The Ancient World

The Greeks had made important contributions to the life sciences, including writings on medicine by Hippocrates (c.460-c.377 B.C.), work on plant and animal classification by Aristotle (384-322 B.C.), and books on anatomy by Galen (c.130-c.200). In the Roman world, however, interest in science and medicine declined. With the final collapse of the Roman Empire in A.D. 476, Europe entered a long period when scientific knowledge and inquiry were largely absent. The Church assumed a rigid mantle of authority, refusing to recognize any scientific explanations for natural phenomena that did not match its own particular interpretation of Scripture, and frowned on inquiries that might prove otherwise.

Medicine

From the eighth to the eleventh centuries, the quality of medicine in Europe was so poor that many sick people sought relief from miracle healers...