Miracle cures for "trying to be healthier" or treating illnesses are not unique to our time. A team of researchers from the University of St Andrews (Scotland), in collaboration with institutions in Europe and the United States, has identified hundreds of manuscripts with medical texts dating back to the first millennium, that is, the High Middle Ages .
Many of these sources had gone unnoticed because they were copied in the margins of treatises on theology, grammar, or natural science, or even as loose fragments on seemingly blank pages.
Below, we present some of these curious recipes from Medieval medicine.
Lizard shampoo
One of the most striking findings is probably the recipe for a supposed "lizard shampoo" , made with parts of the reptile mixed with oils and herbs.
According to the texts, it served to strengthen hair or eliminate it completely , depending on the proportion of ingredients.
Although it may sound unusual, this type of formula reflects an interest in cosmetics and personal care, even in an era dominated by religion and superstition.
Potions to balance the humors
Medieval texts show the enormous influence of the theory of the four humors : blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile.
Health was believed to depend on the balance between them, and doctors prepared infusions, ointments, or specific diets to correct excesses.
For example, chicken broths with spices were recommended for melancholics (dominated by black bile) or wine mixed with honey and warming herbs for phlegmatics.
These practices, in some ways, anticipated modern preventive medicine.
Healing ointments and plasters
In medieval monasteries and pharmacies, ointments were made from honey, wax, resins and plants such as rosemary, sage or chamomile.
They were used to heal wounds, relieve burns, or treat rheumatism .
Animal fats were also used to improve the texture or preserve the remedies.
Some texts mention the "dried toad ointment", applied to reduce swelling or neutralize supposed poisonous bites, although its effectiveness was more symbolic than real.
“Spheres of death” and medical astrology
The manuscripts also mention diagrams known as "spheres of death ," circles that were intended to predict the development of diseases according to the position of the stars, the phases of the moon, or the zodiac signs .
They were used to choose the most opportune moment to perform bloodletting, apply cupping, or prepare medicine.
Medical astrology was part of the knowledge accepted by physicians of the time.
The power of gold, urine, and amulets
Some remedies bordered on the magical.
It was believed that drinking water in which pure gold had been submerged strengthened the heart and drove away sadness.
In addition, many carried amulets or religious relics as protection against the plague or "bad air".
It was also common to analyze the patient's urine to diagnose diseases: its color, smell or consistency supposedly revealed the state of the body and soul.
The boundary between science and belief
Despite how outlandish they may seem today, these remedies were the result of observation, oral tradition, and the blending of Greco-Roman, Arab, and Christian cultures.
Medieval physicians sought not only to cure, but to understand the body within the divine order of the world .
Thanks to these recovered manuscripts, historians are reconstructing a forgotten part of ancient knowledge, where medicine and magic went hand in hand to try to keep men and women alive during the Medieval period.
Although the variety of products in our Medieval Shop isn't particularly exotic, you're sure to find something you like. Don't forget to visit!
