7 Most GRUESOME Medieval Diseases & Their Cures (or Lack of)...

Life in the Middle Ages, between the fifth and the fifteenth centuries, was hard. Long before the discovery of penicillin, the people accepted that death was going to be with them sooner rather than later. Infections spread quickly and there were no inoculations, no cures and no defences against the misery it could inflict on the people of medieval England. Disease became man’s greatest enemy because it was almost impossible to avoid. Let’s take a look at some of the worst diseases to catch during the middle ages….
0:00 Introduction
2:23 St Anthony’s Fire
4:58 Leprosy
8:28 The Pox’s both Great and Small
12:48 The Black Death
16:40 The Sweating Sickness
18:42 Water Elf Disease
20:07 The King’s Evil
🎶🎶 Music by CO.AG: kzbin.info/door/cav...
Narrated & Edited by: James Wade
Thank you for watching.
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Copyright © 2021 Top5s All rights reserved. In this video, we've compiled information from a variety of sources, including documentaries, books, and websites, all with the aim of providing an engaging viewing experience. While we strive to ensure accuracy, we acknowledge that there may be variations in the authenticity of the content. We encourage viewers to delve deeper and conduct their own research to corroborate the information presented.

[@argosz3928]

Fleming only discovered penicillin in 1928 and it wasn't widely available until 1945. That is only 77 years ago. That is not even a blink of an eye in human existence. Same goes for the knowledge of bacteria and the implications for human mitigation of disease through cleanliness, sterilization, and public sanitation. We truly ought to be grateful we are living in these times.

[@BiggestHaterEVER]

I mean, we still go through bad diseases. In fact, we have new ones, some that are currently untreatable and the black plague STILL exists.

[@NewRSM1994]

Well the Romans knew the Value of a good bath

[@beez1717]

It's amazing how it has only been 77 years since we discovered antibacterials and antivirals. I know people who were born before these were a thing. It blows my mind to think that's actually true. We are so lucky we have ways to stop deadly diseases in their tracks and turned what used to be deadly into most likely an annoyance to us.

[@argosz3928]

@@beez1717 yes! To think as a child (and an avid reader) I hankered after the days when women wore "romantic" long dresses. Until I found out that they wore no knickers or ones with no seam, and urinated standing over the drain in the middle if the street. At the same time, urine from chamber pots was also thrown out the window or door into that drain. (as you probably know "night soil" carts collected solids). I was shocked to learn penicillin wasn't able to be manufactured in quantity for the masses until 1945.

[@RAAM855]

And yet we think we solved everything by now and know best. The Intelligentsia of the west has grown really arrogant lately.

[@SW-kr9fl]

The Black Death must have been absolutely terrifying beyond belief. We can’t imagine the horror of it today. Absolutely no understanding or any protection whatsoever and almost certain death. It was a true apocalypse.

[@Sheilawisz]

Oh, we are still terrified of the Plague today. Sometimes, there is a plague incident somewhere and people are detained and quarantined. They did that to an entire plane in a plague scare recently, people were freaking out.

[@rebeccabilbrey3524]

It's still around today. Just have treatments for it, but that has to be started early on. The last outbreak in the US was in San Francisco in 1900.

[@cleocatra9324]

Yes its hard to imagine. Cancer is still pretty scary even tho we do have treatments they aren’t guaranteed and the side effects are awful

[@kathleenking47]

It seems every 100 years

[@AZ8983]

I think we can have some understanding of the black death plague. I mean covid19is like a worldwide plague. It came pretty close to the plague situation with uncontrolled contagiousness, a high death rate & people panicking everywhere. We have all those medical advancements yet this covid pandemic is still going on... pretty scary

[@xopi2521]

Nostradamus was a physician who advocated doctors washing their hands between patients, fresh air and sun and bathing more than once a year. He was far ahead of his time.

[@interdimensionaltourist2016]

Washing hand???? What kind of blasphemy is this you speak?!?!

[@noahcarver6072]

He got some stuff right, but I've heard his recipe for toothpaste included small pieces of glass, as an aid in polishing teeth and gum disorders...among other not-such-good ideas that I can't think of at the moment.

[@sandrafrasier9136]

@@noahcarver6072 II..........................

[@noahcarver6072]

@@sandrafrasier9136 When I was younger, one of my best friends called me Nostradamus, or Nostra for short. His name is Eric but people call him Squaby. Don't ask me why.

[@johndododoe1411]

@@noahcarver6072 Abrasive materials in toothpaste used to be common in brands that advertised the resulting whiteness of teeth.

[@charliedickens7244]

Never understood how we went so backwards after the Romans... Sewege systems / bath houses etc

[@khanofkhans6546]

You can blame the Catholic church for the backwards steps after the romans. When medicine is a sin, and everything else is basically a sin and everyone lived in fear of commiting sins, forward thought and talking outside the status quo wasn't going to be risked. The church was very vindictive with their punishments.

[@als3022]

Or the collapse of a multi-ethnic empire with the violence and chaos that it created economically just forces things into this area. We see plenty of issues with collapses of empires without religious issues. There were no Catholics during the Bronze Dark Ages, yet that saw a loss of science and other events.

[@littlegirlshowSynch]

@@khanofkhans6546 I think it had more to do with feudalism than the catholic church The negative effect catholics had on the middle ages is a bit exaggerated in general tbh The catholic church didn't consider medicine a sin you're just pulling that out of your ass, this video gives an example of a priest blessing it for fucks sake.

[@BastiatC]

The answer is that they didn't. This is sensationalist nonsense.

[@HarsanRonyo]

Economic collapse takes away the specialists necessary to build and pass on the knowledge of how to build these things. You lose your spare laborers who can pull the ropes and haul the goods. You lose the tradesmen, the people who raise and train the horses, build the wagons, and cleave the blocks of stone. And while the noble classes would have been relatively immune from this - able to just round up a bunch of peasant farmers for labor, and able to buy the services of the remaining tradesmen - the ability to build these facilities in quantity would have just dropped off. Knowledge passed master to apprentice would end its chain, the knowledge lost to history. Now, if I'm the Catholic Church in that era during and after that collapse, and I'm trying to keep the people in line for the various rulers, and it's all unraveling in front of me. As an organization, "f*** it, it's God's Will." Seems to be a pretty good direction to go. Get the nobles to buy into it, demonstrate it, and eventually everybody forgets why they're bathing in sewage rather than in a bathhouse. That's my theory, at least.

