c1250-c1500: Medieval England
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- Created by: Yazxo
- Created on: 28-05-18 15:23
Ideas about the Cause of Illness/Disease
Supernatural & Religious explanations:
- People in medieval England were very religious and followed the Catholic Church, they attendeed service regularly and were expected to give a sum of money to the Church.
- The Church used the tithes (money) to pay for the care of the community.
- A lack of scientific knowledge meant that the cause of illness and disease were a mystery.
- The Church used religion to answer the questions people had about illness and disease.
- The Church taught that those who committed sin could be punished by God.
- The Church taught that the Devil could send disease to test someones faith.
- It was logical to blame people's sin for for their illnesses.
- When people recovered, the Church claimed that it was a miracle.
- Blaming sickness on God acted as "proof of the divine" and provided evidence of God's existence.
- Miasma was another theory about the cause of disease that was transmitted by "bad air".
- This was related to God because ad smells indicated sin (this belief continued ito the c.19th)
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Ideas about the Cause of Illness/Disease
Astrology:
- The allignment of planets and stars was thought to cause some diseases.
- Astrology was also used to help diagnose what was wrong with a patient.
- A physician would consult the star charts, looking at when the patient was born and when they fell ill to help identify what was wrong.
- Many people believed that the Black Death was caused by a bad alignment of the plants.
- After the Black Death, the Church became more accepting to this idea.
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Explanation for Disease
The Four Humours:
- In Ancient Greek, people believed that they became ill because when the mix was unbalanced- this idea continued to Middle ages.
- The Theory of Four Humours was made up of the four basic elements:
- Fire
- Choler
- Water
- Black Bile
- Earth
- Phlegm
- Air
- Blood
- Fire
- Each Humour was linked to certain that physicians would look for when carrying out their diagnosis.
- Astrology was considered an important part of the Theory of the Four Humours, as the humours were connected with star signs and seasons.
- The Theory of Opposites aimed to balanced the humours by giving them the "opposite" of their symptoms.
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The Four Humours
- Ancient Name: Humour: Season: Element: Qualities:
- Sanguine Blood Spring Air Hot & Wet
- Choleric Choler Summer Fire Hot & Dry
- Melancholic Black Bile Autumn Earth Cold & Dry
- Phlegmatic Phlegm Winter Water Cold & Water
- Hippocrates was very influential, he dismissed the belief that Gods caused disease- he believed there was a physical reason for illness, which needed a physical cure.
- Most of his treatments were based on diets, exercise and rest but he also used bleeding and purging to get rid of excess humours.
- Hippocrates Oath: Doctors swore to respect life and prevent harm.
- His method of clinical observatioons are used today- study symptoms, making notes, comparing with similar cases, then diagnosing and treating.
- Galen, a Physician in Ancient Rome liked the ideas of Hippocrates and developed them futher.
- Galen drew detailed diagrams of human anatomy from operating wounded gladiators and dissecting dead animals.
- The Theory of Four Homours was very detailed could be used to explain almost any kind of illness.
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Influences About The Cause of Disease
Influences:
- Individuals & The Church
- Science & Technology
- Attitudes in Society
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Individuals & The Church Influence
The Church:
- They did not like change and they wanted to keep things the way they were.
- The Churrch controlled the medical learning, it chose which books were copied and distributed.
- The Church liked the Theory of the Four Humoursnbecauase it fitted with their teachings, so they promoted the teachings.
- The Church srongly discouraged anybody from criticising the theory.
Individuals:
- Hippocrates and Galen (Ancient Greeks) were important in the Middle Ages, their books were preserved by Arabic scholars.
- Latin translations were available in Europe by the Middle Ages.
- Galen was popular in the Church which meant that his work was promoted.
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Science & Technology Influence
Science:
- There was a lack of scientific understanding, this meant that new knowledge was limited.
- Physicians and medical students tried to make new discovers fit into old theories, rather experimenting to explain the discoveries.
Technology:
- The printing press was the most important piece of technology in the Middle Ages.
- It invented was towards the end of the Middle Ages, 1440 by Johannes Gutenburg in Germany.
- Eventhough it was not directly related to advancing Medival medicine, it did lead to much faster and easier sharing of medical texts.
- It did not have a huge impact during the Medival period.
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Attitudes in Society Influence
Attitudes in Society:
- Medival people had a strong belief in God and did not want to risk going to hell by being critical of the Church.
- Physicians who did follow old ideas found it hard to get work.
- A "good" physician would follow the Theory of the Four Humours.
- Many people believed that, since medicine had always been done this way, there was no need to change it.
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Lack of Alternatives
- There was a lack of scientific evidence to support any other kind of theories of the cause of disease.
- Dissections were illegal because of the Church taught the body needed to be buried whole for the soull to go to Heaven.
- Occasionally, physicians were able to dissect executed criminals.
- The physician would sit a far from the body, reading from the work of Galen, while a barber would cut up the criminal.
- Since, it was the body of criminal- it was imperfect, this meant that anything that didn't agree with Galen's teachings would be disregarded.
- This also meant that the physician never did any examination on the body.
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Approaches to Prevention & Treatment
The Four Humours:
- Bloodletting was the most common treatment for an imbalance of humours.
- Different points in the body were used for different illnesses.
- This was done mainly by barbers
- Purging was another treatment used to re-balance the humours, this meant the patient had to either vomit of go to the toilet to remove food.
- Emetics and laxatives were mixed by apothecaries, wise women or a phsician perscribed the treatment.
