Medieval medicine had advanced little since Roman times and life expectancy was low. Food was often bad and living conditions, even in castles, were squalid and unhealthy by modern standards. Accidents and diseases were widely believed to be punishments sent by God for sins. A disfiguring disease like leprosy was particularly feared. Lepers were forced to live outside towns and carry bells or wooden clappers to warn people of their presence. Only the Church, following Christ’s example in healing the sick, cared for such people. The first hospitals in England, such as St Leonard’s, York, were founded and paid for by the Church though some were also supported by wealthy donors.

Medicines were made from herbs, some of which are still used today. The first ‘surgeons’ were barber-surgeons, who ‘bled’ their patients: it was believed that this restored the balance of the ‘bodily fluids’, but often it fatally weakened the sick person. People had bad teeth drawn (without painkillers) at fairs by travelling tooth-pullers. Women in childbirth relied on older women to help.

The greatest scourge of the late medieval period was the plague, against which there was no remedy. It was carried by fleas on black rats which infested ships, but no-one understood this at the time. The ‘Black Death’ of AD 1348 killed about half the population.