The generally poor understanding of the body, the population explosion and unsanitary conditions, made sickness and illnesses quite common. This led to one of the worst epidemics in history, the Black Death, which claimed the lives of nearly ½ of the population of Europe.
In medieval times there were two beliefs in regard to health. According to the Church, the illness was a physical manifestation of some sin or weakness of the soul. To combat this, people meditated or prayed in hope of regaining their health.
The other view was that the bodies’ operation was governed by four systems of “humors” that related to the four basic elements, earth, water, air and fire. The “humors” had to be in balance. If a person got sick, to make them better, balance had to be restored.
It is less known that during the Middle Ages, medical students studied astrology because of its relationship to medicine.
People thought that the movement of the stars influenced the weather and thus the human body. Each part of the body was associated with an astrological sign.
Medieval books of medicine contained drawings of a Zodiac Man. The image would help to remind practicing physicians which astrological signs had influence over which part of the body. Timing of treatment would coincide with the astrological signs.
Medical treatment from trained healers was many times consisting of herbal remedies. These herbal remedies could sometimes be worse than the illness as they sometimes included poisons, urine or excrement. Barbers were also the first surgeons, though the concept of anesthesia was virtually unknown.
Source: medieval-period.com; awesomestories.com
Comments