[@Ethan-ee8rv]

The idea that leprosy sufferers will go directly to heaven when they pass is actually surprisingly nice for this dark time period. Those afflicted probably felt a bit better being told that.

[@pioneermapping9378]

Go figure, living in bad times does not strip people of their compassion and heart. And being born in good times also does not strip people of their will to do evil either.

[@HOLY_SPIRIT_GOD]

What's sad is that people today still use religion as a way to "pass" peacefully. Maybe they know it's a lie and accept it because it's just easier for everyone around them to accept... or they ACTUALLY believe it and just died without knowing the truth.

[@kitwillihnganz5972]

I know this comment is old, but if you're still interested in medieval leprosy, check out Carole Rawcliffe's "Leprosy in Medieval England." The treatment of people with leprosy was very humane; they were basically given free room and board for the rest of their lives in return for taking religious vows and living as pseudo monks and nuns (although they also begged). The middle ages weren't as dark as we've been told.

[@NeoAstrisk]

​@Im_the_way oh yes, because you are the one with the truth. Oh, our truly enlightened one.

[@HOLY_SPIRIT_GOD]

@@NeoAstrisk if you are going to be a jerk about it, stay dumb.

[@carlycrays2831]

The singing or chanting over a potion while it brews or mixes makes a ton of sense. It was essentially a way to keep time while the ingredients mixed with each other.

[@ferociousgumby]

Double, double, toil and trouble.

[@martinphilip8998]

I used to ponder why queens always engaged a wet nurse for their infants. I thought it was kind of spoiled of them. But yesterday I learned why. If they stop lactation they will be able to conceive again sooner. Just part of the job. My mother had 9 of us and we all remember that the babies drank some mixture of condensed milk and water. So how did we even live without formula? I like your theory about chanting. My sister and I had all sorts of rituals when waiting for a bus or riding in a car. I guess it helped pass the time and amuse ourselves.

[@daffodil1017]

That's fascinating about Queens! Makes total sense. Wet nurses were used by lots of people who could afford them though- breastfeeding is actually extremely difficult for lots of women, even though we take it for granted as natural. That's why formula is a thing today. If you were unsuccessful in breastfeeding your baby would starve. Just like the 28 day menstrual cycle is an average, like a country's average wage, there huge variation between many aspects of women's reproductive systems. Some women produce an abnormally large quantity of milk, others none. Science +history + medicine are so fascinating!

[@stanlygirl5951]

@@martinphilip8998 You didn't have an egg timer, you'd say five Pater Nosters while you boiled your eggs. You'd been saying them your whole life, so you knew the correct pace, and that would be your egg timer.

[@martinphilip8998]

@Donnell Okafor It makes sense for people with a sense of rhythm and tempo. I never sing happy birthday 3 times while brushing but that’s my bad.

[@user-dx2xg8kx3n]

My grandmother told me her elderly professor in medical school had gleefully told his students he had interacted with lepers in his youth and can still be infectious because leprosy's incubation period can last up to 50 years.

[@XRemARx]

What an icon

[@user-ug2hk3go6i]

Search Brother Daimon. And fun fact. armadillos can carry leprosy.

[@bibsbotched7238]

@@user-ug2hk3go6iIsn’t around 97% of armadillo’s that carry it?

[@user-ug2hk3go6i]

@@bibsbotched7238I had not considered what the infection rate is among armadillos, it would be an interesting fact to search. One would also want to know if there is interspecies infection. Look outt Texas!

[@ashleymckenna2808]

​@@user-ug2hk3go6i you have to eat the liver raw or rare to contract leprosy from a armadillo. Simply touching it will not suffice.

[@FierceFatty]

And to think all of our ancestors survived all of these horrors long enough to procreate….how many people had to survive for me to be alive today. Wild to think about.

[@kimberlypatton205]

Isn’t it though? To think of all the wars, disease and hardship situations they lived through…it is mind blowing.

[@awkwardautistic]

They didn't have to live very long.. just long enough to procreate.

[@EEsmalls]

Indeed, all of our births were against some of the biggest odds known to humans.

[@balancedgaming2103]

@@awkwardautistic He says towards the end of the video "most children saw their parents die between ages 30 and 40" idk about you but that's a pretty decent amount of time, not "just long enough to procreate"

[@awkwardautistic]

@@balancedgaming2103 I just said they didn't have to live that long...

[@MrTNT49]

Sometimes cauterisation was used as a treatment for mental disease. That single sentence gave me shivers

[@jolovesminnis]

Do you mean castrations or sterilizations, s they could not procreate?

[@jolovesminnis]

The program literally says cauterization was used in mental illness.about 11:50

[@hensonlaura]

Doubtlessly a consistent percentage of people, who have no other goal than their own good feelings, wouldn't mind acting crazy or stupid if it got them out of constant drudgery & hard work. I imagine that was the basis for any success this treatment had.

[@Ned-nw6ge]

Interestingly, I learned in college that the thought of medieval cities being filthy, unsanitary places is being disputed by medieval historians. They claim that it's an outdated idea that stigmatized this time period, and that medieval cities in especially the late middle ages were clean in a lot of cases. The reasons why they wouldn't be filth-ridden at all would be because the citizens wanted to put their city on the map, and be proud of it for good reasons to attract travelers (pilgrims) and merchants. That is why they valued pretty architecture but also cleanliness in the streets. In some cities you could get a fine for just throwing your garbage out on the street; you had to bring it to a junkyard instead. The other reason why medieval cities wouldn't be as filthy as many think they were was because late medieval Europeans thought that disease was caused by foul odors and smells. Basically they thought that the cleaner the city is, the less everything stinks and thus the less people will get sick. Though depending on the country, region et cetera both ideas could've coexisted in my opinion, especially since the old idea of the fluid imbalance causing illness kept being commonly accepted until the seventeenth century.

[@Armistead_MacSkye]

They were filthy; London in particular was a diseased open garbage pit. The people were superstitious and dirty.

