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Life in Medieval Europe: Good and bad medicine

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Life in Medieval Europe: Good and bad medicine

SUBJECTS:  History

YEARS:  7–8


How sophisticated was medical practice in Medieval Europe?

In this clip, learn about common forms of diagnosis and cures for ailments in the 14th century.

And brace yourself for a medieval-style amputation; it's not pretty.

This clip is one in a series of five.


Things to think about

  1. 1.When was the last time you went to see a doctor? Were you sick? How did the doctor work out what was wrong with you? Can you think of other ways that a doctor can diagnose your illness? Do you think these would have been available to doctors in medieval times?
  2. 2.What does Caradog blame his illness on? What medicines were available to doctors in medieval times? What was commonly used as an anaesthetic by 'surgeons'? What was the average life expectancy in Medieval Europe?
  3. 3.The narrator acknowledges that some of the herbalists' cures worked, but says, '… most of the potions were completely useless.' Does this surprise you? Wouldn't you think that, over hundreds of years, people would have been successful in finding medicinal cures? What reasons for this lack of success are implied in the clip?
  4. 4.Why do you think medical people were often called 'leechers'? Do leeches still have a place in medicine today? Use appropriate sources to find out about the use of leeches in medieval and modern societies.


Acknowledgements

Copyright © 2014 PUMPKIN INTERACTIVE. All Rights Reserved. http://www.pumpkin-interactive.co.uk/


Date of broadcast: 17 Jun 2015


Copyright

Metadata © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia Ltd 2012 (except where otherwise indicated). Digital content © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). Video © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). All images copyright their respective owners. Text © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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