Medieval Medicine: Treatments (Edexcel GCSE History): Revision Note

Medieval treatments of disease - Summary

• Medieval treatments were based on:

  • Natural remedies

  • Supernatural beliefs

• We still use some natural treatments today, such as herbal remedies

• Natural treatments could be dangerous

  • Humoural treatments, especially blood-letting, tended to kill rather than cure a patient

  • Some herbal remedies could be poisonous

• Supernatural treatments were based on astrology and religion

  • There is no evidence that supernatural treatments had any healing impact

• The rich had better care, with access to physicians, diet, and shelter

• The poorest and most vulnerable in society had very few options for treatment

• Overall, most medieval treatments were ineffective due to:

  • Limited knowledge

  • The Church blocking medical progress

Natural treatments

Herbal remedies

• Herbs were used in drinks, baths or inhaled to relieve symptoms

  • Aloe vera helped digestion

  • Mallow eased bladder stones

• Theriacas was a mixture of over 60 ingredients

  • Galen noted it was effective in treating snake bites

  • It later became popular for treating multiple diseases

Diet

• There was a belief that some food had healing qualities

• Blanc Mangier, made from chicken and almonds, was thought to aid the humours as it was warm and moist

Bathing 

• Hot baths were used to 'melt' extra humours

  • Herbs like violet and mallow were added

• Superstition led to strange cures

  • Boiling a fox, known to be quick and nimble, and bathing with it was believed to cure paralysis

Humoural treatments for disease

• Once a physician had identified what humour a patient had too much or too little of, they attempted to rebalance the humours

Bloodletting

• Cutting a vein near the elbow to release blood

• Leeches used to suck out blood

• Cupping involved placing a hot cup on a cut to draw out blood

Purging

• Emetics were bitter herbs like aniseed, which made people vomit

• Laxatives such as linseed in fat helped people defecate

• Enemas were mixtures inserted through the anus to force bowel movement

Treatment using the Theory of Opposites

• The Theory of Opposites was also used to treat patients

Supernatural treatments

Astrology

• Physicians used star charts to treat patients

• A patient's horoscope also influenced the timing of treatments

The king's touch

• People believed that the King held the power to heal

  • This came from the medieval belief in the Divine Rights of Kings

• People believed this was particularly effective against scrofula, a form of tuberculosis

Religion

• The Church promoted multiple treatments for illnesses:

  • Healing prayers and spells

  • Placing an offering at a shrine of a saint

  • Touching holy relics

  • Lighting a candle of the length of the body part that you want to heal

  • Fasting

  • Pilgrimage

• Many people did not treat their illnesses

  • People believed taking cures was going against God's will, and that was a sin

    • Sins corrupt a Christian’s soul, preventing it from going to heaven

Care for the sick in the medieval period

Physicians

• In medieval times, doctors were called ‘physicians’

  • The term ‘doctor’ replaced ‘physician’ from the 17th century onwards

Training

• Physicians attended university for between seven to ten years

  • They were the most educated of all the medical professionals available

  • The Church controlled English universities like Oxford and Cambridge

• When qualified, most English physicians were also clergymen

  • They did not treat their patients, as clergy were not allowed to deal with things like blood

• All physicians were male

  • Women were not allowed to attend university at this time

Practice

• Physicians had little practical experience in diagnosis or surgery

  • When dissections and operations took place, the physician would be far away from the body, reading Galen's work

• Physicians would diagnose patients' illnesses by:

  • Using the Four Humours to recommend treatments

  • Taking urine and blood samples

  • Using astrology charts

• Examining a patient was not considered necessary

• England had very few physicians, so they were expensive to use

  • They were only accessible to royalty and the wealthy

Apothecaries

• Apothecaries created herbal remedies 

• Physicians would prescribe the treatment, and apothecaries would mix it

Training

• Apothecaries used recipes passed down through generations

  • Manuals like Materia Medica also helped to treat a patient’s illness

• Apothecaries were not considered as skilled as physicians

  • They did not attend university

Practice

• Many medieval people used apothecaries because they were cheaper than physicians

• Apothecaries were controversial in medieval times

  • They prescribed poison to some patients, which went against the Hippocratic Oath 

• They experimented with alchemy and the supernatural 

  • The Church did not approve of apothecaries

Barber surgeons

• Barbers cut hair but also performed operations such as tooth extractions and amputations

Training

• Some surgeons were highly trained

  • They could fix a broken limb, remove an arrow or even do eye surgery

  • Most were not qualified and learned by watching other barber surgeons

Practice

• Many patients died from shock, blood loss or infection

  • Barber surgeons’ equipment was not cleaned between operations

  • They did not have a method for pain relief apart from biting down on a stick

Wise women

• In the villages and households, women were the main source of care for the sick

• Wise women:

  • Mixed up herbal remedies based on flowers and herbs that they would grow in the garden

  • Carried out minor surgeries, although there are very few records of this

• Some women were well-respected in their communities for their ability to care and heal

Hospitals

• Hospitals were under the supervision of nuns and monks

  • The Church owned approximately 30% of hospitals

  • Charitable donations funded the rest 

  • By 1500, there were 1,100 hospitals in England

• The hospitals were good at caring, not curing

  • Nuns and monks made patients feel comfortable

  • They believed prayer, not medicine, would cure illness

Positives of medieval hospitals

• Hospitals provided:

  • Rest

  • Good hygiene

  • Hot meals 

• The few non-religious hospitals hired physicians and surgeons

Negatives of medieval hospitals

• Patients often had to share beds, which spread diseases

• Hospitals turned away:

  • People like pregnant women

  • People with mental illnesses

  • Infectious, terminal diseases