Public health in monasteries

Why were monasteries important?

They provided free healthcare, preserved ancient ideas about medicine and provided an example of better general health than in towns

Why were monasteries cleaner than towns?

Water use, food, population density, infirmary, washing

How did monasteries use their water?

They separated clean and dirty water, leaving one supply for cooking and drinking and the other for drainage and washing to ensure that people didn’t drink dirty water

How were monasteries more hygienic in food use?

How did the population of density of monasteries ensure that they were more healthy?

There were far fewer monks than townsfolk living in the same area, which ensured that there was less polluted air, and monks had more money so they were living generally on a larger amount of land than people living in towns, enabling good sanitation facilities to be built

What was the purpose of an infirmary?

Sick monks were cared for in infirmaries, which typically had a kitchen to serve good meals including meat, and latrines were placed in a separate building to ensure that hygiene would be encouraged

How did washing help monasteries?

Monks typically washed more frequently than people living in towns as cleanliness was a sign of piety and celibacy

What was the benefit of being educated?

Many medical books, which monks read and copied out, encouraged simple lifestyles and routines for life, involving meditation in diet, sleep and exercise to balance the humours

How were public health improvements caused?

A water channel called the Great Conduit was built in the 13th century to clean the Thames water. The government ordered no waste (human or animal) to be thrown into the streets, with public health measurs being introduced to enable a clean water supply with waste, sewage and pollution restrictions

What challenges were faced to public health?

Overcrowding and fires (due to the houses being built so close together) - this enabled disease to spread rapidly and was caused by rapid urbanisation without enough houses being built to expand the city fast enough

There was also not sewage system and many towns didn’t have access to clean water as many were contaminated by waste since it was constantly being thrown into the streets or rivers

Officials struggled to enforce new laws and many didn’t have enough money or knowledge to fix the issues in public health. Most towns failed because they didn’t introduce any regulations on sewage