[@byereality7492]

From what I know, the whole idea of the "dark ages" is a Victorian invention. They wanted to believe that we only progressed forward, so everything before them and especially before the Renaissance was backwards, ugly, horrendous, etc

[@christmasw330]

Finally... somebody that knows what they are taking about

[@Misskokoromomoiro250]

Sounds to me like some woke mindset to not be mean to dead people from the medieval times lol

[@aaffreux9182]

@@Misskokoromomoiro250 They have you trained like dog lol

[@julianaadams5751]

During the mid 16th century, Italian physicians started putting moldy bread into infected wounds, and lo and behold! It worked. They thought it was the correlation between the nastiness and green color of the pus and the mold on the bread.

[@mikankitsune0440]

Turns out, it was just good old penicillin 😂 Scientifc history is so weird, isn't it?

[@LadyCoyKoi]

They called it the Dark Ages due to the lack of documentation and artifacts of the time. We know more about the lives of Ancient Egyptians that took place over 3000 to 5000 years ago, than we do about the daily lives of Medieval people that were 1000 to 2000 years ago. Don't get me started how high school history textbooks are severely outdated by the time they are published. I recalled having one book in 1990s that ended right on the year before JFK assassination, though to be fair ESE (aka Special Ed) was always lacking resources. 💀

[@SocietyKilledTheUnicorn]

Is special Ed for tards?

[@derpyvillager2606]

Medieval times also extends past to 14-16th century both had some types of knight and we know quite a bit search up the project Castle Gueldeon in France

[@ronkledonkanusmoncher564]

Fun fact out history books currently state 9/11 happened a few months ago lol

[@NintendoTransformer]

Although the herb treatment and king’s touch absolutely didn’t actually work, at least it’s likely that they caused a placebo effect that relieved some of the pain

[@claudialindhout8077]

I have to make a correction: the Black Death did not mutate. Bubonic and pneumonic plague are different types of the disease caused by the route of infection. People bitten by infected fleas will mostly develop bubonic plague which then sometimes spreads to the lungs (seceondary pneumonic plague.) Then other people can be infected when they inhale aerosoles directly into their lungs (primary pneumonic plague) so over time during an epidemic more people will have this form of the plague but then again, not because it mutated.

[@gailcrowe727]

The world was even a more horrible place than it is now!🥴😩

[@Diolla_]

Thank you! I wrote a thesis about the Plague a long time ago and was already wondering if I got it wrong. But now I remember.

[@archemax2724]

Let’s not forget the septicemic plague, for when it decides to ransack your bloodstream. It’s amazing how good Yersinia Pestis is at killing people. We can only hope beyond hope it doesn’t get a successfully antibiotic resistant strain.

[@jessikapiche6097]

@@archemax2724 don't give them ideas...

[@reallyryan_]

Nobody asked

[@sloppyjoe400]

Another video that proves its a blessing to be alive in the 20th/21st century

[@meemurthelemur4811]

Leprosy was known as the living death because of the public and religious laws that were applied to the people who got it. They dictated who they were allowed to live with, distinctive clothing they were required to wear, where in cities and towns they were allowed to be and when, who they were allowed to touch, or even speak to, even how they were to behave when encountering people in the streets. A public declaration would be made upon diagnosis essentially stripping them of all humanity and dignity. They were ostracized from society. They could not hold jobs, touch people who didn't live in their own houses, speak publicly, or be out during certain times of the day. They were essentially treated as the walking dead. They lived in colonies or leprosariums for their own protection, and because they were really the only places they could go to feel human.

[@lesleylesley5821]

It's not surprising though. The people had no choice on how to avoid getting it.

[@peoplethesedaysberetarded]

So… COVID? Except it was actually deadly to normal people.

[@jimmyc7322]

@@peoplethesedaysberetarded and it was only infected people who were put into a lockdown not the entire population :)

[@wwiiinplastic4712]

Leprosy is one of my favorite albums by the metal band, Death.

[@kitwillihnganz5972]

Respectfully, this isn't accurate. Check out Dr. Carole Rawcliffe's excellent book, "Leprosy in Medieval England." I believe she has a lecture on KZbin, also. Her research in this area is impeccable. That whole "public declaration and funeral" story is made up out of thin air.

[@zer0n9ne]

The history of leprosy is so sad. I have worked with these people in a leprosarium and when you ask some of them if they'd love to go back home, they'd say it's better to be inside because nothing is waiting for them outside. I had one patient who lives with his son, he said he wanted to be inside the leprosarium instead because of the discrimination he gets outside. P.S. i'd like to add that the bacteria (mycobacterium leprae) mainly attacks the nerves resulting to impaired sensation, what you see (ie. Shortening of fingers, nose, etc.)is the complication due to it.

[@lise7538]

You know what, I was miserable because I am on my eleventh day of COVID and I was tired of being sick. I feel better now...

[@texastea5686]

Hope you're doing better now!

[@midnightmosesuk]

Obviously those combinations of 13 herbs and spices had no effect on the disease but, after the patient died, they tasted great when used in preparing a crispy coating for fried chicken. " 'Tis most beneficent for when licking thine fingers!"

[@MimiJoys]

🤣🤣🤣🤣👍🖐🏼

[@hannahfinlay4941]

Sicko 🤣🤣

[@brettpacker2779]

Genius

[@Spingerex]

Lmfao 💀

[@gloriawinbush1590]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@chrisadlc1]

As a student of history I’m loving this new channel, History Time, Kings and Generals, Flash Point History, Voices of the Past, Epic History TV, the People Profiles, Timeline Docs etc all have great content about the battles and Kings and Queens of the Medieval era but this channel has a different eery vibe that almost puts you there in that time especially with all the great pictures and narration.. can never learn enough about this era, thank you for your hard work

[@richkellett2418]

If you haven’t, You should check out the end of civilisation podcast on YT, it’s great.

[@paigeycakey5061]

Try out Lindsey holiday.

[@bellacapulet1933]

Dr Kat! Her channel is Reading The Past

[@gildedpeahen876]

Check out creganford, epimetheus and world of antiquity too! And historia civilis! He’s my favorite source on Roman history and military history in general. He uses these little blocks, yet is so detailed in his research and telling that I’ve cried watching little colored blocks move around a map! Little details most would leave out.

