Medicine through time.

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1.1 Ideas about the cause of disease and illness​​​​​​​

Supernatural and religious explanations of the causes of diseases

People in medieval England were very religious, most followed the Catholic Church. They attended services regularly and were expected to give a sum of money to the Church every month, known as a tithe. The Church also owned lots of land in England, on which churches, monasteries and convents were built. These became important centres of the community. As well a praying, the monks and nuns provided medical care and looked after those who were not able to themselves. The Church used the tithes given to pay for the care of the community.

Illness was quite common. malnutrition, especially in times of famine, made people more likely to fall ill. Lack of scientific knowledge meant that the causes of disease were likely a mystery. So, the Church used religion to answer the questions people had about illness and disease.

Ordinary people received most of their teaching from the Church, as hey didn't receive any formal education. The majority of people could not read or write at this time. They learned from stories that they heard or from the paintings on the church walls.

One thing that people learnt was that sin was very dangerous. The Church taught that those who commit a sin could be punished by God. They also taught that the devil could send disease to test someone's faith.

The Church explained famine by saying that God had sent it as a punishment for sin. Therefore, it was logical for others to name their illness on others for their sins. This meant that when people recovered, the Church declared that a miracle has happened, thanks to the patient's prayers.

blaming sickness on God acted as 'proof of the divine'. It provided evidence of God's existence. This explains why the Church supported the idea that God sent disease as punishment.

Although disease was mainly seen as a result of sin, that Church also taught that disease was sent by God to cleanse one's soul. If you became ill, God could be sending illness to purify your soul, to test your faith. Since they learned that God controlled every aspect of the world, this was very believable to people at this time.

Leprosy

The Bible tells many stories of how God sent disease as punishment- leprosy was included