Medieval Medicine

FAQs About Medieval Medicine What was the most prominent disease back then? A: In Medieval Europe there is a diseases that stick out among the rest. The one that took a huge toll on Medieval Europe is the Plague also known as the, “Black Death.”

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.

In Elizabethan times many deadly diseases had spread such as the plague, smallpox and typhoid, but the causes and cures had yet to be discovered. Due to bad hygiene because of open sewers and rubbish dumped in the river, this caused disease to easily spread as it was a natural habitat for rats, fleas and lice. The plague was carried by the fleas living in the fur of rats. As a result of this one third of the population died. Elizabethan physicians believed that medicine was basic, they had no idea why and how people were getting so sick, treatments were based from superstitions and guesses so they used a mixture of herbs for cures and also believed leeches would ‘suck

Christianity played a huge part in the medicine of Europe at that time (the reason flagellation was used), so prayer itself was also a common cure-all, along with holy artefacts and other holy things. People were also not permitted to perform dissection on cadavers, making it difficult if not impossible for medicine to progress. This meant that it stayed

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.

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.

The notorious Black Death in the fourteenth century is often described as the “great mortality” for its fatal infestation into Asia and Europe. The true impacts it had on the western civilization in one mere day is best described in the first excerpt “Day the First” in the historical text, The Decameron of Giovanni Boccaccio by Giovanni Boccaccio. Boccaccio greatly emphasizes the resulting civil disorder as an entire civilization crashed in one day, plagued by infamous Black Death. Not only did the plaque cause an unprecedented amount of deaths, it also caused a total shift in religious, social, and cultural frameworks present in the city of Florence Italy.

Medicine in the Medieval Times was quite basic, as they didn't have the same technology that we have today that has improved our tactics to handle medical issues. Although their methods were elementary, some of them would be extremely bizarre if used in today’s society. For starters, some people believed that we didn't needed to treat illnesses. Some Catholic Churches believed that illnesses and diseases were a punishment from God, so many believers of this theory died because they refused to get treatment. But, when people did get treatment, the methods used were quite strange. For example, The Black Death, or the absolute worst sickness that anyone has experienced, killing millions (hence the name the Black Death), was treated by lancing,

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.

Life for people during the Medieval Times, also known as the Dark Ages or middle ages, between 400 – 1450 was incredibly difficult due to disease and illnesses being spread throughout Europe. Medieval medicine during the time was easily misunderstood and generally mistreated. As a result, disease spread rapidly, deaths occur at outrageous numbers, and caused people to turn to various forms of medical help. To understand medieval medicine, we must first be able to look back at the origins and review its transformation in time. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, medicine is defined as “the science of practice of the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of the disease” or “a compound or preparation used for the

Though the views of diseases and their cures were seen mostly in supernatural terms both the ancient Egyptians and Hebrews were also practical in terms of treatment and prevention is the question we would like to answer.

nurses? Back then there was about five of every medical assistants. During the Middle Ages, there was a limited amount of medicine, but the majority of time they would use herbs. People would get sick, had minor pain, or had been contaminated.

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.

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