It is said that 'An apple a day keeps the dentist away.' This has become
a common sayingamong Society today. We do not stop to think of how it
reflects our outlook of Medicinein our lives. We have come to understand
the value of simple practices in order to keepourselves healthy. This is
not, however, the case of Medieval England. Most 'medicalpractices' of
the time were based upon superstition, ancient texts, myth, or the
directionof the church. Medical practices of Medieval England often
based upon nothing morethan superstition proved unbeneficial if not
harmful to the people of England. Part of the obvious problem was
the fact that the common person had little care orsense for improving
their own health. The life and livelihood of an average person wasless
than desirable even from the time of birth. In the villages chronic
inbreeding must have produced many children who star- ted life with
a built in weakness, either mental or physical. Many would die in
childhood, but others who grew into manhood, might drag out a useless
exist- ance, dependent on charity for their sustenance. In general, infant
mortality was extremely heavy Once the child was free to
crawl about among the unsanitary rushes, with a child's natural
instinct to put everything into its mouth, it is a wonder that any
survived. Fromt then on disease and acci- dent would provide
ample scope for a medical service, which was virtually non-existent.
(Tomkeieff 119).Furthermore, the collective knowledge (what little there
was) was held and practiced by Monks in Monasteries. In summary
of medical practice to the end of 1400, it may be said medicine was
practiced mostly by the clerics in monasteries and the laity whose locus
of operation was the apothecary shop. The physician thought
surgery was beneath his dignity (to have blood on his hands and clothes)
and left this to uneducated 'barbers' The practitioner carried the title
'Master,' whereas teachers carried the title 'Doctor' The physician was
little advanced over the knowledge of Galen's time. They still believed in
the Doctrine of four humours, making diagnoses by inspection of the
blood and urine. Most of the therapeutic measures included blood
letting, steam baths, amulets, spells, hexes, prayers, the king's touch,
and polypharmacy known as theriaca. (Snyder 1).The problem is
furthered by the fact that these 'practices' proved of little benefit. Most
ofthese had no scientific basis and were instead rooted in superstition
and/or the church. "The concern of Christian theology, on the other
hand, was to cure the soul rather thanthe body; disease usually was
considered supernatural in origin and cured by religiousmeans. As a
result, scientific investigation was inhibited during this time. Brothers
ofvarious monasteries copied and preserved those scientific manuscripts
and documents whichwere thought to be consistent with prevailing
religious thought " Ency To sum it up, "For England, as far
as the twelfth century was concerned, medicinewas traditional, composed
of a mixture of herbal lore and popular magic, while surgerywas
brutal-and must often have been fatal." (Tokeieff 120). This now brings us
to anotherpoint, the fact of the severe and unsophisticated nature of
surgery. "Two twelfth-centurymanuscripts, one early, show medical
treatment, and in both cauterizing looms large. Theearlier one shows the
physician cauterizing a shorn head, while an attendant in a roombelow is
heating a relay of instruments in a furnace. The second manuscript
showscauterizing for trouble in the head and in the stomach-a painful
remedy!" (Tokeieff 120). More is written of this, "Two of the manuscripts
show the doctor in his drug store,instructing his apprentice in the
compounding of medicines. It was here that the medievalsuperstition
reigned supreme. The ingredients heated in the furnace and pounded in
themortar could contain anything from crushed rocks to the entrails of
animals and deadinsects. " (Tokeieff 122). Lepers, cripples, and the
blind were not uncommon in Medieval England."Cripples were
everywhere. When the only known way to deal with a leg wound, or
otherleg ailment, was to amputate, it stands to reason that anyone strong
enough to survive theprimitive and unanaesthetised severance of the limb
would be joining a numerous band."(Tokeieff 123).Yet, they, along with
other sick people had (often times) nowhere to turn.Most could not afford
medical attention, and Hospitals were nothing like that of now."Provision
for lepers, who were the outcasts of society, was the motive for the
foundationof many of the earliest hospitals, which were intended not for
the cure of the sick but asrefuge for the incurable and the dying."
(Tokeieff 122-123). " In regard to the malign or beneficent
influence one is driven to the conclusionthat the surest way to survive
was to keep away from the doctor." It should be clear thatthe health
conditions for people in England of this time would be so unbearable that
itwould not be desirable by anybody. It is hard to imagine that anyone
could see any benefit to thepractices of the time. Yet thus is the case of
any era: something commonly accepted ofone age is looked down upon
by the next. Perhaps a century or two down the historicalroad mankind
will be simply disgusted by the way we live. Works
CitedTomkeieff, O.G. Life in Norman England. New York: Capricorn
Books, 1967.Snyder, M.D., Clifford C. "Summary of Medieval
Medicine."[http://indy.radiology.uiowa.edu/Providers/Textbooks/SnyderMe
dHx/093MedivalMedicine.html]. August 01, 1996 "History of Medicine."
Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. CD-ROM. IBM, 1995.
. Medieval
Medicine. "[http://indy.radiology.uiowa.edu/Providers/Textbooks/SnyderMe
dHx/093MedivalMedicine.html]. August 01, 1996 "History of Medicine. "
Grolier. Monasteries. In summary
of medical practice to the end of 1400, it may be said medicine was
practiced mostly by the clerics in monasteries and the laity whose