Post by Creative Consortium on Jan 30, 2008 21:16:10 GMT -6
Medieval Medicine
Medieval medicine was a mixture of existing ideas from antiquity, spiritual influences and what shamanistic complex and social consensus. In this era, there was no tradition of scientific medicine, and observations went hand-in-hand with spiritual influences.
In the early Middle Ages, following the fall of the Roman Empire, standard medical knowledge was based chiefly upon surviving Greek and Roman texts, preserved in monasteries and elsewhere. Ideas about the origin and cure of disease were not, however, purely secular, but were also based on a world view in which factors such as destiny, sin, and astral influences played as great a part as any physical cause. The efficacy of cures was similarly bound in the beliefs of patient and doctor rather than empirical evidence, so that remedia physicalia (physical remedies) were often subordinate to spiritual intervention.
As Christianity grew in influence, a tension developed between the church and folk-medicine, since much in folk medicine was magical, or mystical, and had its basis in sources that were not compatible with Christian faith. Spells and incantations were used in conjunction with herbs and other remedies. Such spells had to be separated from the physical remedies, or replaced with Christian prayers or devotions. Similarly, the dependence upon the power of herbs or gems needed to be explained through Christianity.
The church taught that God sometimes sent illness as a punishment, and that in these cases, repentance could lead to a recovery. This led to the practice of penance and pilgrimage as a means of curing illness.
From the founding of the Universities of Paris (1150), Bologna (1158), Oxford, (1167), Montpelier (1181) and Padua (1222), the initial work of Salerno was extended across Europe, and by the Thirteenth Century medical leadership had passed to these newer institutions. To qualify as a Doctor of Medicine took ten years including original Arts training, and so the numbers of such fully qualified physicians remained comparatively small.
By the Thirteenth Century many European towns were demanding that physicians have several years of study or training before they could practice. Surgery had a lower status than pure medicine, beginning as a craft tradition until Roger Frugardi of Parma composed his treatise on Surgery around about 1180. This led to a stream of Italian works of greater scope over the next hundred years, later spreading to the rest of Europe.
During the Crusades European medicine began to be influenced by Islamic medicine. Islamic commentators often saw European medical practices as barbaric and superstitious; Usamah ibn Munqidh for example visited sick or injured European pilgrims who eventually died due to their own doctors' practices.
The great crisis in European medicine came with the Black Death epidemic in the 14th century. Prevailing medical theories focused on religious rather than scientific explanations - all to no avail since about a third of the population of Europe was wiped out.
The Healers
A distinctive feature of this period is the variety of healers. Unlike other professions there was no controlling elite, indeed almost no profession—as there was no consensus as to standards or methods, many practitioners were part-timers, and all integrated a number of roles into their work-lives rather than that of just 'doctor'. Those offering healing encompassed both sexes, all religions, and people at every level of society from serf to the most educated and wealthy academics. To many practitioners—nurses, dentists (dubbedent or adubedent), apothecaries, midwives, etc.—their work was a trade. Not until the 16th century did various bodies begin to be granted a legally enforced dominance over medical practices. It is attractive to categorize these medical practitioners into two rough categories, noting the vague and porous nature of the boundaries. The major split is between the clerical and elite university-educated personnel ("physicians") and tradespeople.
The ordinary practitioner sold medical assistance and potions. They worked either as guild members, with a license from local authorities, or attached to a major household or perhaps monastery. They were paid either for their services on a case-by-case basis or with an annuity, payments were often in kind—food or clothing—rather than cash.
Clerical medicine, often called monastic medicine, was provided as part of a religious duty, with payments and income made via a church rather than directly. The Rule of St Benedict states that "before and above all things, care must be taken of the sick, that they be served in very truth as Christ is served." Virtually every monastery had an infirmary for the monks or nuns, and this led to provision being made for the care of secular patients. Almost a half of the hospitals in medieval Europe were directly affiliated with monasteries, priories or other religious institutions. Many of the rest imitated religious communities, formulated precise rules of conduct, required a uniform type of dress, and integrated worship services into their daily routine.
