Renaissance c1500-1700 Flashcards
What were the changes in ideas at this time?
Fewer people believed in supernatural causes of disease, the church had less influence over ideas, as a new scientific approach to diagnosis emerged, they began to look for new explanations.
What was the continuity in ideas at this time?
miasma and the theory of the four humours (although by 1700 very few physicians believed in it).
Who was Thomas Sydenham and what did he do?
Thomas Sydenham (the English Hippocrates) was a doctor who helped to improve knowledge: he didn’t rely on medical books but observed and recorded symptoms, he based treatment on the disease as a whole (rather than treating the individual symptoms), he identified that measles and scarlet fever were separate diseases.
What was the major change in the communication of ideas?
A major change in communication and the spread of ideas was the development of the printing press. This meant that exact copies of books could be produced quickly. The ideas of doctors/scientists could spread faster over a wider area. The church lost control over ideas, as it could no longer prevent the publication of ideas it did not approve of. Another breakthrough was the establishment of the Royal Society. Charles II supported the society.
What was the Royal Society?
Its aim was to improve scientific understanding through experiments and sharing theories/ideas. News of findings would spread quickly through the Society’s journal which would share new information and ideas.
Were there many changes in treatment during the Renaissance?
There were not many changes to treatments but the main change was in hospital care
What were the changes in hospital care?
Hospitals were treating more sick, often had their own apothecary and physicians would visit. In 1536 the dissolution of the monasteries caused most hospitals to close. Some charity-funded ones were set up but it took till 1700 for the numbers to return to pre-dissolution figures. When hospitals did reappear they were run by physicians. There were more ‘pest’ houses, which would deal with a particularly contagious disease. Most people were still cared for at home, physicians were too expensive
What were the other changes in treatment/prevention at this time?
There was more emphasis on removing miasma through rubbish removal, people regularly changed clothes to keep clean, herbal remedies were discovered abroad, and alchemy increased.
What were the continuities in treatments/preventions at this time?
Discoveries did not improve understanding of the cause of disease, new ideas were slow to take on, little improvement in treatment
What were the changes in medical training and discoveries?
Apothecaries and surgeons were better trained with guild systems and they needed a license to work, there was access to wider variety of medical books for physicians, dissections were legalised eventually, there were new ideas about anatomy and the causes of disease
What were the continuities in medical training and discoveries?
Apothecaries and surgeons still had no university training, training for physicians was still based on textbooks rather than practical experience. Andreas Vesalius led to significant improvement after 1700.
What significant improvements did Andreas Vesalius make to medical knowledge?
He carried out a large number of dissections and discovered how the body works. His book (Fabric of the Human Body) contained detailed anatomical drawings and was widely published. Vesalius corrected many of Galen’s mistakes and encouraged others to question ancient ideas. He also encouraged dissection to improve knowledge
What did people believe caused the Great Plague?
Miasma was the most common, God-sending punishment, people realised it could be passed from person to person, and fewer people thought it was four humours.
How did people treat the Great Plague?
People with the disease were quarantined, herbal remedies were, people carried herbs/spices, flagellants and prayer, transference, and sweat-out method, There was also far greater government/council action in 1665 to try and stop the plague spreading: theatres closed and gatherings banned, dogs/cats were killed, barrels of tar were burned on streets, carts collect dead and buried in mass graves outside city walls, household boarded up for 28 days if it was infected, days of fasting and public prayers were ordered.
What was transference?
where people would try to transfer the disease to something else, especially birds
