1.3.1

The Fall of Rome

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The Downfall of Ancient Rome

A lot of medieval medicine was based on the theories of medicine that came from Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome.

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Wars

  • By 530 AD (CE), there had been lots of wars in the Roman Empire, particularly in Western and Southern Europe.
    • Rome itself was sacked by the Visigoths in 410 AD.
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Government and infrastructure

  • These wars damaged or destroyed a lot of the libraries storing Ancient Roman/Greek medical knowledge.
  • As the Roman Empire fell, their infrastructure also worsened.
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Communication

  • Empires became smaller, people travelled less and nations/kingdoms trusted each other less.
  • This meant that there was less sharing of knowledge and less communication between doctors.

Superstitions about Disease in Medieval Medicine

Alongside natural causes, doctors believed that supernatural causes could lead to illness. Some of the things that were believed to cause disease were:

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God

  • Many people thought that illness was God’s will. If someone did something bad (committed a sin), God could punish them with illness.
  • Prayer and repentance were thought to be a way to make a person better after an illness/disease.
  • To repent for bad deeds, many used prayers or flagellation (whipping yourself).
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Witches and spirits

  • Some people believed that supernatural spirits could live inside a person and cause illnesses.
    • Some people in the Church did “exorcisms” to get these spirits out of people's bodies.
  • Witches were also thought to be responsible for some diseases spreading across a town.
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Astrology

  • These supernatural reasons were based on astrology (how the stars and planets were aligned).
    • Astrology was first used in Arabic medicine but it was used in Europe after 1100.
  • Doctors used star signs and an almanac (calendar showing planetary movements) to diagnose and treat diseases.

Jump to other topics

1Medicine Stands Still

2The Beginnings of Change

3A Revolution in Medicine

4Modern Medicine

5Themes in Public Health

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