[@CJ-nz8it]

Thanks I've been looking fir more history channels at 39yrs old I'm pretty ashamed at how little I actually know about other countries and cultures history. I'll definitely check these channels out always looking for new info sources.

[@selectionn]

diseases aside from the black death or plague are really overlooked in this time period I feel. People dont even realize how incredibly terrible life was for everyone, rich or poor, back then. even if you do get treatment you still die because of the insane treatments like bloodletting and the whole insane 4 humors system.

[@lesleylesley5821]

A broken or rotten tooth could take your life, no cure for pain, headaches, the flu, appendicitis, a lot of disease was just from filth and bacteria.

[@asha4736]

Trepanning for cluster headaches or recurring migraines and mental illness always haunts me. The risk of infection must have been off the charts

[@santaclaus723]

Blood letting is still a thing today btw.

[@0612Crystal]

Really starting this channel off on a morbid note, and I am here for it!

[@deltadesign5697]

Yeah man, it's dark eh! But what a quality new channel!

[@herbiethekat3637]

I just found it very happy I did!!!

[@dorismahoney1440]

Yes but since it's a fantasy. An everlasting tablet that couldn't be lost. Wealth, health. Mainly understanding the culture. But hey, it's a fantasy. LOL

[@catcalhoun9567]

It occurs to me that the icky filth on the floor under the rushes isn't so different from what falls through indoor carpeting. Anyone who has ever pulled up old carpet probably knows what I'm saying.

[@hannahfinlay4941]

Cat I'm a house cleaner...I started to clean this guys house, and he had mushrooms growing in his bathroom rugs🤢 I walked off the job

[@EvgeniyaJZ]

Yeah for that reason, I tore off all of the carpeting as soon as moved in.

[@1ACL]

I thought the same thing!

[@texastea5686]

@@hannahfinlay4941 🤢

[@jordanalandry1866]

We don't shit and piss on our carpeting tho (at least we ought not, and most of us can say that confidently), our carpets do not harbor rodents like mice or rats, or insects etc. We bathe, we wear footwear and remove it before entering our homes and walking on carpeting, we vaccum, we use different methods of carpet cleaning, we use air filters that filter particulate and odors and allergens from our homes, we have windows that seal out dust and other particulate matter. It's not really comparable.

[@humongousfungusamongus3871]

The thing about bubonic plague...if you got infected with the black death & survived...you were immune too bubonic plague. The immunes were the ones whom usually buried the dead bodies & they would also help the plague doctors with their doctoring.

[@Darknimbus3]

Correction: Although ergot is a fungus, it is not a mold. Its “fruiting bodies” are much larger than a mold’s, which is somewhat microscopic.

[@terry2295]

Thanks for the info

[@aSandwich.13]

Easy mistake though, you can't be a Mycologist unless you're a fun guy.

[@glorygloryholeallelujah]

@@aSandwich.13 you. I like you. More dad jokes, please! 🤣👍

[@HandFP-_-]

True and Ergot is the main chemical structure that Albert Hoffman used to first synthesize LSD so these people must have had a damn crazy trip

[@naomisherred166]

@@glorygloryholeallelujah I'm not sure there's mush room for more jokes 😁🤪😁

[@buckodonnghaile4309]

As a Water Elf Disease survivor I would like to thank you for helping others to understand my struggle.

[@Syoubat]

I had never heard of it until I watched this video. I'm glad you're doing OK now.

[@andrewkellar6511]

Man... This was amazing! And I know how that sounds. I felt horrible and at times, almost sick to my stomach to hear about these times. I cant even begin to imagine what the people seen and went through on a daily basis... Amazing work Top5's!

[@misscyanic2484]

I didn't realize this was a top 5 endeavor, I thought it was just being endorsed. Thx for clearing that up for me : )

[@TinekeWilliams]

You don’t know that there is a better way! Ignorance is bliss!

[@texastea5686]

Incredible that the human race continues to survive

[@stevefromsaskatoon830]

@@TinekeWilliams down syndrome is euphoria

[@martinphilip8998]

There was a king in the Middle Ages who pulled his subjects teeth. Afterwards he rewarded them with a shilling. He was probably pretty good, as he gained plenty of experience. I cannot remember the monarch’s name but it was an interesting story to share with an endodontist. I can’t believe that he hadn’t learned that at dental college.

[@gidge9846]

King James IV of Scotland

[@glorygloryholeallelujah]

I mean…. Was he just doing it for fun? Or were they rotten teeth and he was an OG dentist? 🤣

[@martinphilip8998]

@@glorygloryholeallelujah In stamp collecting OG means original gum. Works here. An abscessed tooth can kill you. especially then. I knew a kindergarten teacher who pulled many a tooth. My dentist just retired as he’s getting too long in the tooth.

[@ariesleorising9421]

@@martinphilip8998 long in the tooth! I see what you did there!😉😜😂

[@hensonlaura]

@@martinphilip8998 my grandfather's brother was known to be an extreme stoic, partly because he would pull his own teeth, as necessary.

[@ninamason9001]

The description of who was mostly affected by the sweating sickness makes me wonder if there wasn't some genetic component. The noble families were all intermarried. Something carried on the X chromosome would either not affect women or would affect them less severely. That would explain why less-connected populations weren't getting it, and why lower classes--who theoretically wouldn't have carried the faulty gene--were also apparently immune. All it would take is some virus or bacterium that's otherwise harmless, meeting a gene that happened to go wrong in exactly the right way, to cause disaster.

[@hez5160]

Interesting theory!

[@awetistic5295]

I personally think it was Influenza. Compare the high risk group and the symptoms to Spanish Influenza, it's very similar.

[@hez5160]

@@awetistic5295 But influenza was a recognizable disease back then. They knew it. It was common and deadly. When they describe the sweat they describe it as different from the flu.

[@sirvilhelmofyonderland]

My appendix burst Feb 16, 2021. It nearly killed me. But with modern medicine I survived. If this had happened 200 years ago. I’d be dead and my kids would be fatherless.

[@ryanmelendez930]

Ergot is the same fungus used to create LSD!

