Medieval Treatments (AQA GCSE History)

Revision Note

Zoe Wade

Written by: Zoe Wade

Reviewed by: Natasha Smith

How effective were treatments in Medieval England? - Summary

Treatments in Medieval England were a mix of supernatural and natural approaches. They were often ineffective because people lacked an understanding of how diseases actually worked.

Supernatural treatments were common and involved prayers, charms, and rituals to try to heal illnesses believed to be caused by God or evil spirits. For example, people would wear charms to ward off sickness or visit holy places to pray for cures. Astrology also influenced treatments, with doctors choosing certain days for treatments based on the position of the stars and planets. These methods relied more on faith than science and often didn’t work.

Natural treatments were also used, based on the Theory of the Four Humours and traditional herbal remedies. Humoural treatments aimed to rebalance the body’s humours, often by blood-letting. Herbal remedies were passed down through generations and sometimes provided relief. Bathing and a good diet were also encouraged to stay healthy, as cleanliness and eating the right foods were thought to help balance the humours. While some of these natural treatments were more effective than supernatural ones, they were still limited by a lack of medical knowledge.

Natural treatments in Medieval England

Herbal Remedies

  • Herbs were mixed to create remedies a patient could drink, breathe in or bathe in to make them feel better

  • These natural elements possessed healing powers

    • For example, aloe vera to help digestion

  • 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 aided the humours as it was warm and moist

Bathing 

  • The use of hot baths was commonly prescribed to melt excessive humours

  • Medieval people added herbs to the bath for their health benefits 

    • For example, mallow and violets to relieve bladder stones

  •  Superstition led to the development of some bathing cures:

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

Examiner Tips and Tricks

In the AQA Health and the People course, students often find it hard to find similarities between the Medieval period and the Modern period. The emphasis on healthy eating and herbal remedies are important in the 21st century.

Humoural treatments in Medieval England

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

Blood-letting

  • The three methods of blood-letting are:

    • Cutting a vein

      • Cutting a vein, usually near the elbow, with a sharp object to release blood

    • Leeches

      • Leeches were collected and placed on a patient’s body to feed on their blood

    • Cupping

      • A patient’s skin was cut with either a sharp object or fingernails

      • A cup was heated and placed on the cut

      • This vacuum drew the blood out of the patient

Medieval illustration depicting a seated patient experiencing blood-letting by cutting the vein down the left arm. The two practitioners are inside an archway, with Latin text above and below.
A drawing in Practica chirurgiae (Practice of Surgery) in around 1230 by Roland of Parma, an early 13th-century surgeon. His commentary became the standard surgical textbook in the West for the next three centuries. Source courtesy of the Casanatense Library, Rome, MiC. Casanatense volume Ms. 1382

Examiner Tips and Tricks

Question 1 in AQA Health and the People asks you to evaluate how useful one source is for a historian about the issue outlined. The above source could be a focus for a question surrounding Medieval blood-letting.

To approach this style of question, you should:

  • refer to the content and provenance of the source 

  • analyse two parts of the source in your answer

  • include knowledge that is relevant to the source 

  • make a judgement on how useful the source is for the given issue in the question

Our exam skills pages provide more help and guidance on the 'How useful' question

Purging

  • Purging was the act of making a patient vomit or poo to remove ‘excess bile'

  • Purging could happen due to:

    • an emetic

      • Bitter herbs (like aniseed) or poison that force a patient to vomit

    • a laxative

      • A remedy that made a patient poo

      • Mallow leaves stewed in ale or linseeds fried in hot fat were used in Medieval times

    • an enema

      • A liquid that is passed into the rectum or anus to relieve constipation

      • For stubborn digestive blockages, a mixture of water, honey, oil, wheat bran, soap and herbs was inserted into a patient’s anus via a greased pipe attached to a pig’s bladder

      • The patient then rubbed their stomach to force faeces out of their body

Treatment using the Theory of Opposites

Illustration showing a person coughing with the text "If you are suffering from too much phlegm," and below, an image of two chilli peppers with the text "then treatment is something hot and dry."
Using the Theory of Opposites, a patient with too much phlegm would eat chilli
A diagram showing a person with a red face and a fever, labelled "suffering from too much blood." The text suggests treatment with something "cold and wet," illustrated by a sliced cucumber
Using the Theory of Opposites, a patient with too much blood would eat cucumber

Supernatural treatments in Medieval England

Astrology

  • Physicians used star charts to formulate treatments and consulted them at every stage of treatment

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

The King's Touch

  • People believed that the King held the power to heal

    • He would place holy oil on his hands at his coronation

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

      • People believed that God passed some of His supernatural powers to the King

  • Written accounts at the time show that the belief 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 as to become a saint, they must have stories of performing miracles

    • touching holy relics

    • lighting a candle of the length of the body part that you wanted to heal

    • fasting

    • pilgrimage

  • However, Christians believed that it was God's will whether you lived or died

  • Many people did not take cures

    • People believed that going against God's will was a sin

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

Examiner Tips and Tricks

When writing about supernatural treatments, you can argue that there is no scientific evidence that they worked. However, try not to downplay the importance of supernatural treatments to Medieval life. For some people, this would be the only method of treatment that they trusted.

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Zoe Wade

Author: Zoe Wade

Expertise: History

Zoe has worked in education for 10 years as a teaching assistant and a teacher. This has given her an in-depth perspective on how to support all learners to achieve to the best of their ability. She has been the Lead of Key Stage 4 History, showing her expertise in the Edexcel GCSE syllabus and how best to revise. Ever since she was a child, Zoe has been passionate about history. She believes now, more than ever, the study of history is vital to explaining the ever-changing world around us. Zoe’s focus is to create accessible content that breaks down key historical concepts and themes to achieve GCSE success.

Natasha Smith

Author: Natasha Smith

Expertise: History Content Creator

After graduating with a degree in history, Natasha gained her PGCE at Keele University. With more than 10 years of teaching experience, Natasha taught history at both GCSE and A Level. Natasha's specialism is modern world history. As an educator, Natasha channels this passion into her work, aiming to instil in students the same love for history that has fuelled her own curiosity.