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The Middle Ages, or what some classify as the Medieval period was a time of death, destruction,
depopulation, deurbanisation, invasion and the movement of people. (en.m.wikipedia.org)The
main causes of all of those reasons were because of diseases that were being spread. Deaths from
diseases during the Medieval time period had become common and widespread. In todays era,
whereas most diseases that effect people are able to be cured; it was the total opposite during the
Middle Ages. During the Middle Ages, the body was viewed as a part of the universe a concept
which came from the Greeks and Romans. There was a balance of four humors. There were
black bile, yellow bile, phlegm and blood. Fire=yellow bile, earth=black bile , water=phlegm
,air= blood. Research shows that too much of one of these humors can cause a change in
personality. For instance, too much black bile can cause melancholy. These disease impacted the
economy and also family matters.(www.studymode.com)

The Black Plague of 1348 and 1350 was one of the most deadly plagues, the world had ever
seen. When this outbreak occurred, no one could determine what caused it, not even the doctors.
Some people took it upon themselves to try to find a cure for the sick. New advances had
become common but still unable to cure the diseases. Some thought that the disease was caused
by rats that were very common in towns and cities. When fleas bit into their victims it was
thought that they were literally injecting them with the disease. As a result of this outbreak, 1.5
million people out of an estimated total of 4 million people were killed. Despite that, evidence
manufactured by forensic scientists and archaeologists in 2014 from human remains in

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the City of London proved that fleas could not have been responsible for an infection that spread
so fast it had to be airborne. Once the disease reached the lungs of the malnourished, it was then
spread to the wider population through sneezes and coughs.
Whatever the cause of the infection, death was often very quick for the weaker victims.
(historylearningsite.co.uk)
After 1350,reporters said that the disease was going to strike another six times by the end of the
century. (historylearningsite.co.uk)This disease had no picks and chooses people of all ages and
colors were contracting this disease. Most children in the Middle Ages lives were very
depressing and hard. Some were even lucky to live past early childhood. Most of the infants that
died deaths occurred as an accident or from diseases. Newborns were often born small because
their mothers had lack of food and nutrition. Morality rate was also higher for children who
came from poorer families. Because of their conditions, it was a lot harder for poorer families to
obtain medical help or health care. Healthy infants were usually seen as a special gift from God.
(www.thefinertimes.com). It was said that people who got the disease were being punished by
God for their sins.(www.thefinertimes.com) What that being said the church allowed those who
encountered this disease a chance to confess all of their sins before they died. Church life in the
Middle Ages was very important and played a major part in ones life. In 350 C.E, the Roman
Empire collapsed. When that happen, that lead to peoples lives changing dramatically. However,
things changed when the Roman Catholic Church were introduced. The church began to rise in

power; it represented a safe place to go for everyone. The only way to solve everything that was
going on some people said was to get rid of all of the blasphemers, and to win Gods
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approval back. There were thousands of citzens were killed in the late 1340s in order to please
God and win his approval back.(www.thefinertimes.com)
Somehow, someway deaths from these diseases had to have come to an end, right ? Luckily,
Hippocrates wrote over 2,500 years ago In medicine one must pay attention not to plausible
theorizing but to expire next and reason together. This Greek physician and herbalist from the 4

th

century B.C is considered the father of western medicine. He stressed the importance of diet,
water quality, climate and social environment. Hippocrates believed in treating the whole person,
rather than merely isolating and treating symptoms. He recognized the innate capacity of the
body to heal itself.(www.encyclopedia.com) He recommend simple herbal remedies to assist the
body. Traditional cures, using herbal remedies and potions were seen as witchcraft and outlaws
by the church.Laws stated that only trained and registered people could practice medicine. .
(www.schoolscience.co.uk) That's when the birth of medicine school began. The father of
western medicine, Hippocrates, was the founder of the Hippocratic School. This was a school of
medicine. Schools and universities began to educate only high class and more fortunate
individuals in religion, the arts, law and medicine. Majority of the people who were trained to
become physicians were men and few women. There was also a form of healing arts that
emphasized the study and use of European treatment and invention of illness. Western herbalism
is based on physicians and herbalists. Clinical experience and traditional knowledge of
medicinal plant remedies preserved by oral tradition and written records of over thousands of

years. Also, the monks who looked after sick travelers in the monasteries were skilled in herbs.
(www.encylcopedia.com )

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Now that there are more technology available, infant mortality has gotten lower and peoples
length of living has increased since the Middle Ages. We as people benefit from the sophisticated
technologies of medical science, it is very important that we acknowledge the contribution those
who paved the way for us today. What we are enjoying today is the fruits from the trees whose
seeds were planted by our ancestor. (http://www.cantonmedicine.com/)
Work Cited:
Medieval Medicine. Historyforkids.org. copyright 2012-2014. Karen Carr. Portland State
University, http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/china/architecture/hanarchitecture.htm
McIntyre,L Anne. Medicine Garden New York, Henry Holt and Company,Inc.,1997
Gibson,Donald .School of Medicine , New York, 1997 , www.canton.medicine.com
Medicine in Middle Ages. Historylearning.site.co.uk 2014
www.Thefinertimes.com
www.Csis.pace.edu
www.123helpme.com

www.cheathouse.com
(http://www.canton.medicine.com/)
(www.encylcopedia.com )
www.studymode.com
www.schoolscience.co.uk