Exhibition Piece: Team Two

Mike Crow

Will Furcolo

Adam Reed

Paul Wallace

The plague of 1348 better known as the Black Death arrived in England through the port of Melcombe Regis in Dorset. Black Death arrived via rat or rodent, and was spread by Xenopsylla (rat fleas). Flea's that bite rats infected with the plague become “blocked,” and unable to satisfy their appetite. The Xenopsylla does not prefer human hosts, so it is alleged that the rats had to die before the fleas went looking for other hosts. The rats may have either died from the plague, or from the excessive amount of flea bites they may have received from the ravenous plague infected Xenopsylla.
Yersinia pestis is the bacteria responsible for the Black Death. The Yersinia pestis has the ability to mutate or change, “at present, seventy-six strains of three biotypes (biovars) of Y. pestis have been identified” (Fabbri 381). This suggests the reason for the high mortality rate of this particular strain of Y. pestis. Researchers have identified biovar Antiqua which they believe is responsible for the Black Death, as it is a mutation of the original Y. pestis.
The reason for the focus upon the 1348 plague is to gain a better understanding for the current medical practices of the time, specifically the practices pertaining to the prevention and cure of the plague. The basic break down of the medieval medical society is as follows; physician, surgeon and barber-surgeon. Physicians where the most educated and generally studied at universities, Surgeon's where much the same as they were mostly educated by physicians. The barber-surgeon emerged when the Pope banned malpractice with penalty of execution. This led many physicians and surgeons to stop practicing and instead pool their resources with “barber-surgeons” who were willing perform riskier procedures even though they where undereducated. Barber-Surgeons generally worked under a surgeon/physician as to take liability for procedures being practiced.
Ironically all that the medieval medical society knew about plague preventative and curative measures was from the studies of Aelius Galenus in the year AD 129. Medieval plague medicine was based around “the principles of traditional Galenic therapeutics, placing strong emphasis on the regimen sanitatis, the art of maintaining moral and physical health” (Fabbri 248). Amid medieval medicine, theriac was one of the most heavily favored. Theriac is a complex compound, made from multiple ingredients; it has been a famous antidote since ancient times. Made up of over eighty different ingredients theriac was intended to cure a variety of ailments and is referred to as the “mother of all antidotes” or the primadonna of medicine. Before going into the specific ingredients involved in making theriac, it is important to understand that, medieval society relied heavily on botanicals for medical practice. Many where used daily to fend off ailments such as vinegar, garlic, onion, these where the most commonly used. As for theriac it contained some of the following cinnamon, saffron, rhubarb, pepper, ginger, and considerable amount opium. Mixed with honey and wine and beaten to a pulp to form a thick syrup. (Fabbri 254)
Theriac was thought to be panaceas or remedy for all illness and disease. It was said to have preventative and curative effects on “fevers, prevent internal swelling and blockages, alleviate heart problems, treat epilepsy an palsy, induce sleep, improve digestion, strengthen limbs, and heal wounds” (Fabric 254). The effectiveness of theriac which is attributed with the high amount of opium contained in a dose of theriac. It was recommended that a dose was approximately 1.94 metric grams of opium per dose of theriac syrup. For maximum effectiveness it was recommended that a person take their dose of theriac three times a week. (Fabbri 269)
It's now obvious as to why theriac, was so heavily favored amongst medieval times. Simply its effectiveness in pain relief along with its addictive side effects, Allowed it to become popular among those who were suffering from various ailments. The effects of theriac on the medieval medical society were embedded in the lifestyle. The syrups unique properties allowed it to be delivered in a variety of manners pushing the boundaries within medieval medicine. Examined with an opinionated approach medieval plague medicine is nothing more than powerful opiates which relieved pain and somewhat prolonged life for those who infected with the plague. Ultimately the medicine developed during this era was ineffective at curing disease, yet was extremely effective at curing symptoms.

The renaissance was a period of new thinking and an educational reform beginning in Europe. This era drastically changed the way the human race viewed the world. There is no way to communicate all of the advancements of the renaissance in one paper so this paper is going to focus on the medical aspect. The renaissance period played an immense role in how doctors, surgeons, and professors of the medical field looked at medicine, surgery and the human body. For instance, if the renaissance had happened one-hundred years earlier doctors would be doing their work the way they will be in 2110. In the opposite vein, if the renaissance occurred one-hundred years later medical advancements would be at the same level they were in 1910. This really puts the importance of this period into perspective. But in order to understand the medical advancements you must first look at where they came from.

