Greetings!
This week at our Thursday meeting Lady Rahil taught a class on Medieval First Aid. She was kind enough to share her handout with us, so with her permission we are sharing the information with you. Enjoy!
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Medieval First Aid
A Crash Course
By Rahil bint Haroun (MKA Leann Hill)
rahil.bint.haroun@gmail.com
Intro:
In the Middle Ages, just like today, most simple injuries and illnesses were
treated at home. But there was no Walgreens or CVS to get medication from,
people had to just use what they knew about and what was around them. We have
lost a lot of that lore in the modern era. However, here's a crash course in
what the Medieval person knew when it came to first aid.
Home First Aid Kit:
There were certain things, present in every home, that could easily be used for
minor wounds.
1. Vinegar, Wine, or Beer
These were used to wash out cuts, scrapes, and punctures. Sometimes there would
be herbs infused into the vinegar or wine to help with fevers, stomach issues,
or other health problems. Today, we know that alcohol and vinegar are
antiseptic, and help to stop infection from setting in.
2. Cobwebs
Once wounds were washed out, some of them might be a little worse than others.
For wounds that were still bleeding, cobwebs would be used. They're naturally
sticky, and modern science also has determined that they're antiseptic,
anti-fungal, and full of Vitamin K (helps blood to clot). This makes for a
great way to pack wounds and stop bleeding. Not to mention, they're fairly
abundant. Just make sure they're clean and spider-free.
3. Honey
Honey would have been readily available in any home because it was widely used
in cooking and mead making. What most people don't know about honey, however,
is that it's an amazing antiseptic. Today, we know that honey contains hydrogen
peroxide, which inhibits the growth of
bacteria. But that's not the only reason honey is such a potent antimicrobial,
it's high sugar content also helps to draw out the fluids present in bacteria,
effectively killing the bacteria by dehydration. Since honey is antiseptic,
sticky, and still fairly moist, it makes for a great way to pack a wound. The antimicrobial
action helps to prevent infection, the stickiness helps to keep the wound
closed, and the moisture helps to keep the wound from drying out. Honey was
also used, quite often, to improve the taste of Medieval medicines, and was
especially useful for coughs and bronchial issues as it helps to soothe the
throat.
4. Snail Slime
Snails constantly travel over rough terrain, and they have some pretty awesome
tools to help them naturally heal the abrasions caused by these travels. Snail
slime is the major tool of the snail. Modern
research shows that snail slime is antibacterial, antiviral, antiseptic,
anti-irritant, anti-inflammatory, anesthetic, and that it contains
antioxidants, collagen, and elastin. All of these properties makes snail slime
great for skin repair. People of the Medieval Ages used snail slime for minor
cuts and burns. If you can get past the “slime” part, it can still be beneficial
today.
5. Moss
Most mosses have been used, throughout history and prehistory, to soak up
blood. From battle wounds, to minor cuts and scrapes, to menstrual blood. The
most predominant moss mentioned in Medieval texts, and probably the most
absorbent moss in Medieval Europe, is Sphagnum moss. It was commonly used even
as recently as World War I. Modern research shows that not only was it
absorbent and deodorizing, but sphagnum moss is also home to several penicillin
molds which makes it antibacterial.
The Garden Apothecary:
1. Willow Bark Salix alba
Willow bark has been used since ancient times all over the world to deal with
pain and fever, especially headaches. Ancient Greeks were advised to “chew on
the bark to reduce fever and inflammation”. Willow bark actually does work to
dull pain because it contains salicylic acid/salicin, which is used today to
create aspirin. Willow bark was readily available and likely that this was the most
popular go-to painkiller for medieval people. Willow twigs could also be chewed
and used as a toothbrush and to help reduce mouth pain.
2. Peppermint Mentha peperita
Peppermint was ideal for treating cold symptoms. You can add a handful of fresh
leaves to a bowl of hot water and breathe in the vapors to clear nasal passages
and help you breathe easier. You can also add peppermint essential oil to
a chest rub to help treat congestion. Peppermint was used as a digestive aid,
drunk as a tea to calm upset stomachs. Peppermint essential oil is useful to
help reduce headaches, but Medieval people likely crushed the leaves on their
temples as opposed to diluting the essential oil and using that like we do now.
Peppermint was also used to soothe skin irritations since it has lovely
cooling qualities. Add it to bath water and soak irritated skin. In the Middle
Ages, peppermint leaves were dried and powdered and used to whiten teeth and
keep breath fresh. Mint vinegar was used as a mouthwash. In the Middle East,
medicinal cordials called sekanjibin were used to treat a variety of ailments.
Made of water, sugar, vinegar, and herbs, such as peppermint, the
cordial was diluted in hot or cold water creating a delicious drink that
also eased symptoms. Mint was also used to treat venomous wounds. Wilfred
Strabo said in the 10th century that there were as many types of mint as
the sparks that fly from Vulcan's forge-- in other words, lots!
3. Horehound Marribum vulgare
Horehound cough syrups and drinks were prescribed for chesty and head-colds and
coughs. Ancient herbalists prescribed
the herb for a variety of conditions including fevers, malaria,
snakebites, and dog bites. Horehound was once even considered an
anti-magical herb. More recently, horehound has been used medicinally for
asthma, whooping cough, bronchitis, indigestion, flatulence, and
painful menstruation.
