Medieval medical theory was heavily indebted
to the ancient Greeks and Greco-Roman thinkers. Islamic medicine
not only used ancient sources, but Islamic thinkers had developed
a sophisticated body of medical theory of their own. European
medicine of the fourteenth century employed both ancient and Islamic
sources. For most Europeans, the most important medical writers
were in fact the Greek Hippocrates, the
Greco-Roman Galen and the Arab Avicenna.
The following documents reveal contemporary medical theory regarding
the causes of the plague and how to treat it.
The disease did not fit into contemporary medical knowledge that
believed diseases were transmitted through "bad air"
which often contained horrendous smells. To prevent the spread
of this type of transmission physicians used aroma therapy. This
course of action could include burning of incense or the inhalation
of fragrances, such as posies. However this did not stop the spread
of the plague and many physicians fled at the first sign of the
disease.
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