Bookelt 1 Flashcards
Where was a deadly place to live and why?
Towns were more deadly because they were overcrowded and disease spread quickly
What were some common reasons for death in medieval times? (6 answers)
Famine, war, smallpox, measles, childbirth, typhoid
What was ‘ Saint Anthonys Disease’?
Caused by fungus growing on stored rye in damp conditions. the rye would be ground into to flour and baked in bread. Those who ate it would develop painful rashes and sometimes death.
What did medieval people think made them ill? ( 5 answers )
Religion, Bad smells (miasma), everyday life, the supernatural, ideas of Hippocrates and Galen
Why did medieval people think religion made them ill? ( 2 answers )
As a punishment from God if they had lived a sinful life. Also the belief of Doctrine of signatures, that God had made illness, but also made the right herbs and plants to treat illness. Humans just had to find them.
Why did medieval people think miasma made them ill?
Mortality rates were higher in towns and cities where people lived in filth. They said you could smell a town before you could see it, so people began to link that the places that smelt worse had more diseases.
Why did medieval people think that everyday life caused death?
Some believed death and disease were inevitable, many children would die before age 7 and childbirth would often result in death for the mother. Therefore it was not uncommon. As well as this, warfare and famine were very common ways to die.
Why did medieval people think that the supernatural made them ill?
Many people blamed witchcraft or demons for illness
What were the ideas of Hippocrates?
Hippocrates believed in the four humours. These were:
. Yellow Bile
. Black bile
. Phlegm
. Blood
He believed that to stay healthy you needed to keep these in balance.
What were the ideas of Galen?
Galen further developed the ideas of Hippocrates, but believed to treat and illness you should use the opposite of the humoured. Eg, if someone had a fever they would be treated with something cold. His ideas were widely used across Europe after he wrote books which were translated into many different languages.
What did Galen get wrong about the human body?
He based his ideas off of animal bodies after he dissected animals. For example he believed the human jaw was made of two bones not one
Who would treat the sick in medieval times? ( 4 answers )
. Barber - surgeons
. Apothecary
. Medieval Doctors
. Wise women
how would a barber - surgeon treat their patients?
They would often be found in towns and cities and would carry out minor operations, set broken bones or pull teeth out. To become a barber surgeon, you would need to serve an apprenticeship. As said in the name, barber-surgeons were also barbers, so not very qualified. They would often be used by people who had money.
How would a wise woman treat illness?
They would have wisdom and skills often passed down by a family member that meant they could heal people. They were priced fairly and would often already know the patient they were treating. They were believed to be knowledgeable about treatments.
How did some one become a doctor in the medieval times?
They would study at a university such as Cambridge for at least 7 years. They would learn by listening to lectures or books. Often, they would leave medical school having never actually seen a patient.
What treatments did medieval doctors follow?
The doctors would follow the practices of Hippocrates and Galen. Hippocrates believed in the importance of observation as well as diet and rest. Galen also believed it was important to observe as well as using natural resources to make cures. For many medical students, Galen’s book was the primary source of information.
What was ‘clinical observation’?
It was an Ancient Greek method to observe a patient to find the diagnosis. They would only look at two indicators:
. Pulse
. Colour, taste and smell of urine
What were some common treatments used by medieval doctors?
. Bloodletting - when blood was removed by opening a vein or using leeches. It didn’t often work as the blood had to be taken from a very exact spot
. Taking something to make you vomit or go to the toilet
. Remedies which combined natural with the supernatural
How did Christianity affect medieval medicine?
They followed the example of Jesus which was to heal the sick. This meant that they founded many of the hospitals. However they also believed that illness’ had been given by God as a punishment so it was not their job to cure them. They believed in ‘care not cure’. Because of this, Christian hospitals relied heavily on prayers and miraculous healing.
How many hospitals were there between 1000-1500?
Over 700, many of which were funded by the church
What were Christian hospitals like?
They were a quiet and clean space for people to recover. Although they did not yet know germs caused disease, the hospitals being clean were a great help.
How many patients did a Christian hospital have in them?
Sometimes only 12 patients
Who worked in Christian hospitals?
Many did not have doctors, but a chaplain, and were run by monks or nuns
What happened when you entered a Christian church?
First, you would go to the chapel. Then you would be taken to have a bath and the nuns or sisters took your clothes, boiled them, then baked them. You would then have clean sheets to sleep in overnight. Everyday, a priest would say mass and all occupants would be expected to confess their sins.
How would hospitals get money?
They relied heavily on charities and were mainly funded by a church or a wealthy patron.
What were the different types of hospitals? ( 3 answers )
. Normal hospitals
. Asylums for the mentally ill
. Infirmaries - provided free treatment to the poor
What was a Lazar house?
It dealt with people who had leprosy. It was a contagious disease so the houses would be placed outside of towns.
Who taught the doctors at Cambridge and Oxford?
The church. Their teaching was to make the old knowledge clear and understandable, but not to make new ideas
Who was Roger Bacon and why was he important?
He was an English monk who argued that doctors should do original research and not trust the old books. He was arrested for this idea. This was important because it demonstrated the ideas the church had of new ideas (they didn’t like them) meaning people often didn’t challenge them. The church believed in the ideas of Galen.
What did the care of the Church allow?
It meant that symptoms of illnesses could be predicted and if patients were going to pass away, they could go peacefully as they knew it was coming.
What did Islam believe about finding treatments?
They believed that Allah had given a cure for every disease and it was their job to find these cures. Therefore, they encouraged medical learning.
