Paper 1: Medieval medicine: 1250 -1500

Question 1

Who were the 2 key characters?

Answer 1

Hippocrates
Galen

Question 2

What year did the black death arrive in England?

Answer 2

1348

Question 3

How much of England’s population did the black death kill?

Answer 3

1/3 of England’s population

Question 4

What were the 4 things that people believed caused disease in medieval England?

Answer 4

Religious explanations
Astrology
Miasma
The Theory of the Four Humours

Question 5

Religious explanations

Answer 5

-Sin or Satan cause disease
-Disease is a punishment from God

Question 6

Astrology

Answer 6

-People believed that astrology (the alignment of the stars and planets) also had an influence of disease
-They used star charts

Question 7

Miasma

Answer 7

-A miasma was bad air that was believed to be filled with harmful fumes/smells
-They said it came from swamps, corpses and other rotting matter

Question 8

The Theory of the Four Humours

Answer 8

-The Theory of the Four Humours was developed in ancient Greece by Hippocrates
-The Theory of Four Humours said that the body was made up of four liquids (‘humours’) - blood, phlegm, black bile and yellow bile
-It was believed that illness was caused by these humours being out of balance
-The ancient roman physician Galen added to it with the Theory of Opposites, which suggested that the humours could be rebalanced by applying the opposite.

Question 9

The Theory of Four Humours said that the body was made up of 4 liquids (‘humours’). What were they?

Answer 9

Blood
Phlegm
Black bile
Yellow bile

Question 10

The Theory of Opposites

Answer 10

-Created by the ancient roman physician Galen
-Suggested that the humours could be rebalanced by applying the opposite
-For example, someone with too much phlegm (cold) could eat something hot, like a pepper or too much blood (hot and wet) could be fixed by eating something cool like a cucumber

Question 11

What were the 7 ways people were treated for disease in medieval England?

Answer 11

Religious treatments
Supernatural treatments
Humoural treatments (Phlebotomy)
Remedies
Hospitals
Home
Doctors/Healers

Question 12

Religious treatments

Answer 12

-Prayer
-Fasting
-Praying for special Mass (Catholic church service)
-Flagellation (whipping for religious discipline)
-Pilgramages

Question 13

Supernatural treatments

Answer 13

-Star charts were used to prescribe treatments
-Using spells and charms was believed to ward off diseases and heal symptoms

Question 14

Humoural treatments

Answer 14

-Many treatments involved trying to balance the Four Humours
-The most common treatment for balancing the humours was bloodletting (removing a patient’s blood) aka phlebotomy
-Purging which involved giving patient something to make them vomit or a laxative to clear out the body
-Theory of Opposites

Question 15

What were the 3 ways of performing phlebotomies?

Answer 15

Blood was drained by cutting the patients vein
Placing leeches on the skin
Cupping (where a heated cup was placed over bleeding skin to create a vacuum and draw out more blood)

Question 16

Remedies

Answer 16

-Herbal remedies to drink, sniff or bathe in were often used
-A theriaca was a common spice based mixture containing over 70 ingredients and used for many different illnesses
-Bathing was advised to draw in heat and help clear blockages in the humours. Plants and herbs were often added to the water

Question 17

What were the common ingredients used in herbal remedies>

Answer 17

Aloe vera
Mint
Saffron

Question 18

Hospitals

Question 19

Home

Question 20

Doctors/Healers