Enlightened medicine found in Dark Ages

People living in Europe during early Medieval times (400—1200 A.D.) actually had a progressive view of illness because disease was so common and out in the open, according to the research presented at a recent historical conference.

Instead of being isolated or shunned, the sick were integrated into society and taken care of by the community, the evidence suggests.

"The Dark Ages weren't so dark," said University of Nottingham historian Christina Lee, co-organizer of the second conference on Disease, Disability and Medicine in Early Medieval Europe. "The question we should be asking is whether illness was actually seen as a problem. What was classified as a disability? What was an impairment? The answer can't be generalized."

The views presented challenge traditional views of Dark Age attitudes being unenlightened and guided by the unscientific doctrines of the church.

Religion and other spiritual practices may have guided the way for Medieval populations in their quest to keep themselves and each other healthy, but people didn't always put blind faith in God.

"There are some Medieval texts out there that try to convince you that health was connected to spiritual goodness," Lee said, but "there was always a certain amount of propaganda by the Church."

Some of the most forward-thinking science in the Dark Ages was actually going on in monasteries, where monks trying to understand all of God's works—including the mysteries of the body—toiled with healing methods.