Medieval Flashcards
What is the time scale of the medieval period
c.1250-1500
Supernatural causes of disease believed in Medieval period
-The devil sent his servants to spread the disease
-God sent it as punishment
How did people believe astrology was a cause of disease in the medieval period
-The planet and stars’ movement affects life on earth
-Star sign man (e.g. pisces meant no surgery on feet)
Why did the church cause a continuation of ancient ideas in medieval medicine
-Rich and powerful
-They supported ancient ideas
-They supported Galen’s theories because he said God had created the human body and soul
-Nobody dared to challenge his ideas and those who did were ignored/imprisoned
-Miasma was supported by the church
Why did the monarch cause ancient ideas to continue in Medieval England?
-Main concern was to defend his position and country from attack.
-No interest in using the country’s money to pay for medical care and research
Why did the lack of science and technology cause ancient ideas to continue in Medieval England
-Dissections largely banned by the church as they taught that the body needed to be buried whole so the soul could enter heaven
-Any dissections that did take place was on criminals and to better understand Galen’s work
-If any contradictions were found it was blamed on the body coming from a criminal
Why was new ideas not being encouraged causing ancient ideas to continue in Medieval England
-Universities key studying was on Galen
-Church taught that all of Galen’s work was correct
-Doctors not encouraged to think for themselves or challenge his ideas
How were enemas used as treatment in the medieval period
(4 humours) - Administered to relieve constipation when a laxative was enough
How was purging used as treatment in the medieval period
(4 humours) - If patients had too much yellow/black bile they were given mixture of bitter herbs and animal fats to make them vomit
-Or given a laxative (e.g. mallow leaves)
-Not effective but widely used
How was praying used as treatment/prevention in the medieval period
(God) - People regularly pray to God for forgiveness
-Wealthy made donations to church so prayers could be said for them
How were herbs used as preventatives in the medieval period
(Miasma) - Tried to keep homes smelling sweet and fresh with herbs (e.g. lavender and fresh rushes) on the floor
How was Galen’s opposites theory used as treatment in the medieval period
(4 humours) - Cold food and cold baths may be recommended to someone suffering from a fever
-Too cold may be prescribed blanc mangier (chicken and almond dish) as it was warming
How were fasting and candles used as treatment/preventative in the medieval period
(God) - Showing they are sorry for sins by lighting candles in church or fasting
How was bloodletting used as treatment in the medieval period
(4 humours) - If someone was thought to have too much bled they would cut a vein using a bronze cup (ancient) or leeches (new idea)
-Cup was heated and placed over an incision
-Leeches sucked the blood from a patient
-Caused more death than it prevented but still popular
How did the wealthy, poor and doctors use herbs as treatment in the medieval period
(Miasma) -Wealthy carry pomanders with them (locket of sweet smelling herbs
-The poor carried posies
-Doctors carried posies or oranges with them when visiting patients
How was a balanced used as prevented in the medieval period
(4 humours) - Doctors advised people to live a balanced lifestyle and avoid overeating and exercising regularly
How was bathing used as treatment in the medieval period
(Miasma) - Wealthy bathed in hot water regularly
-Poor would wash in rivers when possible
How was donating to church used as prevention in the medieval period
(God) - Wealthy individuals paid to make improvements in the towns such as piped water supplies and latrines to please God
How were pilgrimages used as a preventative in the medieval period
(God) - If a serious sin had been committed people would go on a pilgrimage to seek gods forgiveness. They went to holy shrines in hope that the saints could cure them
How was burning herbs used as prevention in the medieval period
-People lit fires with herbs to try and purify the air
-During black death plants such as juniper were burnt so their scent would fill a room
How were laws and the government used prevention in the medieval period
(Miasma) - Laws we’re passed to make streets cleaner
-In London you could be fine for throwing butchers blood or litter onto the streets
-In some towns rakers were employed to clear animal dung from streets and night carts went around emptying cesspit
-Remained unhealthy and dirty places as not enough money and organisation
How were herbal remedies used as treatment in the medieval period
-Passed through generations and women knew many off by heart.
-Recorded in books called ‘herbals’ which had precise instructions regarding the amounts of ingredients needed and correct preparation.
-Many included incantations or prayers to improve effectiveness
-Drunk, bathed in, smelt or applied to skin
Herbal remedy examples
-Boiling a fox and bathing in the same water to cure paralysis as the patient would take quick/nimble properties of fox
-Cure for throat abscess ; take a fat cat draw out guts, take grease of hedgehog, fat of a bear, fenugreek, sage and stuff the cat with it. Roast the cat and anoint the patient with the dripping
-Effective remedy for infection in cut and wounds ; honey, plantain, onion and garlic
-Cure for a style from herbal Bald’s Leechbook ; take onion and garlic, equal amounts and pound together, take wine and bulls gall and mix it with the onion and garlic
How was surgery used as treatment in the medieval period
- Basic as limited anatomical knowledge and effective ways to desl eiht pain, blood loss and infection.
