Medieval Medicine: Treatments (Edexcel GCSE History)

Medieval Treatments of Disease - Summary

As with the ideas about causes of disease, Medieval treatments divide into the natural and the supernatural. 

Natural treatments had mixed results. Eating a healthy diet and washing our body are actions that we still do today to remain healthy. The basis of many natural treatments was the Theory of the Four Humours. Humoural treatments, especially blood-letting, tended to kill rather than cure a patient. Herbal remedies were also risky. Some were effective, for example, chewing on willow bark for pain relief. The bark contains salicin, a chemical component of modern-day aspirin. Some remedies were actually poisonous.

There were also supernatural treatments based on astrology and religion. There is no evidence that supernatural treatments had any healing impact apart from the patient's belief that it was curing them.

The factor that significantly impacted if a patient recovered was how rich they were. If a Medieval person was wealthy, they could afford the best medical treatment from physicians. They also had a better diet and housing. The most poor and vulnerable in society had very few options for treatment. Even the Church would refuse to help those with mental health issues or suffering from conditions like leprosy. 

Overall, care and treatment was very ineffective in the Medieval period. The Church blocked progress in finding successful treatments. The Theory of the Four Humours and the Theory of Opposites were incorrect so they could not consistently cure patients. Medieval medics ranged from inadequate to dangerous.

Natural treatments

Herbal Remedies

• Herbs were mixed together 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

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

Treatment Using The Theory of Opposites

• The Theory of Opposites was also used for treat patients:

Supernatural Treatments

Astrology

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

• A patient's horoscope also influenced 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 of the Divine Rights of Kings. People believed that God chose the King to rule and passed some of His supernatural powers to the King

• Written accounts at the time shows 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

Medieval Medics

Physicians

• In medieval times, doctors were called ‘physicians’

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

• 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. They approved every medical text a physician used for his education

  • When qualified, most English physicians were also clergymen. This meant they did not treat their patients as clergy were not allowed to deal with things like blood

  • European physicians educated in non-religious universities like the University of Naples Federico II were able to diagnose and treat their patients

• Physicians had little practical experience in diagnosis or surgery

  • When dissections and operations took place, the physician would be far away from the body

  • The male physician would read Galen’s medical texts whilst someone else conducted the surgery

    • Women were not allowed to be physicians or attend university at this time

• Physicians would diagnose patients' illness by:

  • Using the Four Humours to recommend treatments

  • Taking urine and blood samples

  • Using astrology charts

• Examining a patient was not considered necessary although you could pay for this service

• Due to their length of training, there were very few physicians so they were expensive to use. They were only accessible to royalty and the wealthy

Apothecaries

• Apothecaries mixed herbal remedies from recipes passed down through generations

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

• Physicians would prescribe the treatment and apothecaries would mix it

• Apothecaries were not considered as skilled as physicians

• 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 that physicians took 

• They experimented with alchemy and the supernatural 

  • This meant that the Church did not approve of them

Barber Surgeons

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

  • The striped barber pole seen today, outside a barber's shop, developed from barber surgeons advertising their surgical skills

    • The red represents blood and the white represents bandages

• 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

• 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. The women:

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

  • May have 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

  • Bury St Edmunds had at least 6 hospitals, each for different types of illnesses

• The hospitals were good at caring, not curing

  • ‘Hospital’ and ‘hospitality’ have the same origin

  • Nuns and monks made patients feel comfortable but they thought disease was a punishment from God

  • They believed prayer, not medicine, would cure illness

• Medieval hospitals had many positives

  • Hospitals provided:

    • Rest

    • Good hygiene

    • Hot meals 

  • The few non-religious hospitals hired physicians and surgeons

• Medieval hospitals also had some disadvantages:

  • Patients often had to share beds which spread diseases

  • Hospitals turned away people like pregnant women, those with mental illnesses or infectious, terminal diseases. The Church believed that they could not help these people