Physicians, who studied the works of the Greek masters at Universities, were the self-proclaimed elite of the medical profession. It was an uncommon role, in a study of 13th century Worcester there were just three physicians amidst 10,000 other taxpayers, and few people other than the well-off or the nobility had regular access to these. Physicians diagnosed their patients by close examination of their blood, urine and stools, and determined their complexion or balance of humours. They could prescribe medicines, or bloodletting from various parts of the body to rectify the balance of humours. Physicians could also attempt surprisingly complex operations like trepanation of the skull, to relieve pressure on the brain, or the removal of eye cataracts.
Folk Healers passed on their knowledge from master to apprentice, and were more accessible to the peasant or laborer than physicians. Unregulated, but knowledgeable on herbs and folk-remedies, they were gradually excluded from the medical system.
Saints - Saints were also used to heal the sick. Although healing by saints (miracles) would not be considered medicine today, in medieval times, this method was just as valid as any other form of healing. Approximately 2/3 of the people who went to saints for healing were peasants (as defined by R.C Finucane). Saints were often called upon when other remedies would not be found in time (for instance, accidental death). They were rarely called upon for longtime illnesses, such as birth defects. In these cases, saints were often used when all else had failed. Once canonization was established, the church would only recognize canonized saints as legitimate miracle makers, however, this did not always stop people from going to non-canonized "saints".
Women During the early Middle Ages, it is probable that there were as many women involved in the practice of medicine as men. However, the professionalisation of medicine in the later medieval period, and the development of university faculties of medicine excluded women from the profession. Abbess Hildegard of Bingen wrote the Liber simplicis medicinae (Simple Book of Medicine) around 1160. Another famous woman physician was the Italian Trotula of Salerno, whose works on women's ailments spread across Europe, her name being Anglicised in England to Dame Trot. A Sister Ann is described as a medica at St Leonard's Hospital, York, in 1276.
Even after the fourteenth century women continued to function as midwives. A midwife generally learned her trade apprenticed to a more experienced midwife, or else was taught by a father or husband who was a physician. The only qualification needed was a statement from a parish priest declaring that she was of good character.
Women also served as nurses in the monastic orders, although there were also some secular nurses, caring for the physical needs of patients.
Medieval medicine was a mixture of existing ideas from antiquity, spiritual influences and what shamanistic complex and social consensus. In this era, there was no tradition of scientific medicine, and observations went hand-in-hand with spiritual influences.
In the early Middle Ages, following the fall of the Roman Empire, standard medical knowledge was based chiefly upon surviving Greek and Roman texts, preserved in monasteries and elsewhere. Ideas about the origin and cure of disease were not, however, purely secular, but were also based on a world view in which factors such as destiny, sin, and astral influences played as great a part as any physical cause. The efficacy of cures was similarly bound in the beliefs of patient and doctor rather than empirical evidence, so that remedia physicalia (physical remedies) were often subordinate to spiritual intervention.
As Christianity grew in influence, a tension developed between the church and folk-medicine, since much in folk medicine was magical, or mystical, and had its basis in sources that were not compatible with Christian faith. Spells and incantations were used in conjunction with herbs and other remedies. Such spells had to be separated from the physical remedies, or replaced with Christian prayers or devotions. Similarly, the dependence upon the power of herbs or gems needed to be explained through Christianity.
The church taught that God sometimes sent illness as a punishment, and that in these cases, repentance could lead to a recovery. This led to the practice of penance and pilgrimage as a means of curing illness.
From the founding of the Universities of Paris (1150), Bologna (1158), Oxford, (1167), Montpelier (1181) and Padua (1222), the initial work of Salerno was extended across Europe, and by the Thirteenth Century medical leadership had passed to these newer institutions. To qualify as a Doctor of Medicine took ten years including original Arts training, and so the numbers of such fully qualified physicians remained comparatively small.
By the Thirteenth Century many European towns were demanding that physicians have several years of study or training before they could practice. Surgery had a lower status than pure medicine, beginning as a craft tradition until Roger Frugardi of Parma composed his treatise on Surgery around about 1180. This led to a stream of Italian works of greater scope over the next hundred years, later spreading to the rest of Europe.
