Setting the Scene

In medieval Europe, the Church was the most powerful institution. It controlled education, ran hospitals, and decided what could be taught in universities. When it came to medicine, this had mixed effects. Monks preserved ancient medical texts, including Galen's writings, through the Dark Ages. Church hospitals cared for the sick (even if they couldn't cure them). But the Church also banned dissection, rejected ideas that contradicted Galen, and taught that disease was often God's punishment. Progress was slow when questioning established ideas could be called heresy.