Prior to the renaissance, medicine was radically swayed by the church and most anything could be used as a cure. Consequently, during this era there was no evidence of scientific medicine in practice just the use of the theriac which only hid symptoms. The most popular belief in medieval times was that God played such a large role in lifer that any sort of event was pre-planned by God. When somebody got sick, medieval healers often blamed the patient because they believed God was punishing them for something they had done. Without an understanding of the body and such a strong religious background what else could it be? At this time there was absolutely no scientific understanding of the human body or how to cure it. Germs and antibiotics were not even part of the vocabulary, let alone a field of study. Superstition also played a major part in the medical field. One great example of how a ‘doctor’ would go about his work is shown in the excerpt below:

"When [the healer] approaches the house where the sick person lies, if [the healer] finds a stone lying nearby, [he turns] the stone over and looks in the place where the stone was lying [to see] if there anything living under it, and if [the healer] finds there a worm or a fly or an ant or anything that moves, they [the healer] avers that the sick person will recover" (Medieval Medicine).

Judging from this small piece it is obvious that doctors had no reliance on science but rather their own personal beliefs and superstitions to make their assessments of patients. Besides unique superstition, doctors also employed an array of herbal remedies to heal almost every illness you could imagine.

Stemming from the Greeks and Romans, the medieval Europeans practiced heavily in herbology, or herbal medicine. Complex concoctions of plants, herbs, and spices were created to cure almost any illness you can think of. In the later years of the dark ages the church would associate any use of herbs or potions with witchcraft, leading to excommunication and death. But prior to this, herbs would be used in almost any illness or injury, from healing sore muscles to curing stomachaches. There was a combination of herbs that was thought to treat everything. The problem arose when herbs and their use in medicine prior to the renaissance began to become so closely related to magic and occultism. There is a very fine line between herbalism and magic and with the church so strongly entrenched in the lives of the people they could allow any such witchcraft to be taking place (Medieval Medicine).

Even though there was not any scientific evidence to support medical procedures during this time that it is not to say that doctors did not make up their own reasoning. There was a well respected theory that the body is made up of four humors: blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile. Some believed that the balance of these four humors was essential for a healthy life. When someone became ill, doctors would often bleed the patient in the hopes that the ‘bad blood’ would be released from the patient, creating a balance in humors. Doctors would often use leeches in this process but sometimes dirty knives would be used, only increasing the patients’ chances of infection (Health and Medicine in Medieval England).

Superstitions continued into the renaissance even though many began to become obsolete. Snakestones were a superstitious stone that was believe to absorb all of the poison out of a poisonous wound. During the 1660’s and 1670’s two philosophers, Anthanasius Kircher and Francesco Redi, have a dispute about the efficacy of the stones (Baldwin, Martha). What makes this debate so important is that Redi realized that Kircher had no concrete evidence to support his findings. Kircher proclaimed he had done sufficient experimentation yet Redi continued his experiments to try and reveal the truth. Although the two philosophers never came to a consensus and the efficacy of the snakestones remained unclear there was a greater importance to this entire process. Redi went on to disprove many different aspects of folk medicine and he paved the way for new standards of experimentation. It also shows how the church began to become less apart of the scientific fields, allowing for new medical processes and ideas to emerge.

