Causes of Disease in Renaissance Britain (AQA GCSE History)

Did people understand the causes of disease in Renaissance Britain? - Summary

In Renaissance Britain, there were some improvements in understanding the causes of disease, but people still did not fully understand what made them ill. Science began to play a more important role, and ideas like transference emerged. Physicians also studied the human body more closely during this time, thanks to figures like Vesalius and Harvey, and began to challenge older ideas from Medieval times.

Despite these small improvements, most people in the Renaissance still did not know the real causes of disease because Germ Theory had not been discovered yet. Many still believed in old ideas, such as the Four Humours, miasma or that illness was a punishment from God. This lack of true understanding meant treatments and prevention methods were often ineffective.

What Medieval ideas about disease continued into the Renaissance?

Miasma

• This theory remained hugely influential in this time period and increased in importance in times of epidemics

What Medieval ideas about disease declined into the Renaissance?

The Theory of the Four Humours

• Decreased in influence by the 17th century among physicians

• Physicians looked at other medical texts to research symptoms and diagnose patients

• Physicians increased their use of patient observation

• Despite the change in the views of physicians, the general public only wanted their condition explained in terms of the Four Humours

• Diagnosing patients using urine 

  • Due to advances in understanding the digestive system, physicians understood that urine did not directly influence a patient's health

Influence of the Church

• In everyday life, it was now understood that God did not make people ill

• In times of national emergency, for example, plagues, people still looked to religion for explanations and prevention

Supernatural

• Belief in astrology declined by the 16th century

• In times of plague, people still wore charms to warn off evil spirits

New Renaissance ideas about the causes of disease

Alchemy 

• Alchemy is an early form of chemistry

  • Created in medieval times, it became popular in the Renaissance

  • It originally focused on attempting to convert metal into gold 

• Understanding the properties of substances allowed people to begin to use science to understand disease and develop cures 

  • Paracelsus, a Swiss scientist, used alchemy to create chemical treatments

  • He stated that small doses of mercury could cure syphilis

Animalcules 

• By 1683, there were more powerful microscopes

• These allowed scientists to view microorganisms 

  • Antony van Leeuwenhoek studied plaque under a microscope

    • The tiny creatures or ‘animalcules’ he observed were the first sighting of bacteria

Transference

• By using observation, scientists began to understand that diseases could be passed from person to person

• Transference is the idea that touching an object or another animal could move a disease from one thing to another