GCSE History: People's Health in Medieval Times (1250-1500)

Overview

• Focus Areas: Living conditions, response to epidemics, public health.
• Key Themes:
  • Impact of living conditions (housing, diet, water, waste)
  • Response to epidemics (Black Death)
  • Public health practices
• Influences: Beliefs, government, urbanization, wealth, science, technology.

Living Conditions in Medieval Times

Housing

• Villages:
  • Lord of the manor in large houses
  • Peasants in huts made of woven sticks/mud
  • Animals often indoors at night
  • Open hearths, small windows, straw flooring
• Towns:
  • Houses close together; wealthy had gardens
  • Workshops often part of homes
  • Poor sanitation practices

Water and Waste

• Countryside:
  • Water from springs/wells, shared with animals
  • Waste used as fertilizer
  • Cesspits and simple toileting methods
• Towns:
  • Conduits for water, waste often dumped in streets
  • Public latrines and cesspits; rakers clear waste

Diet

• Bread: Staple food, rye bread linked to ergotism
• Drinks: Ale and cider safer than water
• Meat & Fish: Varied diet for rich; poor relied on pottage

Response to Epidemics: The Black Death (1348-1349)

Characteristics

• Worst epidemic, killed 50% of population
• Spread via trade routes, fleas on rats

Medieval Beliefs

• Disease as divine punishment
• Myasma and imbalance of humors
• No understanding of germs or true causation

Responses and Treatments

• Bloodletting, praying, fleeing to countryside
• Limited government response
  • Example: King Edward III's letter to clean London

Continued Impact

• Plague returned multiple times
• Persistent belief in myasma into 19th century

Public Health in Late Medieval Towns and Monasteries

Monasteries

• Pioneered clean water practices for religious and health reasons
• Rich and powerful, setting standards for public health
• Decline in wealth and standards by end of medieval period

Towns

• Wealthy citizens funded sanitation improvements
• Guilds enforced standards in trades

Specific Changes

• Pre-Black Death: Paving, dung heap relocations
• Post-Black Death: London led with public health initiatives
  • Appointment of wardens, construction of conduits and latrines

Government Actions in London

• Measures to clean streets and improve water supply
• Wealthy citizens contributed to health infrastructure

Conclusion

• Medieval public health initiatives, though limited, laid groundwork for future improvements
• The interplay of belief, government, and social responsibility shaped public health responses.

Good luck with your studies and exams! Remember these key points for a comprehensive understanding of people's health in medieval times.