Medieval Medicine - Butchers and Barbers?!

The Medieval period is often understood to be between the 5th and the 15th century, and is seen to have ended when the Age of Discovery and Renaissance began.

Knowledge of medicine during the Medieval period was near to non-existent. The most advanced medical knowledge at the time would have been found in the Muslim Middle East, however in Medieval Europe medical understanding was so limited that disease and death was common. They had no understanding of diseases - the reasons for them or even how to treat them. There was a variety of interpretations for the reason behind diseases. The Black Death, which plagued Medieval Europe, was often understood to have been a way of God punishing the people for their sins. Some also believed disease and ill-health could have been the work of demons, bad smells, or even at times the alignment of the stars.

Medieval doctors analysed and diagnosed people's health based on the Four Humours. These were four bodily fluids (yellow bile, black bile, blood and phlegm) which if some were in excess, were used as indicators for what disease a patient may be suffering with. It was understood that ideally everybody should have a balance of the Four Humours, and perhaps ill-health may be, in part, down to an imbalance of the Humours.

The Four Humours

Understanding of disease was limited mainly due to the fact that they had little actual understanding of the human anatomy. The Church forbade any dissection of the human body and therefore 'surgeons' had nothing to help them understand internal diseases. For instance, in order to cure general illnesses, patients were recommended to partake in a holy pilgrimage of some sort, as a show of love for God would cure any illness.

'Surgeons' tended to be butchers or barbers, who transferred their every day skills to the art of medicine. And (fun fact, perhaps?) the red and white pole that is found outside some barbers is actually derived from the medieval period where barbers would perform surgery. The red stood for blood and the white stood for the bandages the barbers/surgeons would use after their own 'operations.' Many of the Medieval treatments used by these butchers and barbers are seen as barbaric and near torturous in comparison to modern medicine. The treatment for 'evil spirits in the head' was to cut a hole in the skull, and sometimes the brain, to remove the 'evil spirits' that were trapped.

John Arderne

Medieval medicine however was most advanced in the Muslim Middle East. Muslim doctors had successfully managed to conserve the ideas of Greek and Roman medicine. These doctors, such as Ibn an Nafis, also began to develop the work of the Romans and Greek, which meant that Middle Eastern medicine was far ahead than European medicine at the time. In any other situation their ideas would have been quick to travel to Europe, however these ideas were slow to spread due to the war between Christians and Muslims.

However not all of the Medieval period's doctors were completely useless and un-intelligent. One of the most famous physician of the Medieval period remembered today was English surgeon, John Arderne. He wrote a number of medical texts and in fact some of his work is still present in modern day medicine today! Arderne was one of the first to discover that things such as Opium could be used as an external anaesthetic.


Perhaps being aware of the tragic state of medieval Medicine will make us all appreciate the modern medicine. We should all appreciate things such as antibiotics and doctors that aren't butchers and barbers, that we may take for granted in the Western World. 


If you would like to read more about John Arderne, I recommend this: 
https://universityofglasgowlibrary.wordpress.com/2012/09/25/john-of-arderne-the-father-of-english-surgery/

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