Doctors In The Middle Ages Essay

Studying history can sometimes cause a person to wonder what it was like to live during

that time period or even be able to visit it to see what its like. In the medieval period it would

have been a nightmare to live there, mainly because of the medical practices. The medical

practices were nothing short of horrifying. There was no sanitation, no good aesthetics, no pain

killers, and no real doctors. Of course they had doctors but the amount of information they

actually knew about whatever sickness they were treating was slim to none. The physicians

thought their procedure were correct, but as time progressed, it is easy to say many procedures

did not actually help and the “helpful” ones would still be extremely excruciating.
Some of the main types of

medical help that will be focus of this paper are: priest, surgeons, and wise woman. All three of

these characters have a major role in the medical field of the Middle
The best of Clergies usually

died of the sicknesses as well because they were always around disease. Monasteries tended to

have hospitals attached to them and monks worked in them. The Monks had a basic knowledge

of the medical field, but they were the best option for this time, especially for the poor that could

not afford a better doctor such as a physician. In 1200, there were possibly over four hundred

hospitals in England alone. Clergies were the first “doctors” in the Middle Ages, but in 1215, a

decree ruled that priest could no longer help in the shedding of blood. Therefore, it carried over

to the barbers because they were accustomed to using razors. The practice was taught to them

and them rest of the Middle Ages it was up to them.

With many surgeries there are a lot of risk, even in modern day twenty first century.

Also, in almost all surgeries they give anesthetics, to numb the pain. Well, in 500-1400 AD