Religious/Supernatural Methods:
- Living a Christian Life- Praying, Going to Church.
- Carrying lucky charms or amulets.
- Chanting incantations.
- Self-Punishment so that God wouldn't
- Fasting.
- Going on pilgrmage.
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Approaches to Prevention & Treatment
Rational Methods:
- Purifing the air.
- Keeping the streets clean.
- Bathing & Washing.
- Exercising.
- Not overeating.
- Bleeding & Purging
Traditional Remedies:
- Herbs that are drank or bathed in.
- Different foods to re-balance the humours.
- Ointments to apply on the skin, either home-made or sold by an apothecary.
Supernatural Treatments:
- Specific ideas for certain illnesses.
- E.g. Hanging a Magpie's beak around your neck to cure a toothache.
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Approaches to Caring for the Sick
Who Treated the Sick:
- Barber- Sugeons
- Care in the Home
- Physicians
- Apothecaries
Hospitals:
- Many hospitals were palced where travellers and pilgrims stayed on their journey's.
- The number of hospitals increased during the Middle Ages.
- Many hospitals were run by the `church, so the emphasis was on God and healng the soul.
- Patients were given fresh food and plenty of rest.
- Pateints and their surroundings were kept very clean.
- Usually, people with infectious diseases or incurable conditions were not admitted.
- Some hsopitals were built for specific infectious diseases.
- Hospitals were places of recuperation rather than places where patients were treated for disease.
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Treating the Sick
Barber-Surgeons:
- No training
- Carried out bloodletting, pulling teeth and lancing boils and cutting hair.
- Did basic surgery such as amputating limbs (low success rate).
- Cost less than a physician.
Care in the Home:
- Most ill people throughout this period were treated at home by a female family member.
- The village "wise woman" would also tend to people in their homes for free.
Apothecaries:
- Recieved training but no medical qualifications.
- Mixed medicines and ointments based on their own knowledge.
- Cost money but less that physician.
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Treating the Sick
Physicians:
- Medically trained at universities and passed exams.
- Diagnosed illnesses and gave treatments or sent them to the barber-surgeon.
- Expensive, so mainly used by the wealthy.
- Very few of them, mainly men.
- They observed a patient's symptoms and checked their pulse and urine.
- They consulted urine charts in their vademecum.
- They then consulted the zodiac chart to help diagnose the illness and to work out the best time to treat the patient.
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Black Death 1348
- The bubonic plague was bacteria that was carried out in the digestive system of flees.
- It was spread by flea bites.
- It killed victims in 3-5 days, around 200 people were buried every day.
- 1/3 of the population in England died.
- Main symptom was buboes under armpits or goin which was filled with pus.
- Other symptoms:
- Chest pains and breathing troubles
- Fever
- Sneezing and coughing up blood
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Causes of Black Death
Religious & Supernatural:
- Many people believed that it was a result of God deserting mankind.
- It was a punishment for sin in the world.
- In 1345 there was an unsual positioning of the planets: Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.
- Astrologers intrepated this as sign as something wonderful or terrible was about to happen.
Natural Causes:
- The main cause attributed was impure air, miasma.
- Breathing in miasma caused corruption to the body's humour.
- People believed that impure air may have originated from poisonous fumes released by an earthquake or volcano.
Common Beliefs:
- There were many conflicting ideas about the cause of the Black Death.
- In Europe, many people blamed the Jewish population.
- In England, Jews had already been expelled, so they couldn't be to blamed in England.
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Treatments of the Black Death
Supernatural:
- Confess sins.
- Ask God for forgiveness through prayer.
- Once caught, people believed that it was in God's will.
Natural:
- Physicians tried bleeding and purging- it made people die faster.
- Physicians recommended strong-smelling herbs like aloe, which were believed to have cleaning properties
- Lighting a fire and boiling vinegar could drive off the miasma.
- Physicians/Surgeons would also sometimes lance the buboes- occasionally, people whose buboes burst survived.
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Treatments of the Black Death
Common Beliefs:
- People held strong Christian beliefs, they would confessed sins and prayed.
- They wouls seek traditional cures like bleeding.
- It became clear that neither priests nor physicians were capable of curing the disease.
- Apothecaries sold remedies and herbs that were mixed in the home based on old recipes.
- It was uncertain and had unpredictable results, nobody came up with a cure that worked.
- The Lack of medical knowledge about the cause meant that it was impossible to cure it.
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Preventing the Black Death
Supernatural:
- The main advice given by priests was for people to:
- Pray to God and fast
- Go on a pilgrimage and make offerings to God.
- Show to God how sorry you are by self-flagellation (whipping).
- Large groups of flagellants wandered the streets, chanting and whipping themselves.
Natural Means:
- Escaping the plague was the best advice.
- If they were unable to escape the plague, then they would carry flowers or herbs and they would hold to their nose, to avoid breathing in the miasma.
- People were adviced to NOT bathe, they believed that water would open up the skin's pores to the corrupted air.
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Preventing the Black Death
Common Beliefs:
- One physician recommened doing joyful things; physicians were so desparate that they were willing to suggest anything to prevent their patients from catching the disease.
- People stopped visiting family members who had caught the plague.
Government Action:
- Local authorities attepted new quarantine laws were put into place to try to stop people from spreading it.
- People new to the area had to stay away for 40 days.
- They considered banning preaching to stop large crowds of people gathering.
- But the local government did not have the power.
- The local authorities stopped cleaning the street; they believed that the foul stench of the rubbish and rotting bodies would drive off the miasma causing th plague.
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