Early Science and Medicine
You should answer four questions in total. Answer one question from
Section A and three questions from Section B. All questions carry equal
weighting.
Begin each answer on a separate sheet.
Write legibly and on only one side of the paper.
Answers must be tied up in separate bundles, marked 1, 2, 3, etc.
according to the number of the question.
Attach a completed coversheet to each bundle and complete a master
coversheet listing all questions attempted. It is essential that you write
your examination number and not your name on the coversheet and on
each bundle.
You may not start to read the questions printed on the subsequent
pages of this question paper until instructed to do so by the
invigilator.
Page 2 of 2
SECTION A
1. How did the role of Ancient authors change in the shaping of medical
and natural knowledge from the medieval to the early modern period?
2. How did first-hand experience contribute to the development of medical
and natural knowledge before 1600?
3. How was medical knowledge gendered in the medieval and early
modern periods?
SECTION B
4. ‘Astronomy is the oldest of the sciences, because of its reliance on
instruments.’ Discuss.
5. Assess the influence of astrological ideas on views of health and medical
practice in medieval Europe.
6. How did professional institutions of medicine develop in the medieval
and early modern periods?
7. In the medieval and early modern period, what were the differences
between physicians’ and patients’ definitions of health and illness?
8. What were the sites for performing experiments and observation in early
modern anatomy?

9. What kinds of primary sources have historians of medicine found most
fruitful for writing histories of the patient?
10. What influence did increased contact with America, Asia and Africa have
on early modern European medicine?
11. Account for the rise of the early modern medical marketplace.
12. What was the role of popular printed works in disseminating medical
knowledge?