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posted on the door of the church. The notice was put up to ensure that there were no grounds for prohibiting the marriage.

There were several reasons for prohibiting a marriage. One reason was consanguinity, meaning the couple was too closely related. If the boy or the girl had taken a monastic or religious vow, the marriage was than also prohibited. Other reasons that prohibited marriage, but were not grounds for a divorce, were rape, adultery and incest. A couple could also not be married during a time of fasting, such as lent or advent, and a couple not be married by someone who had killed someone.

However, medicine became steeped in superstition and the Roman Catholic Church effectively dominated what direction the medical world took. Any views different from the established Roman Catholic Church view could veer towards heresy with the punishments that entailed

when the Roman Catholic Church stated that illnesses were punishments from God and that those who were ill were so because they were sinners, few argued otherwise.

Urine charts were also used to help physicians diagnose illnesses. Certain coloured urine indicated certain illnesses. Combined with a table of the planets, these gave physicians enough information to diagnose a disease. Once the disease had been diagnosed, a treatment was decided on.

letting blood.

Blood letting was a popular treatment for many diseases. Many diseases were thought to be caused by an excess of blood in the body and blood letting was seen as the obvious cure. When a large quantity of blood was required, the appropriate vein was cut. If only a small amount was needed, a leech would be used.

Diagnosis was also influenced by astrology

They believed that the human body and the planets were made up of the same four elements (earth, fire, air and water). For the body to operate well, all four elements had to be in harmony with no imbalances. It was believed that the Moon had the greatest influence on fluids on Earth and that it was the Moon that had the ability to affect positively or negatively the four elements in your body. Where the Moon and planets were – and a knowledge of this - was considered important when making a diagnosis and deciding on a course of treatment.

Remedies for diseases were still crude and based on herbs, potions or more drastic cures.

Sparta was ruled by a small group of retired warriors. This type of government is called an oligarchy.

The city-state of Sparta was basically a well-trained army. In other city-states, children entered military school at age 18. In Sparta, they entered at age 6. The girls were taught how to fight as well. Their school was separate from the boys' school.

Men and male children, from the age of 6, lived in the soldiers' barracks until they retired from military service. The men were often off fighting. The women were left behind to guard their homes. Perhaps because of this, women in ancient Sparta had a great deal of freedom. They ran businesses. They were free to move around and visit neighbors without asking their husbands permission.

main threats lay in early childhood, as the child's immune system was coming to terms with the threats posed by a disease-ridden environment.

Thatch roofs were common in the countryside (where 85-90% of the population lived) and they attracted insects and rodents

They carried bacteria, which they deposited either on the inhabitants or the food they would eat

There was no plumbing, so human waste was deposited outside - but not too far from - the house. Such material produced a breeding ground for the biggest killers of the period, cholera and typhoid, which were caused by unsanitary living conditions.

body lice living on infected people.

increased risk of death as a result of accidents at work.

It was noblemen who were most successful at keeping themselves clean, and they surrounded themselves with well-scrubbed servants.

But between the ages of 14 and 40 - the years of having children - a woman's life expectancy was half that of a man's.

One reason offered for this is that having babies in the middle ages was more dangerous than going to war

less sanitary, and put the mother at a high risk of fatal infection.

Food storage was also primitive, with no refrigeration except in winter, and consumers showed a tolerance of slightly rancid goods because there was a general shortage of food.

while relatives of the afflicted prayed for miracles.

The law followed in a feudal court was largely based on old Germanic customs. The court did not act in the public interest, as with us, but waited until the plaintiff requested service. Moreover, until the case had been decided, the accuser and the accused received the same treatment. Both were imprisoned; and the plaintiff who lost his case suffered the same penalty which the defendant, had he been found guilty, would have undergone.

The burden of proof lay on the accused, who had to clear himself of the charge, if he could do so.

Ordeals, however, formed a method of appealing to God, the results of which could be immediately observed. A common form of ordeal was by fire. The accused walked barefoot over live brands, or stuck his hand into a flame, or carried a piece of red-hot iron for a certain distance. In the ordeal by hot water he plunged his arm into boiling water. A man established his innocence through one of these tests, if the wound healed properly after three days. The ordeal by cold water rested on the belief that pure water would reject the criminal. Hence the accused was thrown bound into a stream: if he floated he was guilty; if he sank he was innocent and had to be rescued. Though a crude method of securing justice, ordeals were doubtless useful in many instances. The real culprit would often prefer to confess, rather than incur the anger of God by submitting to the test and ordeals.

a trial by combat.

Girls were virtually ignored when it came to education.