At the time, humans in medieval europe did not understand medicine the way it is understood now. Bloodletting was thought to be effective in "purifying" the body from harmful energies. In other words, medicine was very much informed by christianity and the belief in God, and the need to purify the "soul" from "demonic" energy. The Church held a particularily high power in academia at the time and bloodletting was likely considered as much a ritual as it was a medical treatment. Revolutions in thought and development in sciences helped to understand the harmful effects of bloodletting and the consequences on the human body. I am not at ease to elaborate further with my limited knowledge of medieval history.

In other parts of the world, like the Byzantine Empire, medicine and other sciences were understood in vastly different ways. Though, I am unable to expand more because of my very limited knowledge on the subject.
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