In the medieval period, medical science hadn’t yet reached it’s peak of development. In the 1300’s, very few people had a full understanding of illness and disease, let alone how to cure them. Medicine was also dominated by religion at this time which lead to the belief that illnesses and diseases served as a punishment from God, and the only treatment was to pray to God for forgiveness (Alchin 1).The churches of Greece held and enforced these views on the public and anyone who questioned these beliefs would be considered evil and perhaps even possessed by Satan himself. Unfortunately, this belief system wasn’t doing much to cure those who came down sick and while the more traditional methods of healing were considered witchcraft, this prevented
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Medieval astrologers believed that the movement of stars had an effect on numerous things ranging from the weather and growth of crops, to the personalities of newborn babies and the inner workings of the human body (Moore 1). Physicians often carried special almanacs, or star charts with them so that they could check the position of the stars before making a diagnosis. Almanacs included illustrations, which helped in explaining complicated information to patients who were being diagnosed based on the chart. For example, the illustration of the Zodiac Man helped to explain how each individual’s star sign ruled over each part of the body. The pointing finger of the zodiac man served as a warning against these powerful forces (Bovey 1). By the end of the 1500’s, physicians were then required by law to start checking the position of the moon before carrying out any complicated medical procedures such as surgery or bleeding (Moore 1). Since each zodiac ruled over a specific part of the body, it was important that a physician made sure that the moon was not in the same sign as the one that ruled over the part of the body that was about to undergo surgery. Avoiding this would mean the difference between pain, bleeding, swelling and recovery of the
Medieval astrologers believed that the movement of stars had an effect on numerous things ranging from the weather and growth of crops, to the personalities of newborn babies and the inner workings of the human body (Moore 1). Physicians often carried special almanacs, or star charts with them so that they could check the position of the stars before making a diagnosis. Almanacs included illustrations, which helped in explaining complicated information to patients who were being diagnosed based on the chart. For example, the illustration of the Zodiac Man helped to explain how each individual’s star sign ruled over each part of the body. The pointing finger of the zodiac man served as a warning against these powerful forces (Bovey 1). By the end of the 1500’s, physicians were then required by law to start checking the position of the moon before carrying out any complicated medical procedures such as surgery or bleeding (Moore 1). Since each zodiac ruled over a specific part of the body, it was important that a physician made sure that the moon was not in the same sign as the one that ruled over the part of the body that was about to undergo surgery. Avoiding this would mean the difference between pain, bleeding, swelling and recovery of the