GCSE History Revision: Medicine in Medieval England

Overview of Medicine in Medieval England

Continuity in Medicine: Little change in ideas, treatments, or preventions.
Influence of the Church: Controlled life, attitudes, communication, education.
- Encouraged respect for tradition and resistance to new ideas.
- Controlled book production, limiting dissemination of non-church approved ideas.
- Supported ancient medical authorities like Hippocrates and Galen.
- Funded universities, influenced medical training focused on books, not experiments.

Religious Beliefs: Disease seen as punishment/test from God.
- Reinforced by Church and Bible stories.
- Treatments included prayers, Mass, pilgrimages, and belief in the King's healing touch.
- Prevention involved prayers, avoiding sin, and maintaining hygiene.

Astrological Impact: Health affected by position of planets/stars.
- Initially resisted by the Church, later accepted post-Black Death.
- Incorporated into diagnosis by physicians using star charts.

Humors: Blood, phlegm, black bile, yellow bile must be balanced.
- Rational and observational basis, supported by Hippocrates and Galen.
- Treatments involved purging, bloodletting, and opposites therapy.
- Prevention through balanced diet, regular purging, and regimen sanitatis.

Miasma: Bad air/smell from rot causing disease.
- Supported by Hippocrates and Galen, linked to sin by the Church.
- Prevention: Bathing, keeping homes fresh, using herbs and posies.

Physicians: Expensive, university-educated, limited practical interaction, diagnosis-focused.
Apothecaries: Affordable, prepared herbal remedies with guidance from manuals.
Surgeons: Barber surgeons for basic procedures; skilled surgeons for the rich.
Hospitals: Church-run, focused on hospitality not medical treatment.
Home Care: Women provided herbal remedies based on manuals.

Outbreak: Bubonic and pneumonic forms, high mortality.
Causes Believed: Miasma, unbalanced humors, divine punishment, planetary positions.
- New ideas: volcanic links, contagion.
Treatments and Preventions:
- Continued religious practices, humor balancing, herbal treatments.
- New practices: flagellation, avoidance of bathing, quarantine attempts.
- Ineffectual measures: stopping street cleaning.

Typical Exam Question: Explain lack of change in disease ideas (1200-1500).
- Focus on Church's control over education and societal attitudes.