Medicine & society in later medieval England1995

"This comprehensive and pioneering study explains in a social context, and with extensive illustrations from contemporary sources, the development and practice of medieval medicine. It begins by examining the prevalence of death and disease in late medieval England, and the limitations of medical theory in dealing with such problems as epidemics, wounds, mortality in childbirth and even relatively minor ailments. Having examined current theory, the use of astrology, horoscopes and other prognosticatory techniques, the author deals in turn with the way that physicians, surgeons and apothecaries organized themselves, their financial and social position, and contemporary attitudes (often deeply unflattering) towards them. Surgeons and apothecaries were regarded as 'craftsmen' rather than 'academics', but their training was more pragmatic and rather less conservative than that of most physicians, and their rate of success could be quite impressive as a result. Unlike other parts of Europe, England had little to offer in the way of state-funded health care, so the poor were thrown back on their own resources. 'Self help' played an important part in medieval medicine; and women were expected to treat and care for their own families. Hospitals existed for the destitute, who received rudimentary treatment, administered in a highly regimented setting where the health of the soul came before that of the body. The insane fared even less well, although here, as in other respects, medieval attitudes were by no means unenlightened." "Illustrated with over sixty black-and-white illustrations, many reproduced here for the first time, and twenty-one colour plates, Medicine and Society in Later Medieval England is both an authoritative, fully referenced analysis and a highly readable survey of a fascinating aspect of medieval life."--BOOK JACKET.