Medieval Medicine

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One in every three people during the medieval period died due to the Black Death. This was due to the ignorance of medicinal science during the medieval period. The practice of medicine during the medieval period was majorly influenced by religion, superstition, and misguided practices.
The medieval period started in around 500 A.D. and ended in around 1500 A.D. It also took place mainly in Western Europe. (Medieval Medicine and the Plague, 4) Some of the knowledge that people of the medieval period used was passed down from the Greek and Romans. However, not all this knowledge was true. The Greek and Romans gave doctors of the medieval period the idea of the four humors (Medicine in the Middle Ages). Some of these idea from the Greeks and Romans were incorrect since they would not dissect bodies. Doctors and scholars of the medieval period would not dissect bodies, either. This was because it was considered cruel to treat a body like that. However, when they did start dissecting in the early 1300’s, they gained a better knowledge of inner organs. (Medieval Medicine and the Plague, 20)
Religion was one of the most powerful influences on medieval medicine. People of the medieval period used to think that illness was either a punishment or a test of faith. Their way of curing this illness was to pray and help the poor (Medieval Medicine and the Plague, 12). Some would even whip themselves in hope for forgiveness (The Usborne Internet-Linked Medieval World). Saints held great power. They were thought to be able to perform miracles and cure the ill. People would start to venerate the saints. They would even go on pilgrimages to shrines of saints to ask for help with ill loved ones. The church, of course, did not discourage this. (Su...

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...rstition, tradition, plant-lore, and knowledge passed down form the ancient Greeks and Romans.” (Rachel Bellerby) After the middle ages, science and medicine took large steps forward and began to bring us to our very advanced medicine we now use to our advantage.

Works Cited

Bellerby, Rachel. Medicine in the Middle Ages, https://suite.io/rachel-bellerby/t9x204. 9 June 2008. 18 March 2014.
Bingham, Jane. The Usborne Internet-Linked Medieval World. London: Usborne Publishing Ltd,, 2004.
Graf, Rebecca. Superstition and Medieval Medicine - History, http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art171247.asp. 2014.
Lynne, Elliot. Medieval Medicine and the Plague. New York: Crabtree Publishing Company, 2006.
McDonald, Mr. The Role Of Religion In Medieval Medicine 1, http://www.slideshare.net/history.brayton/the-role-of-religion-in-medieval-medicine-1. 5 May 2009. 18 March 2014.

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