Many practices that depended on knowledge of anatomy, such as surgery and the arts, saw an incredible growth throughout the Renaissance as many older beliefs were trumped by newer, better researched thoughts and studies. Our exhibit piece is focused on changes to Medicine as a whole by looking at changes that took place in smaller groups. In our research on anatomical advancements begins many years before the Renaissance, to the mid 100’s AD. Galenus, Greek surgeon and physiologist, made many noted errors in his theories on the anatomical structure of humans, as most if not all of his work was performed on animals (Bambach). Part of our research forced us to look at images used at the times before the Renaissance, and the results were sometime difficult to understand, especially many of the depiction from medieval Islam. As our exhibit piece was focused on change, seeing where modern anatomy came from through visual was a powerful asset. From there we moved onto the key figures in the advancement of anatomy and surgery. Like Da Vinci or Michelangelo to the arts, Andrea Vesalius changed medical history for eternity. At this point in time, the Church had begun its long ban on the dissection of humans. Seizing this opportunity, and following the works of Galen, Vesalius began to critically evaluate the statements of Galen through the actual dissection of human beings. With the Church’s ban on dissection, several mistakes from Galen’s work had carried on well into the Renaissance. There were over 200 incorrect theories and statements within his works. At the same time, other old ideas were being questioned and overthrown, including the idea that the body was made up of four humors. Many of the physicians of the day hired or commissioned artists to depict what they had in mind, greatly improving the quality of images available for both practitioners and students of the profession (Malcolm Book 1). The printing press helped quickly distribute these new drawings and ideas, and helped physicians all over Europe and the world combat a vast variety of sickness’s and maladies.

As mentioned before the renaissance using treatments of herbs, leaches and stones were the methods that were thought to kill disease. As the renaissance progressed new discoveries were being made about the body and what could be used to heal or help it survive. Many of the drawings and books of human anatomy were extremely vague and inaccurate causing more harm than help in most situations.

One of the significant new methods that had come about in hospitals was to look after the poor sick and get them treated by professional medical staff. This is a change from the medieval period because the percentage of barbers used to be almost 40% and combined doctors and physicians were only 24% of the position medical field. It is not very comforting if your know your barber is just an apprentice trying to perform surgery on the patient just because the surgeon does not want to be sued. Also it was during this period when sections started to develop that were specialized for a certain disease (Henderson). This would create better treatment of the patients because it is more efficient to have many doctors be talented at one aspect rather than have one doctor who is good at everything. As for the financial records, in order to afford all of the funding, two major charities changed dramatically in size and operation.

After the period of the Black Death the ‘System of Care’ that was in place is the same function that hospitals today use. That is that “There are always doctors, physicians and surgeons ready to give individual treatment to each person” (88 Henderson). Also it was noticed by outsiders how white and clean the beds were kept. This was probably a major difference about the latter part of the renaissance and keeping people in the hospital healthier after recovering because instead of lying in someone else’s contagious disease while battling their own, they have a sanitary place to be given proper care.

As the systematic approach to treatment was being changed so was the approach that the church had on their belief in healing the soul. In Christus Medicus it was said that “God, however, made your body, God made your soul. He knows how to restore what He has made” (114 Henderson). The hospital churches were the most accessible parts of the hospital complex. This was so any passer-by could attend the church and anyone watching over the sick would be calmed by the presence of religious prayer and gathering in the vicinity of the suffering.

As for the medicines that patients were to receive there were Apothecaries and Pharmacies that developed the syrups, pills and potions. Similar to the system of care that was implemented and used today during the renaissance is when the doctor/physician relationship was established. The doctors began to write prescriptions then the pharmacist would create the proper medicine and carefully ensure the patients received the right treatment. S. Maria Nuova’s Ricettario is the recipes for all of the medicine formulas and was so helpful not only because there were thousands of recipes but also because the content was so informative; while evolving “over time as part of an on-going process to record and standardize the more successful and commonly used recipes” (297 Henderson). Unlike the Medieval times using the same potion over and over again even if it did not work the Ricettario combined the symptoms; everywhere from the head to the feet, and the medicines that treated each symptom the best. The recipes for the Plagues’ were for internal use in the forms of pills, cordial or powders. Still used from the medieval times and the Plague theriac was the best remedy for the plague even though it only covered up the symptoms. The next best drug was mithraditum, which appears in a few recipes against the plague. The second most common admittance to the hospital was for fevers. This cure was an Indian jalap plant, white ginger, mastic and white sugar (308 Henderson) ground up to a fine powder and served in the chicken soup given to the patient in the morning. The second was a beverage call ‘fine oil of mandrake’ and it was considered to have semi-magical properties. Other ingredients could include; pig fat, red wine, turpentine, oils, gum, and flour. If I were to go into all the treatments in the Ricettario it would take forever but the most important part of advancement is to correct the mistakes in the recipes and only log the methods that work. Today many of our complex medicines and hospital procedures originated in the renaissance period and we could not be where we are today without them.

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