Christianity - Help or Hindrance?

What were Christian ideas about medieval medicine?

Christians believed that they should care for the sick because Jesus healed those who were sick. However, they also believed that illnesses were a challenge or punishment from God.

Why did medieval Christians treat their patients?

Because illnesses were seen as a possible punishment from God, Christians believed in caring for their patients, not curing them.

How did Christians treat their patients in medieval times?

Christians tried to treat people in 3 main ways:

• ❖ They would encourage people to pray to God.
• ❖ They would encourage people to go on a pilgrimage to visit a shrine of a holy person where they would be miraculously healed.
• ❖ The Christian Church financed many of the 700 hospitals in England between 1000 and 1500. Here, people could recover in tidy and quiet surroundings.

What were Christian hospitals like in medieval England?

Medieval Christian hospitals were characterised in the following 4 key ways:

• ❖ They provided care not cures.
• ❖ They varied in size from small hospitals that could accommodate 12 patients, which reflected the number of Jesus' disciples, to ones that could house 200 patients.
• ❖ Hospitals were attached to monasteries and were run by monks and nuns.
• ❖ Medieval hospitals often didn't have any doctors, but they would have a chaplain or a priest.

How did Christianity help progress medicine in medieval times?

Christianity helped medicine progress in medieval times in 4 main ways:

• ❖ Christians believed they had a duty of care which led to them help set up hospitals.
• ❖ They provided a place for some sick people to get treated.
• ❖ The Church established universities throughout Europe where people could study medicine using the books of Galen and Hippocrates.
• ❖ Monks would translate old medical texts - many arriving from the Islamic world.

How did Christianity hinder medical progress in medieval times?

Christianity hindered medical progress in medieval times in 4 key ways:

• ❖ The Church made dissection illegal, making it harder to learn about anatomy.
• ❖ The Church supported the ideas of Galen, even though his work was based on dissections of animals. This made his ideas hard to challenge.
• ❖ Those who went against the ideas of Galen and the Church could be arrested, like Roger Bacon in 1277.
• ❖ Some hospitals during this time would refuse to take in very sick people or women.