During the Crusades European medicine began to be influenced by Islamic medicine. Islamic commentators often saw European medical practices as barbaric and superstitious; Usamah ibn Munqidh for example visited sick or injured European pilgrims who eventually died due to their own doctors' practices.
The great crisis in European medicine came with the Black Death epidemic in the 14th century. Prevailing medical theories focused on religious rather than scientific explanations - all to no avail since about a third of the population of Europe was wiped out.
The Healers
A distinctive feature of this period is the variety of healers. Unlike other professions there was no controlling elite, indeed almost no profession—as there was no consensus as to standards or methods, many practitioners were part-timers, and all integrated a number of roles into their work-lives rather than that of just 'doctor'. Those offering healing encompassed both sexes, all religions, and people at every level of society from serf to the most educated and wealthy academics. To many practitioners—nurses, dentists (dubbedent or adubedent), apothecaries, midwives, etc.—their work was a trade. Not until the 16th century did various bodies begin to be granted a legally enforced dominance over medical practices. It is attractive to categorize these medical practitioners into two rough categories, noting the vague and porous nature of the boundaries. The major split is between the clerical and elite university-educated personnel ("physicians") and tradespeople.
The ordinary practitioner sold medical assistance and potions. They worked either as guild members, with a license from local authorities, or attached to a major household or perhaps monastery. They were paid either for their services on a case-by-case basis or with an annuity, payments were often in kind—food or clothing—rather than cash.
Clerical medicine, often called monastic medicine, was provided as part of a religious duty, with payments and income made via a church rather than directly. The Rule of St Benedict states that "before and above all things, care must be taken of the sick, that they be served in very truth as Christ is served." Virtually every monastery had an infirmary for the monks or nuns, and this led to provision being made for the care of secular patients. Almost a half of the hospitals in medieval Europe were directly affiliated with monasteries, priories or other religious institutions. Many of the rest imitated religious communities, formulated precise rules of conduct, required a uniform type of dress, and integrated worship services into their daily routine.
Physicians, who studied the works of the Greek masters at Universities, were the self-proclaimed elite of the medical profession. It was an uncommon role, in a study of 13th century Worcester there were just three physicians amidst 10,000 other taxpayers, and few people other than the well-off or the nobility had regular access to these. Physicians diagnosed their patients by close examination of their blood, urine and stools, and determined their complexion or balance of humours. They could prescribe medicines, or bloodletting from various parts of the body to rectify the balance of humours. Physicians could also attempt surprisingly complex operations like trepanation of the skull, to relieve pressure on the brain, or the removal of eye cataracts.
Folk Healers passed on their knowledge from master to apprentice, and were more accessible to the peasant or laborer than physicians. Unregulated, but knowledgeable on herbs and folk-remedies, they were gradually excluded from the medical system.
Saints - Saints were also used to heal the sick. Although healing by saints (miracles) would not be considered medicine today, in medieval times, this method was just as valid as any other form of healing. Approximately 2/3 of the people who went to saints for healing were peasants (as defined by R.C Finucane). Saints were often called upon when other remedies would not be found in time (for instance, accidental death). They were rarely called upon for longtime illnesses, such as birth defects. In these cases, saints were often used when all else had failed. Once canonization was established, the church would only recognize canonized saints as legitimate miracle makers, however, this did not always stop people from going to non-canonized "saints".
Women During the early Middle Ages, it is probable that there were as many women involved in the practice of medicine as men. However, the professionalisation of medicine in the later medieval period, and the development of university faculties of medicine excluded women from the profession. Abbess Hildegard of Bingen wrote the Liber simplicis medicinae (Simple Book of Medicine) around 1160. Another famous woman physician was the Italian Trotula of Salerno, whose works on women's ailments spread across Europe, her name being Anglicised in England to Dame Trot. A Sister Ann is described as a medica at St Leonard's Hospital, York, in 1276.
Even after the fourteenth century women continued to function as midwives. A midwife generally learned her trade apprenticed to a more experienced midwife, or else was taught by a father or husband who was a physician. The only qualification needed was a statement from a parish priest declaring that she was of good character.
Women also served as nurses in the monastic orders, although there were also some secular nurses, caring for the physical needs of patients.