People's Health Flashcards
What was built in medieval times due to the Thames becoming too dirty? Who protected and repaired this?
the “great conduit” was built to bring drinking water into London. Wardens protected and repaired pipes to keep the supply clean
T or F: Public health conditions in medieval towns were better than public health conditions in Roman times and today?
False
What was one of the causes for unsanitary conditions in medieval times?
population growth and urbanisation
Why did disease spread quickly in town in the medieval period?
more people lived in towns, so towns became crowded. People lived close together in houses made of wood and overcrowding meant that disease spread quickly
Why were towns not clean in the medieval period?
Towns were not clean because people did not know that dirt could cause disease and nobody understood germs or bacteria
What was believed to be the cause of illness in the medieval period?
Miasma (bad air) - towns smelt bad, people then got ill so people thought that the bad air made people ill
What two things were rivers used for in the medieval period? What did this mean?
sewage as well as for drinking water. This meant that there was a lack of clean water
What were used for people to throw their liquid waste and sewage into in the medieval period?
cesspits
in the medieval period, houses were used for living in and what else?
houses were also used for business by butchers and barbers
Where was waste and rubbish from butchers and barbers thrown in the medieval period?
rivers and the street
T or F: houses in the medieval period were different in the countryside compared to towns and cities?
True
What two types of houses did peasants live in in the medieval period?
mud huts and strong wooden houses
What was the largest house in the village and who lived there in the medieval period?
the largest house in the village was the manor house where the lord lived
What was grown in the gardens belonging to village houses in the medieval period?
vegetables and fruits
Why were cesspits and rubbish tips useful in village gardens in the medieval period?
human and animal excrement fertilised the soil
What did peasants’ livelihood depend on in the medieval period and why?
their ability to harvest the land because they needed a successful harvest to have enough food
What caused huge problems for peasant communities in 1315-16?
The Great Famine
What else could cause disaster for peasants in the medieval period?
disease among animals
What led to the deaths of 10% of the population in the medieval period?
more bad harvests until 1322
If the weather was damp, a fungus grew on what type of bread made by the poor?
rye bread
Why was the fungus that grew on rye bread bad?
The fungus caused ergotism. This was a disease which caused outbreaks of warts on the skin. People often went mad too.
Why did the rich never catch ergotism?
their bread was made of wheat
T or F: Villagers drank more than those in towns in the medieval period
true
What three other drinks, aside from water, did people drink in the medieval period?
cider made from apples, mead made from honey, and ale which was known as ‘small beer’
Where were villages located in the medieval period?
near streams to make sure there were water supplies - both humans and animals needed water
What was the purpose of mills and how were they turned?
Some streams turned mills, which ground grain
What else did villagers in the medieval period use streams for and why was this important?
villagers often caught fish from the stream, which was an important source of vitamins, even if they did not realise this
What was essential to life in both the countryside and towns?
water
What was the Black Death?
a mixture of bubonic
plage and pneumonic plague
When did the Black Death epidemic hit Britain?
in 1348
How was bubonic
plage spread?
spread by fleas on black rats
How was pneumonic plague spread?
airborne spread by coughing/sneezing
How long after the first symptoms did the bubonic and pneumonic plages take to cause death?
2 days
Where did the Black death disease begin?
Asia
How did the Black Death spread to Europe?
on merchant ships
Name a supernatural belief about the cause of the Black Death epidemic at the time
the position of the stars
God’s wrath
Name a natural belief about the cause of the Black Death epidemic at the time
miasmas
humour imbalances
What was the Black Death actually caused by?
Bacteria in fleas’ stomachs
How did the Black Death actually spread?
Fleas passed on the disease to rats who passed it on to humans
Why did the Black Death spread quickly?
many people lived close to each other
Name four Remedies used for the Black Death and their believed purposes
Prayers - to appease God
Herbs - protections from miasma
Purging, vomiting, bloodletting - keep humours in balance
Moving away/avoiding infected individuals
How did Winchester attempt to stop the Black Death and why?
tried to build cemeteries away from people’s homes because some people thought that the plague was caught from dead bodies
How did Gloucester attempt to stop the Black Death? Did they succeed?
Tried to stop anyone outside the town entering - did not succeed
What did towns try to set up to prevent the spread of the Black Death but didn’t usually work?
quarantine zones
How long did ships have to wait while quarantined before unloading in Britain?
40 days
Other than killing huge amounts of the population, what else did the Black Death lead to?
food shortages and therefore higher food prices
How much of the British population are estimated to have died from the Black Death?
30-45% - whole towns were killed by it
How was the church harmed by the Black Death?
lots of experienced priests died and new clergymen demanded higher wages
Why did peasants have the audacity to ask for higher wages during and after the Black Death?
lots of workers were killed, peasants moved around to earn higher wages
How were some peasants able to buy land?
The cost of buying land fell because of the lower population
Which Law tried to prevent peasants moving around so much?
1349 Ordinance of Labourers
Some historians think that the 1349 Ordinance of Labourers and the Black Death contributed to what?
The Peasants’ Revolt in 1381
By what year was the worst of the Black Death over by?
1350
T or F: The Black Death was the last Plague in Britain
False - plagues continued for centuries
What was the worst example of plague in Britain?
The Great Beach of 1665
What was the closest thing to our view of modern day doctors in the medieval period?
a man/woman who had been trained in Hippocratic and Galenic methods
Which church was influential and popular in Europe in the medieval period?
The Christian Church
Where were lots of medieval doctors trained?
universities that were set up by the church, most of which were based in Italy
Whose ideas were usually taught in the church’s medical school?
Galen’s
Why did the Christian church like Galen’s ideas?
They thought it fitted with their view of God and doctors believed that his ideas were correct
Name four tools that medieval doctors had to treat patients and their purposes?
A book - to record possible illnesses
Leeches - to remove blood
Aromatic objects - could stop miasma
A zodiac chart - to predict future illnesses
Why were doctors rare in large towns in the medieval period?
They were expensive and most people couldn’t afford to see them
Some doctors began to observe their patients on the battlefield (in wars)
Where could the poor receive medical treatment in the medieval period?
only in hospitals set up by monasteries
Why were lots of people who were very ill in the medieval period not treated?
people were scared that the disease could spread to other people
What were apothecaries?
people who sold herbal remedies in the medieval period
What were female apothecaries called?
wise women
