Doctors

Doctors already existed in ancient times. At that time, however, he was still associated with the pharmacist. So it kind of went hand in hand. It was not until 1283, through a decree from Friedrich Babarossa, that the doctor separated from the pharmacist.

I deliberately speak of both genders here. Since both professions were not limited to one gender. There were and are women in medical professions, not just as nurses or assistants, but as doctors, professors, bathers, pharmacists and midwives.

If you look at the medieval world as a whole, you will find gender differences and also the church opinion that women are actually just a part of men. But socially it all looked completely different. Doctors were then the ones who made the diagnoses and operated on in 1283.

They wrote prescriptions for the pharmacies and the pharmacist manufactured the medication. Today’s healthcare system is based on a procedure that was already known in the Middle Ages.

To become a doctor, you either had to study or learn the craft. A doctor was not necessarily a qualified doctor.

Study? In the Middle Ages? That wasn’t possible. A statement that I was happy to refute. The first universities were founded quite early. The first German-speaking university was founded in Prague in 1349.

The active exchange between the Orient and the Occident was crucial for the development of medicine in the Middle Ages. And one school was really decisive for medicine in the Middle Ages. Salerno. From there, the history of medicine developed significantly in the Middle Ages.

What did a doctor do?

The question can be answered in many ways. Research, diagnosis and nursing are definitely a part of it.

What did a doctor’s office look like?

Unfortunately, there is no way to fully answer this question, as none have been preserved. What can be answered is that there was definitely a small writing room. And that there were certain tools and equipment such as the urine sight glass. It’s important to look where you’re looking. There are different equipment options in different areas and there were also traveling doctors.

The wise old woman – myth?

There were certainly people who knew about medicine and could also make certain diagnoses and who could also produce the medicine. But wise old woman? I can’t find that in the sources. At least not in the Middle Ages and in German-speaking countries. The only sources here can be found during the time of the witch hunts. And this only started in the early modern period.