Medieval Medicine

Medieval medicine and procedures have transformed drastically over time from the middle ages to modern day. During the medieval era, medicine was multi-faced, relying on the skills of several practitioners. Leonardo da Vinci stated, ?Medicine is the restoration of discordant element; sickness is the discord of the elements infused into the living body.? Educational requirements, procedures, and diseases have evolved since the medieval era to present day, due to major breakthroughs.

The logic and principles of medieval medicine shaped those of Modern medicine. Never was there a more efficient method perfected, so much that it remained through history through so many hundreds of years. Today’s concepts of diagnosis, relationships with the church, anatomy, surgery, hospitals and training, and public health were established in the Middle Ages.

“The power of community to create health is far greater than any physician, clinic, or hospital.” (Mark Hyman). In the Elizabethan Era, most of society was poverty-stricken, which drove communities to improvise to help the sick as real doctors and physicians were too expensive. Barbers and wise women rose to the occasion of helping the sick, although they did not have much medical knowledge. Medical knowledge was also lacked in professional doctors and physicians as their knowledge revolved around their religion, leaving the sick in the mercy of misconceptions. During the 16th century, society suffered from lack of medical knowledge and ignorance to the benefit of sanitation, resulting in misconceptions of faulty doctors that brought expansion of diseases and death.

The bio-medical model of ill health has been at the forefront of western medicine since the end of the eighteenth century and grew stronger with the progress in modern science. This model underpinned the medical training of doctors. Traditionally medicine had relied on folk remedies passed down from generations and ill health was surrounded in superstition and religious lore with sin and evil spirits as the culprit and root of ill health. The emergence of scientific thinking questioned the traditional religious view of the world and is linked to the progress in medical practice and the rise of the biomedical model. Social and historical events and circumstances were an important factor in its development as explanations about disease

Shakespeare, self proclaimed poet and renowned playwright, lived in the age of the Renaissance. More specifically, the time at which the Tudor family ruled England, during these times, there were deep-rooted religious cleansings and ongoing witch hunts, that sought out anyone and everyone that did not follow suit. Shakespeare (1564-1616A.D.) was born in, and lived through the medical renaissance, which was the point between 1400 and 1700A.D. that innovated the medicines used in Europe. These treatments were eventually diffused throughout the world. The most typical consensus made by medical technicians of the time believed in the body to be maintained up by a balance of bodily humors (liquids), though during the mid 1500s new methods of

In this day and age, there are millions of pharmaceuticals out there for all kinds of diseases and conditions, but where did all of this start? The creation of medicines most likely started when people discovered the healing properties plants contained. Today, mankind has the knowledge and technology to extract elements from plants to produce more chemically engineered medicines. The real question is how did medicines develop from mashing up leaves in order to lessen an infuriating rash to just popping a pill to nurse or illness? Medicines evolved by the scientific method: series of research and experiments. During the Elizabethan era, research and experimentation attained a renewed interest.

Medieval Medicine was basic in an era when terrible illnesses such as the Black Death were killing nearly one third of the population. No one had any idea what caused illnesses and diseases, such as the Black Death. There were no antibiotics or vaccines thus it was almost impossible to cure illness and diseases.

The Bubonic Plague took the lives of many individuals in the heart of Florence. Its reign affected “not just that of men and women…but even sentient animals” (Stefani). While the plague only lasted a mere six months, from March 1348 – September 1348, it is a piece of time that society should forever acknowledge and learn from. Much of the significant information from the Bubonic plague are unbeknownst to people today, even though it possesses such an importance aspect in our history. Therefore, in this essay, I will discuss the effects the plague had on the people of Florence, and how the appearance of this plague brought about short and long term historical change what we see today.

During the Medieval era there were many diseases. Because of the lack of hygiene in the medieval times, diseases would spread like a wildfire. Just to name a few common diseases that happened in this time, there was the Black Death, leprosy, measles, and typhoid fever. These were most likely transported because of dirty bedsheets and blankets, unwashed clothing, and rodents. The treatments for these diseases and other things, such as medicine for stomach pains, medicine for wounds, and medicine for headaches, are different from today’s standards.

Medieval medicine was rooted in Ancient Greek practices. In 65 A.D., a Greek writer, Discorides, wrote a book, Material Medica. The book is about medical use of over five-hundred different plants. The book is translated into Hebrew and Arabic. Doctors in the Early Modern Era knew very little, and they used plants as the most important care and/or treatment. Due to unsanitary places and tools, many different diseases spread around Europe. Life was challenging during the Early Modern Era because of many diseases(Alchin). During the 1500s- 1600s, diseases overtook many people because doctors knew little, medicine was unknown, and there were many causes.

and how doctors know what they know? Have you asked yourself where medicine all started? Never thought about it much since being out of high school. In modern times we have science based medicine. But this is the current mode of treating illnesses. In many ways ancient medicine and techniques have been used ever since the ancient times. There are many religions that brought forth the same procedures and would attribute illnesses to witchcraft, demons, celestial influence, or the will of the gods. The history has been traced by particular treatments in Ladakh, India which has a Tibetan Buddhist culture and religion and the Greek religious god Asclepius who was the Divine Healer or miracle working physician;

In this day and age, there are millions of pharmaceuticals out there for all kinds of diseases and conditions, but where did all of this start? The creation of medicines most likely started when people discovered the healing properties plants contained. Today, civilization has the knowledge and technology to extract elements from plants to produce more chemically engineered medicines. The real question is how did medicines develop from mashing up leaves in order to lessen an infuriating rash to just popping a pill to nurse or illness? Medicines evolved by the scientific method: series of research and experiments. During the Elizabethan era, research and experimentation attained a renewed interest.

Medication as we see it today is much more subdued with precautions put in place. Much of the technology innovation during the medieval era pale in comparison to modern times, however there always had to be instruments that came before. People had little choice in the matter when it came to the pain with their treatments, whiskey could only do so much. During Medieval Times medical practices would have almost been borderline torture methods, as brutish as they were they did the trick. Healing these illness required a bit of ingenuity on the part of the doctor. One of many items used during this time would be a clysters; a rather large cylindrical tube filled with boar bile that is used for Enemas.

The Middle Ages were tough times when it came to disease and medicine. There were numerous types of sickness and disease that flooded Europe during the Middle Ages. Not helping the situation, the medicinal knowledge of the people of Europe of the time was not up to par. Some of the diseases and illness that were running rampant during these times were pneumonia, leprosy, and the plague. The middle ages were a time of great suffering and death because of the abundant disease and lack of knowledge of the spread and treatments.