-Wine and herbs (opium, hemlock) to make a patient drowsy. Too much could kill a patient. -Wine, vinegar or honey could be used to clean a wound but limited in antibacterial effect
-Removal of small surface tumours or foreign bodies, bleeding, splitting broken bones and amputation
-John Bradmore developed metal forceps to remove foreign bodies from a wound -cauterisation (hot irons) was used to stop bleeding by burning the wound shut.
-Catarct surgery where film over the eye could be removed with a sharp knife
Physicians experience and education in the medieval period
-Education ; University trained for 7 years which was controlled by church. They studied Galen, Hippocrates, Rhazes and Ibn Sina. Taught ancient ideas aswell astrology.
What care did physicians provide in the medieval era
-Gave advice on staying healthy (cleaning teeth and exercise etc)
-Gave diagnosis based on 4 humours, astrology and miasma
-Used an alamanac to help make right diagnosis (vein man, zodiac man and urine chart)
Why did physicians care for in the medieval period
-Wealthiest members of society
-In 1300 there were fewer than 100 physicians
What experience/education did women have in the medieval period
-No training, knowledge was passed in from older women in family
-Local wise woman had most knowledge and sold remedies
What care did women provide in the medieval era
-Made common remedies and use experience for treatments
-Prayers and incantations for preparation and application of remedy
-Wealthy educated women mixed herbal remedies using herbals
-Midwives to guide other women through childbirth
Who did women care for in the medieval period
Both rich and poor got care from women
What experience/education did master surgeons have
-Didn’t train at universities
-Were apprentices, studied by reading books and practicing
What care did master surgeons provide in the medieval period
-Basic surgery (e.g bloodletting and administering enemas) Some could do more complex surgeries like caesarian births, surface tumours and caractacts
-John Bradmore used metal forceps to remove arrowhead from Henry B
-John of Arlene was a rectal surgeon
Who did master surgeons care for
-Only the wealthiest
What experience and education apothecaries have
-Trained through apprenticeship, knowledge from experience
-People who could read read herbals
-Quacks had no knowledge but made remedies that could be harmful
How apothecaries provided care in medieval period
-They prepared and sold remedies to anyone who could afford them
-Made anointments physicians could use
Who did apothecaries care for in medieval
Local people who bought their stuff
What experience and education did barber surgeons have in the medieval period
-Trained as apprentices through watching others
-Had necessary and equipment (sharp knives) to carry out basic surgery
What care did barber surgeons provide in the medieval period
-Basic surgery due to lack of knowledge, for example bloodletting, removing foreign bodies or pulling teeth.
-Used hot irons for cauterisation
-Woukd assist physicians in treating the wealthy
Who did barber surgeons care for in the medieval period
People who needed it and could afford their service
What experience and education did hospitals have in the medieval period
-Run by nuns and monks who gained their knowledge and skill by studying religious texts, herbals and other books on healing
-Knew from experience how to grow herbs and make herbal remedies
What care did hospitals provide in the medieval period
-Provided food, warmth, herbal remedies, cleanliness and relatively clean water.
-Prayers
-Nuns tended to physical needs and monks to the spiritual needs
Who did hospitals care for in the medieval period
-Guild
-local citizens who can’t look after themselves
Where did the Black Death come for and when was it
It reached England in 1348 when a ship from the mediterranean brought it.
Features of the bubonic plague
-Spread by fleas
-First made people cold and tired
-Painful buboes appeared in armpit, groin and had small blisters all over, followed by high fever and headaches
-Many were unconscious for days before death
Features of pneumonic plague
-Attacked the victims lungs
-They began to rapidly cough up blood and died more rapidly than those who had the bubonic plague
-This was spread by people coughing or breathing germs on one another
Methods of preventative based on belief God sent the Black Death (1348)
-Fasting
-Praying
-Pilgrimages
-Public processions
-Beating themselves
Methods of preventative based on belief miasma caused the Black Death (1348)
-Carried sweet smelling herbs
-Ringing bells to keep the air
-Keeping birds to fly around the house
-Lit fires to overpower bad air
-Cleaning
What percent of England was killed by the Black Death
Over 40%
What places were hit hardest during the black death
Towns and ports
What places were safest during the black death
-Villages and farms high in the hills
Why was there a greater focus on prevention of getting the black death compared to treatments
-Not many survived long enough to be treated
Treatments used for the Black Death
-Charms around neck of sufferers
-Prayers
-4 humours
-Draining pus from buboes
How did church respond to the Black Death
-Had the biggest role due to the belief God sent the pestilence as a punishment for sins.
