Preview

Medicine In The Middle Ages Essay

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1435 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Medicine In The Middle Ages Essay
Adrian Guzman
Dr. Huckabee
English 041
November 6, 2013
Diseases and Medicine during the Medieval Ages
During the Medieval time period, deaths from diseases were common and widespread. The impact throughout Europe impacted the economy and family matters. Some took the initiative to find cures and care for the sick. New advances in medicine was common but still unable to cure all of the sick Many of these diseases could have been prevented with proper hygienic, something as uncommon and not thought out back in the middle Ages. People of that time period also overlooked simple solutions, which could have potentially saved millions of lives. The Black Death was one of the most devastating plagues that world has ever seen. The plague
…show more content…
Because of the millions lost due to the plague, there was a worker shortage in Europe; this led to a rise of the cost of labor. “The plague was a factor, at least in part, for altering the makeup of society” states Mari in his book Global Epidemics. The cost of goods rose causing the economy to struggle for a few centuries after the plague had ended. Because of the plague, many questioned the church. The church was not able to provide an answer causing many to lose their faith; those who still believed in God but not in the church broke off from the church to create their own churches. Others turned to drinking and gamboling to celebrate being alive. Educators were also furious on the results of the Black Death and placed an emphasizes on Medicine. This resulted in the creation of schools and higher education. The Black Death was a plague that devastated Europe in the Middle Ages. The disease still has an effect on Europe to this day, “Analysis has shown that genetic diversity in England is much lower than it was in the eleventh century” states the Encyclopedia Britannica. This experience with death led many to pursue medicine and education. This eventually led to the scientific revolution, which impacts the world today. Methods of medicine have changed because of this and the world has learned from their past experiences with

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    From the late medieval era to the enlightenment a series of plagues devastated European society, economy, and social/political structure. In the Middle Ages, the Black Plague (or Death) was a pandemic that killed nearly 2/3 of the population in Europe, and lead to the downfall of the feudal system. The groups that benefited the most from the changes caused by the Black Death were peasants and laborers reaction toward the calamity ranged from rational and proactive to irrational, egoistic, and even criminal. Over all, the human devastation revealed a growth over time in government role and the role of the educated class in serving society, while uncovering a persistent criticism of the upper classes and the common people.…

    • 1406 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    History reveals the mid-14th century as a very unfortunate time for Europe. It was during this period when the continent became afflicted by a terrible plague. The source of the pathogen is known today as bubonic but was colloquially known as “The Black Death” to Europeans of the day. The plague caused a tremendous number of deaths and was a catalyst of change, severely impacting Europe’s cultural, political and religious institutions.…

    • 1511 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Dbq: the Black Plague

    • 1106 Words
    • 5 Pages

    From the late medieval era to the enlightenment a series of plagues devastated European society, economy, and social/political structure. Reaction toward the calamity ranged from rational and proactive to irrational, egoistic, and even criminal. Over all, the human devastation revealed a growth over time in government role and the role of the educated class in serving society, while uncovering a persistent criticism of the upper classes and the common people.…

    • 1106 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Bubonic Plague Dbq Analysis

    • 3206 Words
    • 13 Pages

    The Black Death also known as the Bubonic Plague and many other names, devastated European society by affecting its economy, social structure, government, and church in a series of outbreaks taking place years apart for over 300 years. When the Black Death began to surface for the first time people panicked and believed in supernatural reasons that had caused the plague but during the course of time different groups of people such as the state or government, the middle class, and the church either began to have a different attitude towards the plague like a rational or selfish point of view or they kept believing in supernatural beings that caused the plague.…

    • 3206 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Prior to the Plague, the Church, ruled by the Pope, was the sole guardian of religious thought and theology, dispensing information, blessings and curses as it saw fit. The general population had no access to the bible or scripture except that which was meted out by the priests and clergy. Anyone who questioned the teachings of the Church was denounced, excommunicated and sometimes burned at the stake” (The Impact). “The Black Death set the stage for more modern medicine and spurred changes in public health and hospital management. Frustrated with Black Death diagnoses that revolved around astrology and superstition, educators began placing greater emphasis on clinical medicine, based on physical science” (Effects of the Black Death). People grew tired of going to the church for help, when the church had no answers to their problem. “When the plague arrived, people believed it was a punishment of God. Therefore, they often turned to the Church for help. But since the priests and bishops could not actually offer a cure or even an explanation, the Catholic Church lost a lot of its influence and for many people, their view of the world changed drastically” (The Black Death). As a result, many of the clergy got sick and died. However, those that did not get sick, abandoned their post. ‘“With fewer priests, and quicker deaths, Pope Clement VI was forced to grant remission of sins to all who died of the…

    • 926 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Silk Road Research Paper

    • 759 Words
    • 4 Pages

    People were exposed to diseases they didn’t know about, and they didn’t have any treatment for it or immunity to it. One place involved with it was Greek city-state of Athens, which was affected by new and unidentified diseases, it killed about 25% of its army and weakened the city-state for good. The widespread diseases also affected the Han Dynasty China and the Roman Empire, but contacted on the Silk Roads all across Eurasia was basically promoted. Sporadic outburst of the bubonic plague ruined the coastal areas of the Mediterranean Sea as the black rats that held the plague came through the sea trade with India, where they came from. The capital of the city of the Byzantine Empire, lost thousands of people per day throughout 40 days. The same death count troubled China and parts of the Islamic world. In the Central Asian steppes that were home to a lot of nomadic people involving the Mongols, who also struggled horribly. In the prolonged shoot of world history, the transfer of disease gave Europeans a specific benefit when they stood up to the people of the Western Hemisphere. Revealing over time had given them some level of resistance to Europeans and Africans from over the Atlantic, they died in shocking…