[@lilheinz9496]

Wow that’s terrifying lol

[@pamavery9352]

I like the narrator!! Way better than a robot voice! Thank you!

[@niallwildwoode7373]

Two points missed on the ergot poisoning... 1. the hallucinations are caused by it's containing a form of LSD, so it was very trippy 2. Ergot also caused spontaneous abortions, and an ergot extraction (or synthesised version) is nowadays used to induce childbirth in difficult cases.

[@jaroffermentedsemen4901]

Its LSA

[@roberth.5938]

Most people believe that the streets were filled with excrements ("open sewers"). But that's not really the truth. Medieval people were frightened of bad smell, believing it to be the source of infection and the black death. In fact they did everything to avoid bad odors . They did definitely NOT just throw their waste on the streets. So for a certain degree there was a concept of hygiene. This is a big misconception being discussed by historians all the time

[@0casey963]

They absolutely did.

[@LB-ou8wt]

And ironically the sources that people use as proof are usually complaints or court cases against those who broke the laws by emptying chamber pots out windows. It was not normal. But there have been shitty people in all times

[@fumanpoo4725]

No. They were poopy.

[@MrDhandley]

It’s a miracle that anyone survived!

[@balancedgaming2103]

Let alone 30-40 years :O

[@michaelplanchunas3693]

It wasn't until the middle of the 20th century that parents could raise their children with the expectation, they all would reach adulthood. Until that time, families knew they would lose at least one child. It was a rare family which had all the children survive.

[@carolramsey6287]

Worse than that. The infant mortality rate (death before age 5) in Cornwall as late as 1937 was over 50%. By 1987 it was 5%. It's probably now about 0.5%. Women had pregnancies every year until menopause or death in child birth often in their twenties. Men often died in their thirties and death through septicaemia from rotten teeth was common.

[@jeepliving1]

Add to that the fact that agrarian families tended to want numerous children to help with farming plus giving birth was so much more dangerous than it is today.

[@hollybyrd6186]

My grandmother lost two children from disease in the thirties. It was very common at the time.

[@susanpage8315]

My Aunt Marguerite died in 1928 from leukemia. She was only 4.

[@samlosco8441]

It really makes you understand how the human population grew so rapidly during the 20th century (and even the 21st, though the growth is slowing). My grandmother had 8 children born between the 1960s and 1980s, and all of them were healthy and lived into adulthood. It's strange (and quite terrifying) to think that, had my grandmother been around 100 years earlier, 4 or 5 of those kids, my uncles, aunts, or mother, could have very easily passed away during childhood.

[@ScottCooperDeeDooper]

People in 2020: omg this is the end of times Diseases from 1000 years ago: 👁 👄 👁

[@jaystreet46]

I wonder if more people were susceptible to leprosy back then? Because only about 5% can get it nowadays. Let’s take a moment to thank the people that rid us of smallpox because there aren’t many worse diseases that I can think of. Even if you survived you’ll still be horribly scarred and possibly blind.

[@cleocatra9324]

I think bad nutrition can make you susceptible also they prob called many skin conditions “ leorosy” like psoriasis excema etc. if it looked sus they didnt take chances so many “ lepers” might not have been.

[@ninamason9001]

It's likely. This is going to sound extremely cold, but...it would have eventually cleansed the gene pool of those most susceptible to it. Someone who got it in childhood, or before being able to have children, would then never have kids of their own. Whatever genes made you less susceptible would have ended up winning that race.

[@cleocatra9324]

@@ninamason9001 true. Nature is ruthless its not that youre cold

[@cleocatra9324]

@Donnell Okafor yeah but poor nutrition is even a bigger factor. You dont see a lot of homeless get leprosy… maybe impetigo.

[@jordanalandry1866]

Leprosy is caused by mycobacterium infection; and it's spread person to person thru cough sputum or nasal mucosa (coughing or sneezing being the primary modes that would happen). Ora also spread between animals to humans (armadillos being one vector). It's most commonly spread in high poverty and poor understanding of epidemiology and disease containment measures

[@stuartward1755]

The more I learn about the Medieval period, the more I marvel at how anyone managed to survive at all (or why anyone would even WANT to survive) Even Medieval art and music (especially religious choir) reflects on just how miserable they really were and how dependant they were on the Church.

[@texastea5686]

Agree

[@hensonlaura]

Probably less dependent than people under 40 are on their entertainment devices now; there were laws enacted to enforce church attendance. You don't want to have to struggle to live? That is the POINT of life! Seems like (imho) at least 2 generations of privileged first worlders don't even realize they're a product of survival driven biology. Diluted of course by a few generations of social safety nets. They don't even know they're privileged! (I don't mean you in particular but am speaking generally). Popularly, religion is largely rejected, unless ego-driven fantasy, such as Wiccan - but for everyone in that group, huge significance is given to their reactionary feelings, with only the feeblest self-serving logic & philosophy. That's what idleness (lack of striving for survival) has done for huge swathes of humanity. Created a shallow thinking, self gratifying, biologically impractical entity (unable to support itself in the natural world). Talk about weakening the Gene pool! A biologicle beat-down is SO imminent for humankind. Probably via a 'bug' engineered by ourselves 🥺

[@heinoustentacles5719]

I think the Stone Ages were probably worse.

[@devin6201]

Survival of the fittest. The violence, intolerance to physical and mental handicaps, and culminating in the deadliest epidemic the world has ever seen. Only the strongest survived back then, I’m thankful for my ancestors.

[@loverlei79]

It is amazing that so much death happened before humans thought "Hey. Maybe we should bathe."

[@texastea5686]

😅😅

[@coolkitty2075]

I think diet was the biggest problem

[@LB-ou8wt]

Medieval people bathed weekly. In rivers and streams or bathhouses. Not bathing was more of a 16th/17th century thing.

[@mjanny6330]

The "no bathing" is a myth, created by people watching Hollywood movies and thinking they're real life.

[@smileyface5869]

What a wonderful selection of images to accompany the informative narration. Recently came across this channel and really enjoying it.

[@texastea5686]

Yes, I agree! First timer here

[@stringerchick3650]

Dude when I heard "hands and feet fall off: I lost my shit

[@greendragon4058]

With all the illnesses and death in war we're all here by the slimmest of chance

[@50PullUps]

Thanks for sharing how life really was! Today people have an overly positive impression of life before the Industrial Revolution.