How did the government respond to the Black Death through quarantine
-Local authorities introduced new quarantine laws
-People new to an area had to stay away from everyone else for 40 days
-People quarantined in houses where anyone had the plague
How did the king also respond to the plague
-Edward III closed parliament when the plague hit London to avoid people travelling the area
-Ordered Mayor of London to clean the streets
How were the government not helpful, in their response to the Black Death
-Edward III ordered services to be said in every church, encouraging more people to gather -local authorities ordered rakers to stop cleaning the streets so the smell of rubbish and rotting bodies would counter the miasma.
Why did books/libraries mean the church was important in medieval england
The church wrote all books by hand. The largest libraries were in monasteries.
Why did support given mean the church was important in medieval england
-Churches were at the centre of a local community
-They supported the poor and cared for the sick and elderly
-Monasteries like Bolton Priory had hospitals run by nuns and monks providing basic medical care
Why did education mean the church was important in medieval england
-The church controlled education, especially universities
-50% of people in towns could read and most books were prayer books and other religious
Why did literacy and information mean the church was important in medieval england
-Most people did not have an formal education and were illiterate
-They received most information and ideas through their church
-Attended church services regularly and followed its teachings
Why did life after death mean the church was important in medieval england
-If anyone challenged the Bible then they were taught they would go to hell when they died
-In if his period hell was believed to be a real place of eternal suffering and pain
-This fear of hell meant hardly anyone challenged the church’s teachings
Why did belief in God mean the church was important in medieval england
-The Bible was taught as the truth and it taught that God controlled every aspect of life on earth
-The Bible tells stories of how God controls the weather could send famines or diseases like leprosy as punishment.
Why did conservative attitudes mean the church was important in medieval england
-People were told to respect what was written in the Bible and other ancient books
-Not encouraged to think for themselves or challenge traditional ifeas
Why did a wide reaching influence mean the church was important in medieval england
-There was a Priest in every village, a Bishop in every region, and the Head and of the Church in England was the Arch-bishop of Canterbury
Where did the 4 humours theory come from
-First used in ancient Greece. Hippocrates believed the four elements made up the human body as four humours
-Galen wrote about Hippocrates’ ideas and developed them further
What were the four humours
Blood, black bile, yellow bile and phlegm
Examples of how 4 humours was used to treat illness
-If someone had a temperature they would be hot and wet (sweating) which meant they had too much blood in their body
-If someone with a temperature had dry skin would be through to have too much yellow bile
How did the seasons affect the 4 humours
-Seasons (e.g. in Winter it was thought that too much phlegm made the body cold and wet as people shivered and had excess phlegm running from their noses)
How did star signs affect the 4 humours
-The star signs for each season also linked with their associated humour, so a patients date date of birth would be an important part of a diagnosis
How did a persons circumstances and traits affect the 4 humours
-Age, circumstances, family or personality traits (e.g. someone suffering from depression may be diagnosed with too much nlack bile)
What type of idea was the 4 humours theory
A rational idea based on observation of natural world. Shows progression as doctors weren’t only looking for answers from God, but the body aswell
Where did the theory of miasma come from
-Hippocrates and Galen both wrote about miasmata and suggested that swamps, corpses and other rotting matter could cause disease could cause diseases
-The Romans built their settlements away from swamps to avoid miasmic diseases
What type of idea of the miasma theory
-A rational idea based on observations of the natural world, so although it was incorrect it did mean medieval doctors and Kings looked for solutions to remove bad smells. Some of these methods did help to improve health and hygiene
-For example by the 14th century teams of rakers were employed to clear animal dung from the streets
Where did the opposite theory’s come from and give an example
-Galen studied Hippocrates work and developed his ideas further, developing the 4 humours with the theory of opposites
-He believed too much of a certain humour could be treated with a cure of the opposite characteristics
-For example, an excess of ‘hot’ blood could be treated with a cold cucumber
-An excess ‘cold’ phlegm could be treated
How was urine used as an ancient idea in Medieval England
-Examining a patients urine to determine the cause of disease or illness was not an ancient idea but it did incorporate the 4 humours theory
-A doctor would check the smell, colour, thickness and taste of a patients urine
-A urine chart would help then to determine cause of disease (e.g. white urine could be a sign of too much phlegm in the body
