Mosquitoes, Medicine, and Marshes: Malaria in the Late Medieval Low Countries: A study of the relationship between human society and the natural environment, viewed through the lens of malaria in the late medieval Low Countries

Situated at the intersection of environmental history, landscape epidemiology, One Health approaches, and the study of medical knowledge in the late medieval Low Countries, this thesis focusses on the mosquito-born disease malaria in the late medieval Low Countries. It investigates how malaria was understood and perceived through an analysis of five Middle Dutch medical compendia, offering insights into the historically contingent relationship between human societies and their natural environments. The first chapter examines malaria’s presence in the Low Countries, combining archaeological research and comparative European studies. It challenges the prevailing historiographical assumption that communities lacked awareness of malaria, showing instead that medical practitioners – such as surgeons – and laypeople possessed a thorough understanding of the disease’s presence and prevalence. The second chapter explores how people understood malaria’s causes and sought to treat it,...Show moreSituated at the intersection of environmental history, landscape epidemiology, One Health approaches, and the study of medical knowledge in the late medieval Low Countries, this thesis focusses on the mosquito-born disease malaria in the late medieval Low Countries. It investigates how malaria was understood and perceived through an analysis of five Middle Dutch medical compendia, offering insights into the historically contingent relationship between human societies and their natural environments. The first chapter examines malaria’s presence in the Low Countries, combining archaeological research and comparative European studies. It challenges the prevailing historiographical assumption that communities lacked awareness of malaria, showing instead that medical practitioners – such as surgeons – and laypeople possessed a thorough understanding of the disease’s presence and prevalence. The second chapter explores how people understood malaria’s causes and sought to treat it, shedding light on contemporary perceptions of the relationship between human health and environmental conditions. Surgeons linked the presence of malaria to the environment – specifically wetlands – whilst simultaneously turning to their natural surroundings for treatment, particularly through herbal medicine. Although rooted in classical medical theory, these practices also incorporated vernacular botanical names, innovative uses of known herbal remedies, and the application of new botanical ingredients – reflecting the influence of local, experience-based knowledge systems. The final chapter uses malaria as a lens to investigate the possible health impacts of late medieval land reclamation projects. The spatial distribution of the medical compendia align with patterns of environmental transformation, suggesting a correlation between drainage and malaria’s prevalence. Simultaneously, the ecological changes brought about may have limited access to botanical remedies, thereby limiting surgeons’ ability to manage malaria. By recovering the overlooked history of malaria in the late medieval Low Countries, this thesis positions malaria as a valuable case study for the history of medical knowledge, the perception of human-environment interactions, and the possible health consequences of human-driven ecological change.Show less

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Mosquitoes, Medicine, and Marshes: Malaria in the Late Medieval Low Countries: A study of the relationship between human society and the natural environment, viewed through the lens of malaria in the late medieval Low Countries