Life in Medieval Britain Flashcards
What did life expectancy and survival depend on?
Being rich or poor- poor couldn’t afford doctors
Town/ country- more chance of finding medicine in towns. Towns dirtier and deadlier
Children/ adults- young more at risk
Winter/ summer- both seasons could kill for different reasons
What were the main killers?
Famine and war
Why were many malnourished?
Drought and flood brought about bad harvests
Bad harvests meant malnourishment
Malnourished people caught diseases
What caused Saint Anthony’s Disease?
A fungus growing on rye in damp conditions
Once it was made into bread it caused rashes and even death
What diseases did 10% of the population die from?
Dysentery, typhoid, smallpox and measles
What was very dangerous for women?
Childbirth
% of children that died before the age of 7
30%
Who did the best practitioners copy?
Hippocrates
Cure for rheumatism
Wear a donkey skin
Asthma cure
Swallow young frogs
Ringworm cure
Wash hair in male urine
Why did people think God made them ill?
It was God’s way of punishing someone living a sinful life
What was the Doctrine of Signatures?
The belief that God had created illness but in his kindness had also created the right herbs or plants with which to treat that illness
What did some people notice the link between?
Disease and bad air or bad smells
What was the theory that bad smells made people ill?
Miasma theory
Where was mortality higher?
Towns and cities than in the countryside
How did people live?
Close together
Alongside animals and filth
What did travellers often say?
You could smell a town long before you could see it
What was feared? What did many believe because of this?
Witchcraft
Many believed the world was full of demons trying to cause trouble and death
What could any sudden diseases or misfortunes be blamed on?
The supernatural, especially as the church painted a picture of a life where good fought evil
What did every doctor agree with regarding causes of illness?
Hippocrates and Galen
Illness caused by a loss of equilibrium in the Four Humours
What did doctors’ charts show?
Which illnesses were caused by which Humour
What did zodiac charts show?
The best time to treat illnesses
Due to the danger of childbirth, what was expected of the man?
They would need to re-marry to provide their children with a new mother