[@Saranda4787]

That's because those times have been romanticised in movies and tv shows. I used to be one of those people until I realised I was only impressed with and attracted to the fashion, not the time period itself.

[@hensonlaura]

Full of pain & struggle yet their lives were far more meaningful to them, better rationalized (I mean made good sense to them; they felt they understood their place & purpose) & connected to nature. So many unhappy people today live in a sanitary environment where one can pass the time in solitary amusement, until death comes. Our suicide rates in North America are shocking.

[@lesleylesley5821]

The good old days. People are not being taught real history. There wasn't even anti biotics until after WW11. This is all recent.

[@magnarcreed3801]

Men do. Any woman with a shred of self respect doesn’t.

[@doriannewton8440]

That period fascinates me. Cock Rot is still a dread even today.

[@hicknopunk]

Wait, no need to use heat after you remove a tooth. Just pre-prepare rolls of gauze you can use to apply pressure and stop the bleeding eventually. I use needle nose pliers to mostly pull it, then use my fingers to remove it the rest of the tooth. I'm literally not joking. If you wait till the tooth dies, removal is a 1/5 the pain.

[@lolo_bird]

Out of interest, why not go to a dentist to save the tooth?

[@willowherb6248]

I feel like if none of us can afford the dentist, how far forward have we really come?

[@rebeccagomez9955]

@@willowherb6248 Facts

[@melodyvalentine8779]

@@lolo_bird money probably. My friend needed two teeth removed recently but couldn't afford it because she works and so has to pay about £90 per tooth. It's insane. She's only got a factory job, far from rich. This is in the UK aswell. As crazy as it is, I'm almost lucky that I've got mental health problems so I'm not working and don't have to pay.

[@stefaniekasal8620]

Imagine saying you feel lucky to have mental problems...I wish everybody had access to mental and physical healthcare. It's horrible to not get help because you can't afford it

[@zacharythompson9791]

The Syphilis part nearly made me puke. 🤢

[@alegnalowe3679]

My favorite part.

[@vicvega3614]

Made me hungry😊

[@rovert881]

I am glad I live in more enlightened times in regards to medicine and disease

[@mjrchapin]

In spite of all our technology there are still many horrible diseases we can't treat. And in terms of welcoming death, you can emphasize that because people in the middle ages around Anselm's time, chose suicide to escape earthly temptations and sins. The Church then had to make suicide the worst possible sin.

[@ariadneschild8460]

We just passed the Dying with Dignity Act here in my country for people with terminal illnesses where treatment only postpones death. My state was the last to pass the act in May this year, I'm glad religion didn't stop these people having a choice in their deaths.

[@Jonsered0317]

An interesting aspect of many of the diseases described in this video is how they were incredibly powerful in positive selection of specific genes, especially the bubonic plaque.

[@SeasonedRookie]

Could you please elaborate

[@NocasCC18]

Awesome content, really enjoyed the narration and the visuals of this episode! Can't wait for more quality content on this channel.

[@donnadees1971]

Forward in history was a doctor Ignacio Semmelweis who advocated doctors should wash their hands AFTER examining a corpse before examining a pregnant mother. He actually stopped childbed fever at least in his hospital that he built. He worked at around the same time that lister Egan advocating cleanliness -- in food and care of individuals.

[@OriasRofocale]

Wasn't he also driven out of medicine for going against the medical orthodoxy that not washing hands was fine, corpse juices are great for the birth process. Food for thought.

[@awetistic5295]

​@@OriasRofocale He was basically seen as a traitor for blaming doctors for infant death. It was at a time when the germ theory wasn't widely accepted, so hygiene was considered a waste of time. Semmelweis died under very suspicious circumstances after being sent to psychiatric hospital, it might have been a plot to murder him. It all sounds horrifying until you realize that there are still people who deny the existence of pathogens. Well, I guess it sounds even more horrifying then.

[@sandrag3854]

Amazing what our ancestors went through over the centuries. Thanks to those who survived, here we are.

[@Flamsterette]

Thanks for the upload! I enjoyed the video.

[@edwardp7725]

Hope this channel blows up, great production value, great topics, and you have a good voice for narration.

[@Psilomuscimol]

You said blow up

[@TheWhiteGyrfalcon]

PS surprised you didn't mention typhoid or TB, the latter been around since Ancient times and both common diseases

[@emy2523]

Imagine traveling back in time..we would be able to save plenty of lives with our current knowledge and medicines. I feel so bad for these people that lost their lives back then, and the people that survived having the pain of their loved ones passing away.

[@attacktitan09]

you would be burned alive as a witch with dark magic (science).

[@deathmetal11111]

@@attacktitan09 ...and there'd be about 10 trillion people by now.

[@andreasixxm]

Anyone else here grateful when the narrator speaks slowly and clearly? Even though I'm a fast reader, I prefer my KZbin content to be spoken slowly and clearly. It's annoying when a content creator rushes through their material. It's not even enjoyable at that point. Love the work you're doing here! Keep it up.

[@LeeDee5]

It's a bit too slow for me, I don't want rushed content but this can get annoying to listen to. I assume English isn't your first language?

[@andreasixxm]

@@LeeDee5 English is really my only language. I speak ab little bit of Spanish but I'm only fluent in English. I guess I like my videos slow because I use them to fall asleep to.

[@AS-qg1xu]

I agree with you Andrea!

[@ariadneschild8460]

idk about talk slow but use some inflection, take a breath, don't shove a barrage of knowledge at me in a monotone and expect me to catch it all at once.

[@texastea5686]

@@LeeDee5 you can go to the settings and speed it up to 1.25

[@lurchmusicofficial9929]

Thankyou so much for your videos. Absolute feast of knowledge in such an atmospheric way!

[@SanskritBlue]

Fantastic! Well done. I enjoyed that very much.

[@MrHjld]

You needed to talk a bout Hyronemous Bouch when talking about St. Agnes' fire.

[@edgybarbie77]

I usually get annoyed with background music. But the music used with this video is perfect & fitting. And enjoyable 💯❤

[@texastea5686]

So so calm....

