Public Health in the Middle Ages Flashcards
What evidence is there that medieval towns were unhygenic? (4 points)
- Towns could not cope with the demand for water so rivers were often used to remove sewage and other waste
- Cesspits overflowed onto roads and into rivers
- Overcrowding meant disease spread extremely quickly and easily
- Trademens’ waste, such as dangerous chemicals and waste blood and guts
What evidence is there that medieval towns were hygienic? (4)
- Took water from local springs, wells, or rivers
- Some Roman systems survived and town like Exeter usd new technology with pipes made of lead
- Most towns had privies with cesspits to collect sewage
- Town councils passed laws telling people to keep the streets in front of their houses clean
3 reasons why it was difficult to keep Medieval towns clean?
- Town populations grew, and public health facilities couldn’t cope
- Rivers were used for drinking, cleaning, transport, and removing waste
- No knowledge of germs and their link to disease
Why were conditions better in the monasteries? (wealth)
- Money to spend on cleaner facilities
- Many people gave money, valuables, and lands in return for prayers to be said for them when they died
- Monks made a lot of money producing wool
Why were conditions better in the monasteries? (knowledge)
- Monks could read and understand books in their library
- Understood separating clean water from the wastewater that came from the toilets and washrooms
- Kept simple routines involving moderation in diet, sleep, and exercise to balance the humours
Why were conditions better in the monasteries? (location)
- Isolation helped protect monks from epidemics
- Near to rivers; water was an important resource to supply nearby mills, kitchens, breweries, and bakeries
Why were conditions better in monasteries? (rules)
- Led simple lives that followed a routine
- Believed cleanliness was next to Godliness so had washing routines e.g. baths once a month
What were the 4 factors that contributed to better public health in the monasteries and abbeys?
- Knowledge
- Wealth
- Location
- Rules
What was the Black Death
A Medieval epidemic disease
Where did Black Death began and along what route did it spread?
Began in Asia and travelled rapidly along the trade routes to Western Europe
When did it reach Constantinople and England?
- Constantinople in 1347
- England in 1348
What 2 types of plague was Black Death a combination of?
Bubonic plague and pneumonic plague
State 3 symptoms of black death, and how long would sufferers live for
Buboes, fever, and vomiting- death usually followed aq few days after symptoms
State 4 believed causes of the Black Death in England
- Position of stars and planets
- Miasma (bad air)
- Wells poisoned by Jews
- Punishment from God
State the real causes of the Black Death in Britain and how it spread to humans
- Bacteria ‘Yersina Pestis’ which grew in fleas’ stomachs
- Fleas fed on rats’ blood → disease killed rats → fleas moved onto humans
