6 –How different were the standards of public health in the Roman
period and in 1350? Explain your answer.
There were some huge differences in the standards of public health in the Roman
period compared to 1350 such as the provision of sewers to deal with waste, the
problems of polluted water, but there were also some similarities. These include
attempts to clean up the streets, to improve hygiene and the facilities provided by
the Church in monasteries or in the houses of the rich.
In Roman times, the standard of public health was very high. The Romans were
very keen for people to remain fit and healthy and they realised that to do this
people needed access to a clean water supply as dirty water often made people ill.
Aqueducts were built to bring fresh, clean, unpolluted water down from the hills so
that the people had fresh water to drink and to bathe in. Fountains existed in most
towns so that people had access to fresh water which had been ‘piped in’ via these
aqueducts and the lead pipes to ensure the water wasn’t polluted with waste
products. Evidence of this in Roman Britain has been found at Lincoln. This was
hugely different to Medieval times as many people then either drank water from the
rivers in the towns and cities which were polluted from the human and animal waste
deposited in them, or they drank ale to avoid getting ill from the dirty water. There
were some exceptions however, as the richer people in Medieval times often had
more access to clean, fresh water and this was also the case for the monks and
nuns in religious establishments like the monasteries. This shows that there were
some similarities in the standards of public health in both periods, but not as many
people could benefit from these in Medieval times.
In addition, in Roman times there were public toilets and sewers in almost all towns
and cities which would remove human waste, thus making these places much
cleaner and prevented the people from getting ill from the waste in the streets. This
was also a huge difference to the practices in Medieval times as the waste was
often left in the streets to be washed away or washed down to the river by the rain
(polluting the water supply still further), thus making it much easier for people to get
ill from the rubbish left lying around and it could spread more rapidly. Again, there
were a few exceptions as some richer people did have toilets, as did monasteries
and other religious houses and Leicester did have some public toilets left over from
the Roman period, (but this facility wasn’t available to the majority of the people),
showing some similarities with Roman standards of public health.
The public health facilities provided in Roman times came about because the
Roman government had the resources in place to be able to provide them, such as
funding, knowledge and expertise, as well as a work force (slave labour). It also had
the belief that the facilities were necessary to keep the people and, more especially
the Roman Army, fit and healthy. This was certainly different to the Medieval period,
as most kings were more interested in securing land and power, collecting taxes to
fight wars in France or securing a successor. The health of the people or the
conditions in the towns and cities were not that important to them, so it was often left
up to individuals to keep themselves and their families clean. However, as
conditions in towns and cities worsened, in Medieval times, there was an attempt to
clean up the streets by passing the Sanitary Act in 1347. Unfortunately, this Act was
not enforced and very few towns and cities even attempted to clean up the streets.
This is evident by the spread of the Black Death which arrived in England in 1348
and was exacerbated by the dirty conditions and led to even more legislation to
clean up the streets and remove the rubbish. This shows some difference between
the two time periods as eventually there was some attempt by central government to
do something about public health which was the norm in Roman times.
Another area where the Roman standard of public health was much greater was in
the provision of public baths. Baths were built in most towns, cities and even army
camps to encourage people to keep themselves clean. Indeed, the cost of entry
was often as little as a penny, ensuring that the baths were not just a privilege for
the rich. The Romans believed that by keeping the body clean, people would not
get ill and diseases would not spread. Laundry businesses also existed to clean
clothes to ensure people kept clean. In contrast, people in Medieval times did not
bathe often. They hardly ever washed or cleaned their clothes, often living, working
and sleeping in the same clothes and only changing to go to church on Sundays and
Holy Days. As a result, minor cuts from working in the fields etc could often become
infected because they were not cleaned. This was probably the biggest difference
between the two time periods because even the rich and the religious orders didn’t
have baths, usually just access to clean water and toilets and maybe a basin for
washing.
Overall, the standards of public health were much higher in Roman times as they
provided aqueducts, fountains, sewers, toilets and baths to keep the people clean,
fit and healthy. This shows the government as taking the lead in providing the
facilities and in educating the people into using them. In contrast, the majority of
people in Medieval times did not have access to clean, fresh water, baths, toilets etc
and they were surrounded by human waste in the streets. Thus the standard of
public health in Medieval times was much lower for the majority of the people. Only
a privileged few, some rich people or those in religious orders benefitted from the
same type of public health facilities that the Romans had enjoyed. This was because
kings and parliaments did not take the lead in providing the facilities for everyone or
in educating the people to keep themselves clean. Only when there was a crisis,
like the Black Death, did the government react and attempt to do something, but by
then it was too late.