nuns – members of religious communities who are entirely devoted to God
Pilgrimage – a journey to an important religious monument, shrine, or place
Key individuals/institutions:
The church:
- A religious organisation spread all over Europe
- Headed by the pope
Galen:
- An ancient Greek physician
- Liked and developed ideas of Hippocrates
Hippocrates:
- Ancient Greek physician
- Created the Theory of the Four Humours in the 5th century BC
What were the key features of life in the Middle Ages:
Role of the crown and government:
- The King's man tasks were to defend his people in wartime and to keep the country
peaceful by punishing lawbreakers. Taxes were only raised to pay for wars
, - Keeping streets clean and towns healthy was the work of local councils, but they had little
to no money
The Church:
- The Christian Church was incredibly powerful across Europe in the Middle Ages, headed
by the pope
- People were very religious and almost everyone followed the teachings of the Church
- They attended Church services regularly and were expected to give a sum of money (the
tithe) to the Church each month
- The Church punished people who challenged its ideas and authority
- The Church built churches, monasteries, and convents, which became important centres of
the community, providing a range of services beyond religion
- The largest libraries were in monasteries where monks copied books by hand
Attitudes towards science:
- People were taught to respect ancient ideas and what was written in the Bible
- Very few people used scientific methods of experimentation and observation to challenge
ideas or find new ones
Education:
- The Church controlled education, including universities where physicians were trained
- Ordinary people also received most of their education from the Church
- Most people could not read or write, so they learned from the stories they heard and the
paintings they saw in church
Communication:
- Books had to be written and copied by hand usually by members of the Church
(particularly monks)
Living conditions:
- Disease spread easily in cities where there were crowded and dirty streets and no drains
for waste
Work:
- 90% of England's population worked as farmers, growing, and harvesting crops for
wealthy landowners
Diet:
- Sickness was often caused by poor nutrition, especially when food was scarce after bad
harvests
Overview of health and disease in the Middle Ages:
Average life expectancy:
- Around 30 years old
- Nearly half the population died before reaching adulthood
Common diseases:
- Dysentery (which causes serious diarrhoea) spread by contaminated food or water
- Lung diseases (caused by open fires in homes)
Beliefs about the causes of disease:
- Set by God
- Misalignment of the planets and stars
- The theory of the four humours
- Miasma (bad air)
