Medieval Medicine: You Want Me To Do What?
The Old Ways: Remedies of Earth and Body A Glimpse into Medieval Healing Practices In doing research for my next book which includes some bit of Medieval medicine, I came across a marvelous website from the Univeristy of Cambridge which includes the case notes of Doctor Simon Forman and Dr. Richard Napier. Both practiced in the late 1500s-early 1600s and recorded the details of their assesments and treatments. Alongside complex astrological readings are an array of medicinal treatments that both stagger and horrify in equal measure. From the ordinary-white wine- to the macabre-the caul from the face of a first born female infant, the list includes: the hides of black sheep; boiled, cat blood, radish juice, broth made from the testicles of a boar pig, liver of a frog, leeches, bezoar stones and more. One of the most frequent ingredients is dung. Pigeon dung, mice dung, cow dung, smoked hog dung, dog dung and yes, even human dung. Ewww! My first reaction was h...
