Final answer:
The assertion that medieval hospitals turned away the terminally ill or those with infectious diseases is false. Hospitals and clergy of the time did make efforts to care for the afflicted, including establishing quarantines and plague hospitals, even without modern medical knowledge.
Step-by-step explanation:
Direct Answer: False. In the medieval period, hospitals did not turn away those who were terminally ill or carried infectious diseases.
Explanation: The statement that people who were terminally ill or had infectious diseases were turned away from hospitals in the medieval period is not entirely accurate. While it is true that medical understanding and resources were limited during the time, medieval society had different ways of handling illness. Monastic and plague hospitals were established to quarantine individuals and potentially slow the spread of disease.
Medieval medical practitioners lacked a germ theory of contagion and thus could not explain or fully remedy diseases like the Black Death, but there was some understanding of the benefits of isolation and containment. For instance, during the Black Death, some cities did close markets and require infected individuals to be removed to plague hospitals. Additionally, the clergy often cared for the sick despite great risks to themselves, and there were varied responses in attempt to treat those afflicted, such as quarantine and the use of aromatics to purify the air.
It's important to consider that in instances of plague, the response was not uniform across all regions or social structures. In some areas, there were indeed efforts to quarantine and treat those with infectious diseases. While the medical practices of the time were not effective by modern standards, they represent early attempts at managing public health crises.