What were the first hospitals in Islam set up for, and how were the patients treated?
The first Islamic hospitals were set up for the mentally ill. The patients were treated with compassion and believed to have been given an unfortunate illness, whereas in Christianity, mental illnesses were seen as a punishment from God.
Who set up the major hospital in Baghdad and what did it have in it?
Caliph Al-rashid set it up and it had nd medical school and library in it.
What were bimaristans?
They were hospitals built in Islamic cities to provide healthcare for everyone
Who were the two famous Islamic doctors?
Rhazes and Avicenna
What book did Avicenna write and why was it important?
He wrote ‘Cannon of Medicine’ and it was important because it mixed the ideas of Hippocrates and Galen with knowledge of loads more medical systems.
What important thing did Rhazes do?
He wrote the first authentic description on smallpox and wrote important works on pharmacy, explaining how to make cures for various ailments
What was the most common treatment and why was it done?
Bloodletting and it was done to restore the four humours back to being balanced.
How would epilepsy be treated in medieval times?
Epilepsy was believed to be caused by demons in the brain. Therefore, it may be cured by drilling a hole into the skull to let the demon out.
Where did most surgeries take place?
On the battlefield
How did patients deal with the pain of surgeries?
Most of the time, the patient was given nothing, but was tied down. In some cases, surgeons used natural substances such as mandrake root, but if given too strong of a dose it could kill them.
What was cauterisation?
It was a common method of burning the wound to stop the blood flow. It was immensely painful.
Who was John of Arderne?
He was the most famous medieval surgeon. He wrote a surgical manual called Practica (1376). He tried to separate the surgeons from the barbers by creating the work association called the Guild of Surgeons. He advocated doctors having a good bedside manner and talking to patients calmly.
Who was De Chauliac?
He was a French surgeon who wrote a famous book called Great Surgery (1363). This book dominated English and French surgical knowledge for over 200 years. It referenced people like Avicenna and quoted Galen 890 times.
What were towns always built near to and why?
They would be built close to rivers or other bodies of water because they needed easy access to water and it also provided a means of transport.
Where would people dump their waste?
Either into rivers or onto the streets
What is a privy?
An outdoor toilet that used to be outside some private houses
What was a cesspit?
A large hole in the ground used to collect waste
What happened if cesspits weren’t emptied regularly?
The sewage would seep into the rivers and pollute them
Between 1250 and 1530, the population rose, but no improvements to health facilities were made, why?
Mayors and councillors knew that upgrades would be expensive and they did not want to become unpopular by increasing taxes to fund the improvements.
Why did people want the streets to be cleaner if they were not aware of germs?
They believed in miasma (bad smells) so were keen to get rid of the bad smells
Why were monasteries and abbeys cleaner than towns?
Firstly, they were often far away from towns as they needed space for sheep to graze. Also, they were much more wealthy as people would give money in return for prayers and monks also would make a lot of money from their production of wool. Therefore they could afford to build good sanitation facilities
What had monasteries added to their pipes?
They built filtering systems to remove dirt making their water much cleaner.
What did monks have access to that meant they were all well educated?
Medical books and manuscripts in their monistic libraries as well as infirmaries where they were trained to use herbs for healing
What did monks know about the mixing of dirty and clean water?
That it was very unsanitary so they would separate the supply of clean and dirty water.
Where would the monasteries do their washing?
They had a specific room called a lavatorium
Why were monks so clean?
They had religious routines of cleanliness. This meant they were ordered to take baths (which were luxuries even for the rich) and also meant they would often wash their clothes, faces and feet in a religious ceremony twice a week.
What type of monk would bathe twice a year?
Benedictine monks
When did the Black Death arrive in England?
In 1348
What do historians believe the Black Death was a combination of?
the bubonic and pneumonic plagues
Describe how the bubonic plague was spread and its symptoms?
It was spread by fleas. Symptoms included:
. Buboes or lumps on the neck, groin and armpits
. The lumps would ooze pus and would bleed if opened
. This would be followed by a high temperature and vomiting blood
What were the symptoms of the pneumonic plague and how was it spread?
It was more deadly and would infect the lungs causing fever and coughing. It was spread by contact with a victims breath or blood.
What were some ideas at the time of what causes the Black Death? ( 4 answers )
. The position of the stars and the moon
. Bad air (miasma)
. Poisoning of wells by Jews
. Punishment from God
What actually caused the Black Plague?
A bacteria called Yersinia Pestis. It lived in the stomachs of fleas, then when the fleas would kill the rats from the plague they would move to humans as a new host.
Why did The Black Plague kill some people so quickly?
It would kill much faster on weaker victims, such as people with malnutrition
Why did the Black Death spread so quickly?
. Towns were very crowded and people did not yet understand how disease was spread via germs so often people would get coughed on
. The disposal of bodies as those who dealt with the bodies had no forms of protection
. In villages, animals would dig up bodies of victims and spread the body parts around meaning their blood got onto others
. The filth in the streets meant it was the perfect habitat for rats to continue breeding and spreading it
What were the different ways people tried to deal with the Black Death? ( 4 answers )
. Drinking mercury
. Shaving a chicken and strapping it to the buboes
. Fleeing to other towns/villages
. Avoiding contact with others or quarantine
What was flagellation?
It was an extreme action taken to try and prevent the Black Death. It involved people trying to show their love for God by whipping themselves hoping God would forgive them
What percentage of the population do historians believe were killed by the Black Death between 1348-49?
50-66 percent
