Medicine
Overview:
Scroll to view medieval artifacts regarding Medicine. As you will discover, medicine was certainly different than how we think of medicine today. Rather than pills and shots being used for medical treatment, various herbs and foods were used for medicine. Although the medicine may overtly seem different, natural remedies today use some of the same herbs and foods for their medical properties, which exemplifies the advanced medieval world.
Scroll to view medieval artifacts regarding Medicine. As you will discover, medicine was certainly different than how we think of medicine today. Rather than pills and shots being used for medical treatment, various herbs and foods were used for medicine. Although the medicine may overtly seem different, natural remedies today use some of the same herbs and foods for their medical properties, which exemplifies the advanced medieval world.
"Anglo-Saxon miscellany including medical remedies and Anglo-Saxon laws"
Date: Early 11th Century Size: 291 x 192 mm Language: English, Old Origin: England Medium: Parchment Current location of artifact: The British Library Harley shelfmarks '34.A.16 / 5'5' Click here to learn more! Description: a page from "Bald's Leechbook (20 remedies)"
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This artifact is a page from an herbal recipe book, with descriptions of how to make a certain medication and its proper use. The page is copied from Bald’s Leechbook, which is one of the most commonly circulated medical texts of the time, about one hundred years after Bald’s Leechbook. Since the book was so commonly used, copied manuscripts of certain pages were extremely common, and this particular copy is in mint condition, which is unique to this artifact. The text corresponds to chapter fifty-nine in the original Leechboook and discusses medicine to prescribe to patients with unique symptoms and other medical techniques to help their symptoms improve. It is written in Old English, which would have been translated into many other languages. Originally, since the text was first composed in the late 9th century in England, this book was believed to reflect the educational reform of King Alfred the Great.
Blad's Leechbook is one of the oldest, most complete texts of Medieval Medicine and it shows that despite not having the same medical knowledge as we do today, they still used herbs and flowers in the same way medicine is prescribed today. The book also discusses surgical techniques and internal disorders, each of which correspond with medicine to treat symptoms. Some examples of early treatment include a mix of eggs and fennel for frostbite, pounding of leaves for application on sore feet, and binding a stalk of crossword to the head for a headache. Another noteworthy practice that is mentioned in the book is the use of leeches during surgery. In some cases today, leeches are used to control blood loss and were used for that exact reason by doctors in the Middle Ages. Interestingly enough, Bald’s Leechbook is the only mention of plastic surgery throughout the entire Middle Ages! For example, what is known as a Cleft Lip today was described and mentioned on how to treat surgically. This is so fascinating, considering it is still treated with a more advanced surgery still today.
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Bald’s Leechbook was that in 2015, a certain concoction of garlic, leek, onion, honey and bile from a cow’s stomach was tested in the United Kingdom as a cure for MRSA. Within the book, a description of symptoms that were eerily similar to the MRSA infection, which is a drug resistant staph making it very hard to treat. Medical professional then tested the mixture on lab rats and the medieval medicine proved to work one-hundred percent of the time. This impressive feat is taking the medical world by whirlwind and although no treatment is approved for humans yet, this thousand-year cure has made an immense impact on medicine. This particular, along with all other treatments in the book, shows how advanced their society was by finding medical solutions for disease and other illness as herbal medication is still used today in place of or to supplement medical treatment.
http://blogs.bl.uk/digitisedmanuscripts/2013/10/anglo-saxon-medicine.html
www.bl.uk/manuscripts/FullDisplay.aspx?ref=Harley_MS_55
Blad's Leechbook is one of the oldest, most complete texts of Medieval Medicine and it shows that despite not having the same medical knowledge as we do today, they still used herbs and flowers in the same way medicine is prescribed today. The book also discusses surgical techniques and internal disorders, each of which correspond with medicine to treat symptoms. Some examples of early treatment include a mix of eggs and fennel for frostbite, pounding of leaves for application on sore feet, and binding a stalk of crossword to the head for a headache. Another noteworthy practice that is mentioned in the book is the use of leeches during surgery. In some cases today, leeches are used to control blood loss and were used for that exact reason by doctors in the Middle Ages. Interestingly enough, Bald’s Leechbook is the only mention of plastic surgery throughout the entire Middle Ages! For example, what is known as a Cleft Lip today was described and mentioned on how to treat surgically. This is so fascinating, considering it is still treated with a more advanced surgery still today.
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Bald’s Leechbook was that in 2015, a certain concoction of garlic, leek, onion, honey and bile from a cow’s stomach was tested in the United Kingdom as a cure for MRSA. Within the book, a description of symptoms that were eerily similar to the MRSA infection, which is a drug resistant staph making it very hard to treat. Medical professional then tested the mixture on lab rats and the medieval medicine proved to work one-hundred percent of the time. This impressive feat is taking the medical world by whirlwind and although no treatment is approved for humans yet, this thousand-year cure has made an immense impact on medicine. This particular, along with all other treatments in the book, shows how advanced their society was by finding medical solutions for disease and other illness as herbal medication is still used today in place of or to supplement medical treatment.
http://blogs.bl.uk/digitisedmanuscripts/2013/10/anglo-saxon-medicine.html
www.bl.uk/manuscripts/FullDisplay.aspx?ref=Harley_MS_55