Jan. 2012
5a – What were the key problems of public health in the period after
the Romans left in the fifth century until c1350?
After the Romans left Britain in the fifth century there were many problems of public
health which included access to clean water, problems in dealing with sewage, poor
hygiene in the growing towns and cities and the lack of organisation and funding,
usually as a result of invasions and war.
In the aftermath of the Romans leaving, most areas that had been a part of the
Roman Empire fell into chaos with rival leaders trying to gain land and power. This
often resulted in wars between different countries and invasions. The governments
then spent time consolidating their new positions, establishing their authority and
collecting taxes and revenues to replace money lost through the fighting or to
provide funds for further military campaigns. These new governments were not
concerned about public health and as a result, the systems built by the Romans,
such as public baths, aqueducts, cisterns, fountains and toilets and sewers fell into
disrepair as there was little or no money for maintenance and no expertise with the
knowledge to repair them. Besides, these new governments had little or no interest
in public health, spending more time on fighting. They were often disorganised and
under-funded. Ordinary people left the main areas of population and went to live in
the countryside where the problems of public health were not as pronounced, and
they didn’t return to these areas until later in the medieval period.
As a result, towns and cities had to use rivers for water, but this was often polluted
as the river was also the place where rubbish (including human and animal
excrement) was deposited in the hope that it would flow away from the streets.
Butchers would slaughter animals in the street and the remains would be left there,
along with the blood and guts to wash away. Water could also be obtained from
wells or from water carriers in the streets, but there were no guarantees that the
water was clean. Therefore, most people at this time had no access to fresh water
and sewage would build up in the streets, leading to health problems (this would be
relevant later when the Black Death arrived as the rubbish attracted rats, which
carried the disease). Most people drank ale to avoid the dirty water. As time
passed, more people moved into the towns and cities and so the problems got
worse, with less fresh water available to drink and more human rubbish polluting the
rivers. Some people living out in the countryside did fare better, as the water in the
rivers was much cleaner and drinkable, as there were less people to pollute it.
Monasteries and convents usually had access to a fresh water supply and to
disposal of waste and sewage due to the remote locations of most of these facilities.
There was also poor hygiene at this time. This was not deliberate but as a result of
the different lifestyles between the Roman and Medieval periods. The wealthier
people in Roman times had more leisure time, mainly as a result of being able to
afford slaves to do most of the jobs needed either on the land, in the home or in the
business. This allowed time to visit the baths where they would socialise as well as
get clean. Slaves were employed in the laundries, so clothes were also cleaned.
However, medieval society did not have a slave system (except some peasants
were not free), so most people did not have the same amount of leisure time to
spend at the baths to keep clean. Most baths fell into disrepair and weren’t used
again and in towns and cities the river water was too dirty to use. As more people
moved back to the towns and cities as the chaos subsided, these areas became
more overcrowded and the problems of dirty water and sewage got worse, aiding
the problems caused by the Black Death in 1350.