[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-208221-en":3,"doc-seo-208221-105":30,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":90},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"doc_content":15,"file_id":16,"file_url":17,"file_type":18,"file_size":19,"view_count":4,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":20,"is_downloadable":20,"audit_status":20,"page_count":21,"language":22,"language_code":23,"site_id":24,"html_lang":23,"table_of_contents":25,"faqs":26,"seo_title":27,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":28,"read_time":29},208221,1099525198933,"Terk","https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_155a257f0dc6eb9ab79c44ca47cae57d",4,"Exam","c1250–c1500: Medicine in medieval England - Chapter 1","c1250–c1500: Medicine in medieval England explains how medieval society in England understood disease and illness, linking causes to religion, superstition, and accepted medical authorities. It describes beliefs that illness and famine were sent by God as punishment for sin, and how prayer or miracles were used to interpret recovery. The chapter also covers leprosy, supernatural explanations such as Satan and astrology, and the Theory of the Four Humours, alongside medieval attempts to prevent and treat disease.","01  \nc1250–c1500: Medicine in medieval England  \nMedieval England was a hard place to live in. Most people worked in the fields, growing crops for wealthy landowners. Poor diets, especially when there was not enough food to go around, meant that sickness and disease were never far away. Some people lived in towns and cities, but this was not much better than the countryside: the crowded streets and lack of drains meant diseases spread easily. Nearly half of the population died before reaching adulthood.  \nThere wasn’t much scientific knowledge in medieval England. Instead, the books promoted by the Catholic Church relied on advice from leading doctors who lived long ago, such as Hippocrates and Galen, to explain why people caught diseases. Sometimes people believed God could send disease as a punishment for bad behaviour.  \nMost of the time, people accepted this. Only in times of terrible disease, such as during the Black Death in 1348, did they start to question what the Catholic Church was telling them about medicine.  \nLearning outcomes   \nBy the end of this chapter, you will:  \n• understand what ideas people in medieval England had about the causes of disease and illness  \n• understand what methods medieval people tried in order to prevent and treat disease  \n• complete a case study on the Black Death, including approaches to its treatment and attempts to prevent it from spreading.  \n1.1 Ideas about the cause of disease and illness  \nLearning outcomes   \n• Understand di􀂊erent ideas about the cause of disease before 1500, including the Theory of the Four Humours.  \n• Know the di􀂊erent influences on ideas about the cause of disease before 1500.  \nSupernatural and religious explanations ofthe causes of disease  \n\n| What medieval England was like | | How this a􀀃ected medical ideas |  |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| People were very religious and went to church regularly.\u003Cbr>The Catholic Church was the only accepted religion.\u003Cbr>It owned many churches, monasteries and convents. These buildings became important centres of the community.\u003Cbr>|  | The Church provided some medical care. People were expected to give a sum of\u003Cbr>money to the Church each month. This\u003Cbr>was known as a tithe*. The Church used\u003Cbr>the tithes to pay for the care given to\u003Cbr>people in need. | |\n|  |  | Malnutrition* meant people were more likely to fall ill. |  |\n|  | \u003Cbr>| The lack of knowledge meant that the causes of disease and illness were unknown.\u003Cbr>The Church o􀂔en told people that illness was sent by God. |  |\n| There were o􀂔en famines* and a lack of food. |  |  |  |\n|  |  | People received most of their education from the Church. They learned from the stories they heard, orthe paintings they saw in their church. |  |\n| There was a lack of scientific knowledge. |  |  |  |\n| Ordinary people didn’t go to school. Most people could not read or write. |  |  |  |\n|  |  | The Church taught that those who committed a sin could be punished by God with illness. The devil could also send disease to test someone’s faith, as seen in Source A. |  |\n| The Church taught that sin was very dangerous. | |  |  |\n\nSource A   \nThe devil, or Satan, was o􀂔en held responsible for sending diseases to people. This picture is taken from a 12th-century manuscript* . In the image, Satan is infecting* Job. According to the Bible, Job was very obedient and faithful to God. Satan argued that he was only faithful because his life was so good. Infecting him with a disease was used to test his faith.  \n13  \nKey terms   \nFamine*  \nFood shortage, usually due to bad harvests.  \nTithe*  \nA sum of money given to the Church by individuals each month.  \nMalnutrition*  \nIllness caused by lack of food.  \nManuscript*  \nA book or text written by hand before the invention of printing.  \nInfecting*  \nGiving somebody a disease.  \n1.1 Ideas about the cause of disease and illness  \nThe Church o􀂔en explained famine and illness by saying they were sent by God to punish people for their sins* . If, a􀂔er people","cbCaigtNoB6GSGRv","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaigtNoB6GSGRv","pdf",4059858,1,26,"English","en",105,"# c1250–c1500: Medicine in medieval England\n## Learning outcomes\n## Ideas about the cause of disease and illness\n## Supernatural and religious explanations of the causes of disease\n## Source A\n## Key terms\n## Leprosy\n## Source B\n## Astrology\n## The Theory of the Four Humours","[{\"question\":\"How did medieval England explain the causes of disease and illness?\",\"answer\":\"Many people believed disease came from God as punishment for sin, or that the devil could send disease to test faith. Famine and illness were also interpreted through religious explanations.\"},{\"question\":\"What role did the Catholic Church play in medical ideas and care?\",\"answer\":\"The Church provided some medical care financed through monthly tithes. It also taught people that sin could lead to illness and that God controlled what happened.\"},{\"question\":\"What were astrology and the Theory of the Four Humours used for?\",\"answer\":\"Astrology suggested illness could be diagnosed by the position of planets and stars, using star charts. The Theory of the Four Humours explained the body as made of four liquids (humours) to help interpret disease.\"}]","c1250–c1500: Medicine in medieval England - Chapter 1 | PDF",1788603020,66,{"code":4,"msg":31,"data":32},"ok",{"site_id":24,"language":23,"slug":33,"title":13,"keywords":34,"description":14,"schema_data":35,"social_meta":85,"head_meta":87,"extra_data":89,"updated_unix":28},"c1250c1500-medicine-in-medieval-england-chapter-1","",{"@graph":36,"@context":84},[37,53,67],{"@type":38,"itemListElement":39},"BreadcrumbList",[40,44,48,51],{"item":41,"name":42,"@type":43,"position":20},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":45,"name":46,"@type":43,"position":47},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":49,"name":12,"@type":43,"position":50},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/exam/",3,{"item":52,"name":13,"@type":43,"position":11},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/c1250c1500-medicine-in-medieval-england-chapter-1/208221/",{"url":52,"name":13,"@type":54,"author":55,"headline":13,"publisher":57,"fileFormat":60,"inLanguage":23,"description":14,"dateModified":61,"datePublished":61,"encodingFormat":60,"isAccessibleForFree":62,"interactionStatistic":63},"DigitalDocument",{"name":9,"@type":56},"Person",{"url":41,"name":58,"@type":59},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-09-05",true,{"@type":64,"interactionType":65,"userInteractionCount":4},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":66},"ViewAction",{"@type":68,"mainEntity":69},"FAQPage",[70,76,80],{"name":71,"@type":72,"acceptedAnswer":73},"How did medieval England explain the causes of disease and illness?","Question",{"text":74,"@type":75},"Many people believed disease came from God as punishment for sin, or that the devil could send disease to test faith. Famine and illness were also interpreted through religious explanations.","Answer",{"name":77,"@type":72,"acceptedAnswer":78},"What role did the Catholic Church play in medical ideas and care?",{"text":79,"@type":75},"The Church provided some medical care financed through monthly tithes. It also taught people that sin could lead to illness and that God controlled what happened.",{"name":81,"@type":72,"acceptedAnswer":82},"What were astrology and the Theory of the Four Humours used for?",{"text":83,"@type":75},"Astrology suggested illness could be diagnosed by the position of planets and stars, using star charts. The Theory of the Four Humours explained the body as made of four liquids (humours) to help interpret disease.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":52,"og:type":86,"og:title":13,"og:site_name":58,"og:description":14},"article",{"robots":88,"canonical":52},"index,follow",{"doc_id":7,"site_id":24},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":91},[92,96,100,103,108,113,118,123,128,131,135],{"id":20,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":93,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":47,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":97,"show_sort_weight":98,"slug":99},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":11,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":12,"show_sort_weight":101,"slug":102},70,"exam",{"id":104,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":105,"show_sort_weight":106,"slug":107},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":109,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":110,"show_sort_weight":111,"slug":112},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":114,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":115,"show_sort_weight":116,"slug":117},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":119,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":121,"slug":122},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":124,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":125,"show_sort_weight":126,"slug":127},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":126,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":129,"show_sort_weight":126,"slug":130},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":132,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":133,"show_sort_weight":132,"slug":134},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":136,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":137,"show_sort_weight":104,"slug":138},19,"General","general"]