[@kee6467]

Love this channel 😄 as someone who used to watch ‘Horrible histories’ as a child, this is the closest to it as an almost 30 y/o 😂🫣

[@rebeccacruse9163]

these are so relaxing and you have a very soothing voice, nice to hear after the end of a hard day ar work.

[@napalmholocaust9093]

Sweating sickness sounds a little like Kuru; cjd, scrappy, bse, or 😠 🐄. Especially since it only hit a specific part of a population in a specific area and followed them but they didn't spread it. Perhaps there was a hunting tradition of consuming raw organs only the nobility would partake in? Eating heavily infected tissue provides a rapid onset from years to a month or so. Nobody might have taken note of early symptoms. This was the time of flies born from meat. It was primitive. Maybe they were all together a few years prior at a crowning or a tournament?

[@argosz3928]

good medical detective skills - it's a fascinating occupation isn't it, as well as reminding us to be grateful that we are living today!

[@user-md3wm7vu1f]

interesting, or maybe another possibility is it could have been some vigilante with a grudge against the upper classes who found a way to get revenge?

[@murrayshekelberg9754]

There was a fascinating book, I can't recall the name off the top of my head as its been 25 years since I read it, that sought to demonstrate that sweating sickness specifically and a few other outbreaks were a cases of poisoning of the water supply for financial and political gain. In the case of sweating sickness it does fit with the fact it was not just concentrated on a single race but also mainly on a social class as well.

[@revenevan11]

I love the way you spelled Mad-Cow disease 😆 😠🐄

[@mariawhite7337]

Alrighty, symptoms are basically like a fever. It starts with a sense of doom and those chills you get with a bad one. The ones that make you feel cold even though you are out in 100f weather. THEN it makes you hot and makes your lungs start to feel like they are constricted before you either die or recover. It can be a repeated infection, so you are not immune to it after you get it. So it actually sounds more like a flu or a cold. However theories are that it is a type of Hantavirus. It's said to last basically a day where you live or die. So its sudden and hits men more than women. It could be too that it kills men because men have more body heat then women so that could explain why men died of it far more often then women. However Hantavirus takes a lot longer to simmer in the body. Which is why I point towards maybe a cold or fever. It still doesn't discount HPS (Hantavirus) but it seems like every case we have about it is really mainly rodent to human transmission. There are hardly any human to human transmissions and since this did strike wealthy men I can't say it is entirely HPS. As all we know about all those infections while matching the symptoms don't match the RATE of illness. HPS makes you get pneumonia while the sweating sickness takes about one day to get over and done with or thereabouts. And it would make a lot more sense to be a type of cold or flu for how it basically vanished completely and utterly. The thing mutated out and just didn't kill people that much anymore. So yeah. I think it was a flu. Maybe a really bad cold virus. Since then as it mutates the people who already have a weaker immune system from it are hit again by it. Because of the mutations. Like I am really leaning towards something like SARS and well The Covid. Because it makes so much more sense than a HPS type infection.

[@Kevan808]

Thank God for modern meds!

[@themasqueradefiles]

Another great narrated video Jam!!!

[@aquariusmercury]

Very educational. Thanks for posting.

[@gotterdammerung5527]

19:30 This is so incredibly smart. They made Vicks VapoRub 😭

[@gilliangallagher1918]

Soap was sometimes used & hair was washed using an alkaline solution such as the one obtained from mixing lime & salt. As most people ate meals without knives, forks or spoons, it was also a common convention to wash hands before and after eating.

[@derpyvillager2606]

Also any close river or lake can substitute for a bathing place

[@lhea57]

Awesome and interesting. Thank you!

[@BlueSkyCountry]

English Sweating Disease may have been some SARS type viral illness. COVID, SARS, and MERS sufferers report profuse sweating also along with the respiratory stuff.

[@pamavery9352]

Yes SARS has been around in different strains for years and will continue to be a natural form of selection for survival of the fittest!!!! Virus 🦠 replicate and strain changes, Covid, Monkey Pox and others to continue on!!

[@Reticence9zen924]

I can vouch for that when I had the virus for the first time - anthrax also causes severe sweating so that could be another cause.

[@johndododoe1411]

Any fever inducing problem has that symptom. Whatever it was, it obviously stopped spreading long before the victims dropped dead, which is very different from the SARS family of diseases.

[@BlueSkyCountry]

@@johndododoe1411 Coronaviruses mutate very fast and they are successful viruses, meaning they turn quickly into benign infections that rarely present any serious illness, ensuring that the virus becomes endemic. "Sweating Illness" may have started out as a MERS type disease, and then quickly became yet another variant of the seasonal flu after traveling through the population. Compare the original strain of COVID-19 with the current Omicron BA-4 and BA-5. The latter produces virtually no symptoms in 99.8% of the infected and those who do get symptoms get a head cold lasting around 3-4 days.

[@awetistic5295]

Compare it to Spanish Influenza, the resemblance is quite striking. Even the unusually foul smelling sweat was reported. An aggressive strain of coronavirus might be similar.

[@misscyanic2484]

What's the name of/ who's the artist of the painting @ 20:17, the man sitting next to the bed of the deceased woman (wife?) That's a powerful work! I've never seen it before.

[@pyromaniac709]

I need to know too

[@Rippenhengst]

"La miseria" by Christóbal Royas (1886)

[@AussieBenita]

@@Rippenhengst Thank you, cheers 😊

[@beez1717]

I can't understand how scared people must have been of the bubonic plague. Imagine not knowing when the plague would reach your city and then your doorstep. Imagine the fear of going out each day wondering if you're going to bring back the plague to your family. Imagine seeing your neighbors get sick and be terrified that you're next. I would have been so scared. I would have probably turned to prayer at that time because I wouldn't be able to see what else I could do. These days when we have a pandemic it takes a year for us to come up with dozens of vaccines, and we have ways to cover our faces and have some degree of control over if we get sick. We know about bacteria and viruses and how they are able to spread so we have a far larger advantage over our ancestors. If we get sick, we know how to experiment and find real ways to treat the disease so people have a far less chance of dying. Remember folks, get the prick so you don't get sick.

[@cajefontenot6223]

0

[@moosehead1183]

I don't get the prick so I won't get sick!!

