Medicine in Medieval England c.1250-c.1500 Flashcards
what sort of society did England primarily have?
a very religious society
because of the religious society, what did people believe about disease?
religious beliefs and superstition were used to explain, diagnose, and decide on treatments for illnesses
who had a great influence over people’s lives?
The Church
what religion did most people follow?
Christianity
people believed that God did what for a punishment?
as a punishment for sin, people believed that God sent disease and illness
what was a second popular belief that disease was caused by?
Astrology
how would a physician use astrology to diagnose a patient?
they would look at when the patient was born, and determine the illness they had from there
after what major event did it become even more popular?
The Black Death - people wanted to find the cause to be able to explain what happened
The Church’s medical teachings used the ideas of which two ancient physicians?
Hippocrates and Galen
why were physicians discouraged from challenging the ideas?
the Ancient Greek’s ideas fitted in with the Bible’s teachings
who made the Four Humours Theory?
Hippocrates
what did the four humours theory state?
it stated that the body was made up of four humours;
-Yellow Bile -Blood
-Black Bile -Phlegm
how was the four humours used to treat disease?
if any of the humours were out of balance, it was believed to have caused disease
how would the four humours be balanced?
Blood - Bloodletting Y&B Bile- Vomiting
Phlegm - Coughing or sneezing
who created the Theory of Opposites?
Galen
what did the Theory of Opposites state?
if a patient was hot, their illness could be treated by giving them something cold
did the Theory of Opposites align with The Church’s teachings?
Yes - Galen believed in the soul
what was the miasma theory?
it was the belief that bad smelling air caused disease
what did people religiously believe about miasma?
they thought that the air had been poisoned by God, as he caused all diseases
what are examples of ways that people would use to prevent themselves from disease?
-flagellation
-fasting
-pilgrimages
why would people fast to prevent disease?
to show how sorry they were for their sins
what is a flagellant?
someone who would whip themselves in public, and asked God to forgive their sins
what is a pilgrimage?
a journey which has religious or spiritual significance, usually to an important religious place.
how would people try to avoid miasma?
-carrying posies
-ringing bells
-burning herbs to clean the air
