Chapter 1.5 - Public Health In The Middle Ages Flashcards
Tell me some unhealthy practices in the Middle Ages
“A terrible pestilence is killing everyone in France. I’ve head it’s caused by the planets, what can we do?” - thought planets could cause illness
“Pray to God for forgiveness. God sends plague as punishment for our sins”
Physicians trained by reading books by Hippocrates, Galen and Arab doctors such as Avicenna and rhazes
There were public toilets but one www over the Thames which supplied some of the cites water
Streets were full of filth
Tell me about the danger of living in a town
Yu might get killed by a cut purse (pickpocket) trapped in a fire or run over by a horse and cart
Accidents were common - falling in a well
Why was living in towns and cities unhealthy
People lived so close together and few regulations about building or waste disposal
Clean water was in short supply and often drawn from contaminated rivers and streams
Butchers brought live animals into town and slaughter them and waste was difficult to get rid of
No dustbins or rubbish collectors to remove waste until rain washed it away
Cesspits often built next to wells allowing the one to contaminate the other - also cesspits were emptied infrequently as you had to pay people to remove it
Animals everywhere - horses for transport, creating tons of dung every week - no sewers, household waste chucked into street and left to rot
Shopkeepers sold food going off rather than throwing it away, had to shop for food everyday as it wouldn’t stay fresh,
Water for washing was rare so people weren’t very clean
Water for drinking was also rare so people drank small beer instead
Sewage in streets were a problem
Disease spread quickly
How did monasteries help with disease in towns
Monasteries were dangers of dirt and filth - most monasteries extracted water for drinking, washing and cooking and then used waste water to flush away waste and clean toilets
Every monastery had a physic garden for plant growth for treatments
Most hospitals at the time were attached to monasteries or ran by monks
Tell me about bath houses
Shows bath houses were where people could pay to have a bath
People used combs and tweezers, toothpicks, and mouthwashes
Was Coventry an unhealthy place to live
Every man had to clean the street in front of house every Saturday or pay a 12 penny fine
Waste collection services recorded in 1420- waste sold to nearby farmers
Council specified designated waste disposal locations. Dunghills and waste pits naturally sprang up around the perimeter of the town
Council authorised specific sites for waste. 5 in Coventry like one at poodycroft
Coventrys council banned waste disposal in river Sherborne 9 times 1421-1475 - council took action and it was widely ignored or actions worked and when some residents went back to old ways others complained to council
All latrines over red ditch, a local stream, were ordered to be removed
Summarise public health in the Middle Ages
You were more likely to die in a town than in the countryside
Industry and livestock alongside houses led to dirt and disease
Water supply and rubbish removal causes many problems
Most towns only took action sporadically, or when disaster threatened
Some people and some towns tried to keep themselves clean as best they could
