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The medical teachings of the Church in medieval England relied on the ideas of ancient physicians. Hippocrates (an ancient Greek physician living in Rome in the 5th century BC) and Galen (an ancient Roman physician in the 2nd century AD) were still studied carefully. This was possible because their work had been translated and made sense of by Islamic scholars such as Ibn Sina (Avicenna) after the Roman Empire had ended and the Islamic Empire had become a centre of learning.

Medieval physicians in Catholic Europe were discouraged from challenging these ideas because the ancient Greeks’ medical theories fitted in with the teachings of the Bible.

Medieval medical thinking

People in the Middle Ages also believed that illness could be explained using reason and observation.

The theory of the four humours

The theory of the four humours came from Hippocrates and was the most important non-religious theory used to explain illness. It was a rational idea. The theory stated that the body was made up of four humours:

• blood
• phlegm - a liquid released by coughing or sneezing
• black bile - a dark liquid released by vomiting
• yellow bile - a light liquid released by vomiting

Galen and the theory of opposites

Hippocrates suggested the theory of the four humours after carefully observing his patients. Galen developed Hippocrates’ ideas further.

Galen believed that the humours could be balanced using the theory of opposites. For example, if a patient had too much blood and was hot and dry, they could be treated with cucumber because it was cold and wet. The ideas of Hippocrates and Galen remained popular in medieval medicine.

Galen believed in the soul and his ideas fitted with the teachings of the Catholic Church. Because the Catholic Church controlled universities and medical teaching, Galen’s ideas remained central to learning about the body, disease and medicine in the medieval period. For example, all books used for learning were produced in the monasteries and would therefore only contain these traditionally accepted ideas.

Miasma theory

Another traditional idea was that illness and disease were caused by miasma, or poisoned air. It was believed that this poisoned air was what made people ill. Some people believed the air had been poisoned by God, because they thought God caused all illness.