a common saying among Society today. We do not stop to think of how it reflects

our outlook of Medicine in our lives. We have come to understand the value of

simple practices in order to keep ourselves healthy. This is not, however, the

case of Medieval England. Most 'medical practices' of the time were based upon

superstition, ancient texts, myth, or the direction of the church. Medical

practices of Medieval England often based upon nothing more than superstition

proved unbeneficial if not harmful to the people of England.

Part of the obvious problem was the fact that the common person had

little care or sense for improving their own health. The life and livelihood of

an average person was less than desirable even from the time of birth.

In the villages chronic inbreeding must have produced many children who

started life with a built in weakness, either mental or physical. Many would

die in childhood, but others who grew into manhood, might drag out a useless

existance, dependent on charity for their sustenance. In general, infant

mortality was extremely heavy....Once the child was free to crawl about

the entrails of animals and dead insects. " (Tokeieff 122).

now brings us to another point, the fact of the severe and unsophisticated

the earliest hospitals, which were intended not for the cure of the sick but as

Lepers, cripples, and the blind were not uncommon in Medieval England.

The problem is furthered by the fact that these 'practices' proved of

Furthermore, the collective knowledge (what little there was) was held and

that the medieval superstition reigned supreme. The ingredients heated in the

To sum it up, "For England, as far as the twelfth century was concerned,

enough to survive the primitive and unanaesthetised severance of the limb would

Some common words found in the essay are:
Monks Monasteries, Medieval England, Hospitals Provision, England Cripples, medieval england, tokeieff 120, people england, carried title, based superstition,
Approximate Word count = 819
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)