[@RaizPodre]

Maybe was horrific but considering how hard common was the "random" death, maybe they don't are so affected like us.

[@dianapeek2036]

IF it was a real vaccine I would get it for Covid but it isn’t. Seems like people who have the shots are the ones getting it again and giving it to others!

[@rnempson1]

Your kidding right ? Haha the prick

[@expiredoats9953]

im ngl in the least weird possible this video feels like an informative guided meditation, you have a very relaxing voice that makes me feel at peace as i listen about the horrors of medieval diseases

[@scrotusmaximus3043]

And yet despite it all we survived, the human body is pretty amazing.

[@texastea5686]

When I think of the trauma on mother and baby during childbirth, it's incredible how hearty we are

[@liyahl0v3]

there’s also those people in france who danced until they died

[@tracyschneider6765]

This channel is different and a great channel. Thank u!

[@justinjreabcm1381]

Great video buddy good info I love learning about past !

[@LeeDee5]

Whenever I read a wiki page or a documentary of one of these people from the middle ages that lived past 60 i'm like "were you a god?"

[@johndododoe1411]

The often repeated claim that they mostly died at 30 to 40 may be a misreading of statistics. If half the dead people are under 15 and half over 60, the arithmetic average will be 30 to 40 and those not knowing better will imagine a bell curve around that average, not the bathtub curve of early and late deaths.

[@godking]

Depending on where you lived and what social class you where living past 60 was not unusual in the middle ages

[@LB-ou8wt]

Average lifespan being 30 doesnt mean mot people die at 30. 60-70 was a pretty normal age to live to if you survived childhood.

[@Andrew_Haase]

Absolutely fantastic access to a stunning archive of historical artwork

[@margaritabudker5708]

Very informative and very good information about the interesting middle ages.

[@sarahmelissa4253]

Just came across this channel! Can't wait to see more videos!

[@CarmelitasNannyGoat]

Great video - very interesting

[@antoniobroccoliporto4774]

There is also a theory that Syphilis existed in the Middle Ages & was actually mistaken for leprosy so it may have existed in Europe and even the Ancient Greek &:Roman world.

[@jeanetteoglesby6428]

Absolutely love the music and narration. Made it more interesting and not speed reading ❤❤

[@pete3050]

All your videos are very interesting, a lot of research must have gone into making them

[@astrid703]

There is speculation that the sweating sickness was caused by a variant of the hantavirus, a disease spread through the dried droppings of mice. The symptoms match.

[@madisonatteberry9720]

Speaking of penicillin, I've heard some people say that if they could go back in time, they would bring a computer, like.....why? A portable one wouldn't last long as the battery would die, provided, you weren't killed as having some 'magical tablet' would probably get your ass killed for some kind of 'sorcery' or something along those lines. If I was told that I was going to be dropped off into some random time period, within Human history, and allowed only three things, it would be; One; The vast knowlage, that would also include the languages and understanding of the different cultures of the era I was dropped off in. Two; Vast wealth, as lets face it, that would be the only sure way to survive any time within civilization. Three; A book that would contain all advanced technology, possible within that era and others. Penicillin and vaccinations would be some of those things that could have existed at anyone time before the 20th, and even 17th, century. Another would be a counter balance system of weights for something close to our modern 'automation' like vending machines, that Hero of Alexandra invented for the temples, only up'ed, and I would increase my wealth and live.....actually and basically 'as' not 'like' a King. Either way, good video.

[@ariadneschild8460]

I agree a computer with no access to electricity is a poor choice, I'd make sure I was up to date on my vaccinations then I'd take a pretty extensive first aid kit. I wouldn't want to tamper with the space time continuum too much by taking books.

[@madisonatteberry9720]

@@ariadneschild8460 The books can be easily hidden though, that's another use of that vase wealth.

[@coolkitty2075]

3 is the same as 1

[@elisebrodeur-jacobs5215]

I can't believe I went for so long without finding this channel. It's just what I needed

[@jessikapiche6097]

This was very dark, but actually also very interresting. I had wish for a time line and a more realistic map but it was very well narrated and overall illustrated with great flair. Good job!

[@wf8zj]

I love this content Keep up!

[@wastedwarrior1045]

#1 DISEASE TODAY: SOCIAL MEDIA 🤫🤭

[@guitarlover302]

Thanks for that ! Cheered me up no end 😂

[@shirley9209]

Your voice is very soothing you kept my attention from beginning to end.

[@Array8]

I am so lucky to be born in this age. I was just sick. Cured by some pills. No prayer or blood letting. Thank God though haha

[@seanhines8369]

Fun fact: LSD, or ‘acid’, is synthesized from ergot, that mold that develops on grain, which also causes hallucinogenic effects

[@aleksdreeve8878]

“Mongolians catapulted plagued corpses over the wall to the Italians” I’m not even mad that’s amazing. Those mad lads

[@ausomeaspie]

Absolutely Fascinating!

[@CosmicWaltz7]

The sweating sickness sounds like eastern equine encephalitis. Pretty damn sure I caught it in Florida, as there was an outbreak report days later. I went from perfectly fine to a little sick to 107F fever and profuse sweating in about 4 hours. Lost consciousness, but I apparently made an audio recording of myself speaking glossolalia while taking an ice bath. Came back into my head in the bathtub, confused as hell. Unfortunately, I've quite been the same since. I still sweat so much that I get hangovers from it when I try to work. Almost feels like brain damage, but the doctors don't take me seriously. Anyway, that's the first thing that came to mind for me.

[@PoweredByLS2]

Are you still experiencing symptoms?

[@CosmicWaltz7]

@@PoweredByLS2 It's gotten better over the last year. I still sweat from almost no effort and from temperature over 75F, but I haven't had a seizure in a while now. And apparently a skin condition I'd been dealing with since then is related to brain damage, but I've found a decent hygiene regimen that helps minimize the blistering on my face and ears. It's been 4 years now, and I'd say I'm almost able to work again from it, at least in a cold environment, and assuming the employer doesn't mind that occasionally my face is scabbed like a junkie's. And since then, I've taken fever and illness quite seriously. I make sure I have a few frozen towels around and a thermometer handy.