Medieval - Middle Ages (1250-5000) Flashcards
Religion - God (CAUSE)
God caused disease in order to punish sinners.
Supernatural - Astrology (CAUSE)
The alignment of planets and stars could cause illness. Physicians commonly consulted star charts in order to diagnose and specify the cause of an illness.
Theory of the Four Humours (CAUSE)
Theory founded by the Greek doctor Hippocrates - people believed that when we became ill it was because the humours were unbalanced - yellow bile, black bile, blood, phlegm.
Theory of Opposites
Founded by Galen, a Roman doctor, who was greatly inspired by Hippocrates. Galen also believed in the Four Humours. He suggested that with the aim of balancing the four humours, you should give the patient the ‘opposite’ of their symptoms. For example, if you had too much phlegm which was linked to water and cold, you should eat hot peppers.
MIASMA (CAUSE) - SO BIG
This idea continued well into the Middle Ages all the way to the 19th century.
Disease was transmitted by bad air. This was also related to God, because bad smells indicated sin.
Rational Treatments - in response to the Four Humours
1) Bloodletting - it was either done by cutting a vein, using leeches or by cupping. Occasionally bloodletting was done by physicians but most probably barber-surgeons.
2) Purging - another treatment used to re-balance the humours. It either involved making the patient vomit or go to the toilet. Emetics or laxatives were mixed by apothecaries.
Religious Treatments
Praying; Fasting; Going on a pilgrimage; Paying for a special Mass to be said
Rational Preventions
- Bathing and washing - hygiene
- Regimen Sanitatis - A set of instructions
to maintain health - Bleeding and Purging
- Purifying the air - in response to miasma
- Diet - not overeating
- Trying to keep the streets clean
Religious Preventions
- Praying
- Going to Church
- Confession
- Donate to Church
- FLAGELLATION
- PILGRIMAGE
- Chanting Incantations
- Carrying Lucky Chamrs
Traditional Remedies
Herbal remedies mixed and sold by apothecaries which were drunk, sniffed or bathed in. This idea continued on till the Industrial Revolution.
Remedies also included different foods to rebalance the humours and ointments to apply to the skin.
Physicians
- Observed a patient’s symptoms and checked their pulse, skin colour, and urine.
- Consulted urine charts in their vademecum (handbook).
- Consulted star charts to help diagnose the illness.
- They very scarcely treated the patients themselves or usually sent them to a barber-surgeon or apothecary.
- ONLY AFFORDED BY THE UPPER CLASSES.
Barber-Surgeons
Untrained in medicine but was able to carry out blood-letting, pulling teeth, lancing boils and few minor operations such as amputations, although these surgeries were very rarely successful.
Cost less than a physician.
Apothecaries
- Received training but no medical
qualifications. - Mixed medicines and ointments based on
their own knowledge or directions of a
physician.
Care In The Home
- Most ill people throughout this period
were treated at home by a female family
member. - The village wise women would also
attend people in their homes for free.
Hospitals
Generally run by Churches or monastries - emphasis on God and healing souls rather than using medical knowledge.
- People with infectious diseases or
incurable conditions weren’t admitted.
- Travellers and pilgrims stayed here on
their journeys, and rested as well as
received care.
- Fresh food and plenty of rest
- Some hospitals were built for specific
diseases although they were typically
places of recuperation rather than places
where patients were treated.
BLACK DEATH
1348!!!
Killed about one third of the population.
Bubonic Plague is passed to humans when an infected flea bites them and the disease enters their blood.
Bubonic Plague
Cause of the Black Death epidemic
Causes of the Black Death: Religion and Superstition
God sent the plague as a punishment; Astrology - the unusual alignment of Mars, Jupiter and Saturn
Causes of the Black Death: Rational
Four Humours; Volcanoes’ poisonous gases from European eruptions and earthquakes; Miasma; Outsiders - strangers or witches has caused the disease.
Preventions of the Black Death
- Praying and Fasting
- Clearing rubbish
- Smelling their toilets or bad smells, since
they thought that the bad smells would
overcome the plague. - Carrying herbs or spices/flowers and
pomanders to avoid miasma. - Quarrantining foreigners.
Symptoms of the Black Death
- Swelling of the lymph glands into large
lumps filled with puss - (known as
buboes) - Fever and chills
- Headaches
- Vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal pain
Treatments of the Black Death
Praying and holding lucky charms;
Cutting open buboes; Eating cool things and taking cold baths - theory of opposites
Explain why there was not much development in medical knowledge in the medieval period? 1. THE CHURCH
- Control over knowledge - the church dominated education and intellectual institutions, promoting traditional ideas like Galen’s and Hippocrates’ theories, which were compatible with the Church’s teachings i.e. references to a ‘creator’ and a soul.
- Dissection was forbidden
- Focus on spiritual healing - as most people were religious, they were informed that praying and religious cures were superior to scientific investigation, attributing illness to spiritual causes like sin or divine punishment.
- book copying - the Church controlled which texts were copied and distributed (monks), ensuring that older, unchallenged ideas persisted.
Explain why there was not much development in medical knowledge in the medieval period? Technology
- Reliance on manual methods - knowledge spread slowly because books were copied by hand in monastries, limiting access and innovation. Printing technology did not arrive in Europe until the 15th century - 1665
- The lack of advanced tools such as microscopes hindered medical discoveries.
Explain why there was not much development in medical knowledge in the medieval period? Role of individuals
- Galen and Hippocrates were seen as ultimate authorities in the medical knowledge landscape, and challenging their ideas was considered heretical or dangerous.
- Few individuals, had the funding or the knowledge too conduct experiments or dissections to advance understanding of the human body as such activities were often banned or frowned upon by the Church.
Explain why there was not much development in medical knowledge in the medieval period? Laissez-Faire
- Minimal investment - The government had little involvement in the public’s health or medical advancements, as they believed it was not their priority or responsibility. Resources were often allocated to wars rather than healthcare or education.
- There was no systems in place to regulate or fund medical research, leaving progress to stagnate in the hands of traditionalists.
