Medieval Ideas & The Body

The medieval period in Europe (around the 5th century to the 15th century) was a time of trouble with many wars disrupting trade and travel. it was a time when the vast majority of oridnary people were uneducated and superstitious. Much of the knowledge acquired by the Greeks and Romans, including medical practice, was lost. Medicine followed some Greek theory but came to rely much more on folklore and myth. The internal workings of the body were explained not by scientific theories but by the influence of supernatural forces, spirits and demons.

Christianity was central to life in Medieval Europe. It had a very big influence on medical practice. The Church set up hospitals and many of its clergy practised as doctors. Christian teaching, though, emphasised God’s will. God was the one to make the final decision between healing and suffering, life or death. This attitude did not really encourage medicinal study. Christian belief also stressed the sanctity of the body, even after death. The practice of dissection, the cutting open of a body after death, was banned by the Church until late in the 14th century.

The picture of a ‘Zodiac Man’ (above right), taken from a 14th century manuscript, gives us an idea of what doctors believed. They thought that the stars and the planets had an influence on the body. In the picture zodiacal symbols are painted on the body in the 'appropriate' places, from Aries for the head and face to Pisces for the feet. The signs demonstrate which parts of the body were thought to have been influenced by which astrological sign, and indicate the best time for performing operations. Often this involved procedures such as bllod letting or trepanning (drilling a hole in the skull).

Use the information on this page to answer the following questions:

• How did civilisation and medicine suffer in medieval Europe?
• What practice was banned by the Church until the 14th century?
• Why did the Church disapprove of this practice?