4. Medicine in the Household

About this Lecture

Lecture

In this module, we take a closer look at how medicine functioned in the household. Care in the home was based on the habits of life - diet, physical fitness and hygiene. The importance of the household on medicine during this period led to the development of two medical practitioners - the midwife and the barber surgeon.

Course

In this course, Professor Miri Rubin (Queen Mary University) examines the medicine of medieval Europe. We start by looking at what medical knowledge was available during the middle ages. We then look at where this knowledge came from and who had access to it. We then turn to look at how the household was a centre for medical practice in the Middle Ages. Finally we examine how medicine professionalised during the Middle Ages.

Lecturer

Miri Rubin is a professor of medieval and early modern history at Queen Mary University. Her research focuses on the exploration of themes in the religious culture of Europe.