    • 759 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Dbq- the Bubonic Plague

    • 987 Words
    • 4 Pages

    14Th Century Europe was a period of chaos and turmoil. The Great Famine of 1315-1317 produced the worst famine in the Middle Ages that killed millions of people all over Europe. The onset of the Bubonic Plague (“Black Death”) only made things worse. The Black Death swept throughout Europe and killed as much as two fifths of the already diminished European population. The Black Death effected Europe politically, socially, and economically. Europeans responded to the Black Death differently. We got to see what Europeans did, thought, and how the Black Death affected Europe socially through physicians, firsthand accounts, and written reports.…

    • 987 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Medieval Economy, religion, and medical practice were especially changed by the plague. The European economic structure was extremely affected by the Black Death, and its exponential population decline. In towns, many skilled craftsmen died along with their valuable skills such as, blacksmithing, shoe making, and wood carving. With the large number of deaths came a shortage of workers, which resulted in the cost of their labor (wages) and what the prices of what they made skyrocket. Higher prices for goods and a much lower supply of workers demolished the economy. Wealthy landholders began to see their wealth disappear as the cost of goods and services skyrocketed. At the same type, because so few people were left to feed, demand for food grown in their fields decreased, and agricultural prices fell. Many landholders, who depended on the production of their lands for their income, could no longer afford to keep their land and simply abandoned it. On the other hand, workers who lived through the plague realized that they could demand higher wages from their employers, because there was no one else to hire. In addition, peasants were no longer tied to the estates of their lords, because they knew that they could be hired anywhere they went. Due to this series of events the wealthy became not as wealthy, the peasants became wealthier, and the economy was crushed. In the field of religion, the church lost an immense amount of power, and, historians believe, that the Black Death was one of the major causes of the Protestant movement in the sixteenth century. In the field of medicine, textbooks were printed in languages other than Latin, the Greek and Roman philosophy to medicine was changed to a more traditional philosophy, doctors became more important, and autopsies, which had been illegal for centuries, became widely used. In conclusion, the Black Death, though extremely…

    • 1230 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Black Death led to new knowledge and awareness. The biggest realisation the Black Death brought was the idea that the Black Death was ‘contagious.’ It was realised that contact with someone with the plague or even with their clothing was dangerous. They discovered that the plague was spread through tiny rat fleas, as these fleas jumped on rats and other rodents and infected them. When the rats died the fleas fed on human beings. Source D shows the cycle in which people were infected with the black plague. It displays how the plague started and progressed. Doctors also became more experienced by ruling out the treatments that didn’t work. They learnt to keep the streets clean and free from disease. By changing and improving the hygiene situation they could stop the plague and many other diseases. The Middle Ages doctors learnt many important facts because of the Black Death. As you can see in Source E, medieval people learnt that “The streets should be cleaned of all human and animal waste. It should be taken by a cart to a field outside of the village and burnt. All bodies should be buried in deep pits outside of the village and their clothes should also be burnt.” This is the first idea and realisation of hygiene and how it can prevent plagues and sicknesses. The experience that the black plague…

    • 1081 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Preceding the worldwide introduction of the plague, populations were growing exceptionally high resulting in negative consequences for peasants. The unemployment rate at this time was very high. On the other hand, this meant that labor became cheaper for the wealthy.…

    • 181 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Plague DBQ

    • 1119 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Beginning in the mid-fourteenth century, a plague swept the world like no other. It struck in a series of waves that continued into the eighteenth century. The first wave was estimated to have killed twenty-five million people, about a third of the Western Europe population at that time. Throughout the different outbreaks, the plague, also known as the Bubonic Plague or the Black Death, caused people to react in several ways. Some people believed the plague was a medical problem that can be treated, some found themselves concerned only with their own greed, still others believed there was nothing they could do and reacted in fear, and most people believed it was a form of divine punishment from God.…

    • 1119 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the 14th century Europe was a country torn by war, famine, and scandal in the church. Furthermore, malnutrition, poverty, disease, growing inflation and other economic crises made Europe ripe for a tragedy in the likes of the Bubonic Plague. The Bubonic Plague was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history. It ravaged Europe between 1347 and 1350 before it continued on to Russia, leaving 30-95 percent of the entire population dead. The Bubonic Plague killed indiscriminately. No one was spared. The young and the old, the rich and the poor. All social classes were affected, though the lower classes were most vulnerable because they lived in unhealthy conditions. It was worse among…

    • 1263 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Outline of Plague

    • 488 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Analysis sentence #2: Fear of the plague was also seen in Giovan Filippo’s, a Sicilian physician, statement. Extreme measures were taken including bonfires to burn anything infected, quarantines were built, and regulations were enforced to try and prevent the plague from spreading.…

    • 488 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The bubonic plague struck Europe with an iron fist, leaving destruction and mayhem wherever it went. The disease was easily spread, and became catastrophic during The Middle Ages. In the fourteenth century, Europe was struck by a massive wave of bubonic plague resulting in the death of nearly one third of the continent’s population (britanica encyclopedia). Many factors contributed to the Black Death pandemic; the bacterium travelled from Asia to Europe using rodents as the host, resulting in streets lined with plague. The poor living conditions and lack of proper waste disposal was a key contributor to the spreading of The Plague. Medical techniques of the time were very limited and were based off obsolete medical ideology and little successful research was conducted to support new medical treatments. The lack of proper sanitation during The…

    • 1781 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The fear of Leprosy died out after the arrival of a new scare. The Bubonic plague, otherwise known as the Black Death or just the plague was one of the worst epidemics of Europe. This was one of the most devastating diseases of all time. The disease was responsible for the death of huge part of the population. It…

    • 1217 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics