The Humoral Theory: The Christian Middle Ages

The longest medical tradition, the humoral theory, lasted for more than 2000 years. In this theory water, air, earth and fire were the four elements that made up the universe. Just like the universe, the human body was made up of its own four fluids called humors. Phlegm was cold and wet like water; blood was hot and wet like air; black bile was cold and dry like earth; and yellow bile was hot and dry like fire. The elements represented the physical reality that people experienced. In health, the four humors were in balance with one another. Although not the only determinate of health, the link between climate and health aided the humoral way of medicine to last for over 2000 years throughout the Greco-Roman, the Christian Middle Ages and into
the 17th century.
From the beginning of humoralism, climate was one way to determine health.
To stay healthy, the body needed a balance of the humors. Based on where someone was born determined their health. For example, the direction of the wind played an important role on the health of a town. If a town received north-west and north-east winds, the residents will have more trouble with bile than with phlegm (AWP, p.93). Since the climate of the town had a certain wind, the residents’ health could be generalized and they would have a greater problem of dry diseases. Another way that the climate affected health was through the seasons. The health of a year could be predicted by the seasons. If the winter is dry and the spring is wet, the summer will be feverish and productive of dysentery (AWP, p.98). Since seasons had different changes in weather, the body had different changes in humors. Although climate was not the only way Hippocrates era healers believed health was determined, it was the most useful part of
humoralism.
Almost 1500 years later the idea that environment impacted health continued. There was a strong connection between agriculture and health. Medical practitioners try to obtain a balance in the four elements of the humoral system the same as gardeners do with their plants (Sweet, p.401). The balance of earth, water, fire and air was intertwined between the environment and the health of humans. Humoral medicine wasn’t continued through books and teachings but rather continued by the elements of the environment that were tangible to them. Sweet argues that in the Christian Middle Ages, the humoral theory embodied the agricultural world that everyone lived in (Sweet, p.403). Through a balance of the elements seen in everyday agriculture, the environment affected plants similarly to humans. The tradition that the climate affected health continued on throughout the 17th century.
Based off of their climates, places had different remedies to balance out the humors. Irelands climate is described as humid and moist, so they have a remedy which dried up the moisture in their stomach (Wear, p.447). Due to the environment, individuals had to balance out their humors to stay healthy. As exploration began to grow, the climate of new places was linked to the health. The humoral tradition was based on a sense of geography in this period and the inhabitants might be more or less healthy based on their position on the globe (Wear, p.448). This idea of geography and health continued from Hippocratic times. The English did however have a strong sense of nationalism, usually describing England’s health as positive. Even so, one English writer described England’s climate as phlegmatic (Wear, p.449). The use of wet and cold to describe a places health showed a strong connection to humoralism. Environments that people were raised in were believed to have healing powers. People associated ones’ birthplace with good health, traveling home when ill (Wear, p.450). The thought of one climate being more dangerous to an individual’s health than another endured. As the English began to colonize, a main concern was how their bodies would fit in with other climates. The English persuaded prospective settlers that new places would agree with their bodies (Wear, p.452). Although the settlers
were influenced by economic gain, the humoral theory of a link between health and climate was prevalent. As the longest lasting medical theory, humoralism was useful since all aspects of life were affected by climate. The elements of the universe were water, earth, air and fire. Similarly, the elements of the human body were wet, cold, dry, and hot. The connection between humans and agriculture was far greater in the Greco-Roman era throughout the 17th century. The climate affected the health of agriculture and was believed to affect the health of humans similarly. What lives in the environment you grow up in is determined by the climate, thus the human that grows up in that environment was also believed to be determined by the climate.