4. Dandelion Taraxacum officinalis
Dandelion was prescribed to treat colds, boils, ulcers, dental problems,
itching, jaundice and gallstones. Thanks in part to its bitter flavor profile,
dandelion contributes to the foundation of traditional German medicine as a
tincture, tea, or extract to combat obesity and high cholesterol. By improving metabolism and through efficient blood cleansing and detoxification,
dandelion is thought to contribute to relieving gout, rheumatism, liver
and bile ailments, blood ailments, ulcers, skin, and other symptoms of
aging. Here it is recommended as a detoxifying agent in the context of a spring
cleanse or fall cure.
5. Garlic Allium sativum
Garlic's use medicinally goes back all the way to prehistory, biblical old
testament times, and Ancient Egypt. The Egyptian medical text, the Codex Ebers
(1500 BC), prescribed garlic for abnormal growths, parasites, circulatory
ailments, insect infestation and general malaise (a vague feeling of
being out of sorts or unwell physically or mentally). In all, 22 different
treatments included garlic. Garlic was considered important by the
Egyptians. Cloves of garlic were found in King Tutankhamen’s tomb, which
dates from 1500 BC. Copts (Egyptian Christians) prescribed garlic macerated in
oil for skin diseases and to new mothers after childbirth to stimulate
milk production. Garlic was used as an antibiotic and to pack in rotten
teeth cavities. Athletes and workers used garlic to increase strength.
In fact, early Olympians chowed down on the fragrant herb before they
competed. The founder of modern medicine, Hippocrates (460-370 BC),
recommended garlic for pulmonary ailments, to aid in the release of the
placenta, to treat sores, as a cleansing or purgative agent, and for abdominal
growths, especially uterine. Cooked garlic was prescribed to treat asthma.
The Greek alchemist, Theophrastus (371-287 BC), reported that garlic was
used by workers harvesting roots of the poisonous plant hellebore
to prevent the ill effects of the toxic plant. Dioscorides (40-90 AD), the
chief physician for Nero’s army, prescribed garlic because it “cleans the
arteries and open[s] up the mouths of the veins.” At the time, arteries
were thought to carry air and vein to carry blood throughout the body. In his
well respected medical text, Materia Medica, Dioscorides recommended
garlic to thin mucus and relieve coughing, to expel worms, for protection
against viper and dog bites, to stimulate menstrual flow and to heal
ulcers, leprosy and tooth aches. The Greek physician Pliny the Elder
(23-79 AD), who wrote the medical text, Historica Naturalis, recommended
garlic for 23 different ailments. Ailments treated by garlic
included toothache, hemorrhoids, consumption, animal bites (including
shrew and scorpion), bruises, ear aches, tapeworms, epilepsy, insomnia, sore
throat, poor circulation, lack of desire and neutralizing the effects of
the poisonous plants aconite and henbane. Pliny also prescribed garlic for
infections. In the Medieval age garlic was consumed with beverages to
alleviate constipation. Garlic was recommended to workers to prevent
heatstroke. The influential Medical School at Salerno classified garlic as a
“hot food” to be consumed in winter to protect against pulmonary or
breathing disorders. The Abbess of Rupertsberg, St. Hildegard von Bingen
(1098-1179 AD), who was a prominent medical writer, recommended raw garlic
for many disorders. Vikings and Phoenicians stocked their ships with garlic for
medicinal and spiritual purposes.
6. Coriander Coriandrum sativum
The round seeds (which resemble bugs!) were used for cooking and to deter
fevers; often used in breads. They may have been used to treat or prevent tummy
aches, including gas. It was the unpleasant smell of coriander that led to its
use as a medicine. The ancients believed that anything with such a strong
and unpleasant odor must surely possess powerful curative and/or preventive
attributes. The British Pharmacopoeia of medicines discusses
coriander but it is now mainly used to disguise the taste of unpleasant
medicines. Coriander water was once used to ease flatulence and ‘windy colic’.
It was also used in ointments for the relief of rheumatism and arthritis.
Coriander seeds can have a narcotic effect when consumed in quantity which
is perhaps how it became to be known as ‘dizzycorn’.
7. Sage Salvia officinalis
Sage, whose first botanical name comes from the Latin salveo, meaning “I am
well” , was used by the Romans in medicine and cooking. As with some other
herbs, ‘officinalis’ is a reminder of its monastic medicinal use — the officina
being the monastic storeroom where herbs and medicines were stored. The
leaves were used in salads and green sauces and as a spring tonic. "A man
shall live for aye who eats sage in May." A tonic that is supposed to
'clean out' the system. In the Renaissance, the English ate sage butter in
May. In the medieval period sage was described as being ‘fresh and green
to cleanse the body of venom and pestilence’. It was also chewed to whiten
teeth and used very frequently in cooking along with lots of onions and
garlic. This means that sage and onion stuffing has a medieval pedigree!
8. Cumin Cuminum cyminum
The ancient Egyptians used cumin to treat gastro-intestinal disease, to expel
intestinal parasites, and cumin was included in different medicinal recipes for
mouth rinses, suppositories, and ear instillations. Cumin seed is listed in
Biblical texts in both the Old and New Testaments. It was said in ancient
Greece that if one planted coriander, during the sowing process it must be
cursed – if the crop was to be abundant. Medieval healers recommended cumin
seeds mixed with barley then boiled in wine as a general cure-all. Medieval
people used it in cooking and to treat gas. The Roman epicurean Apicius
reported that the Egyptians of his time used cumin when they cooked marrows and
grilled fish. The Roman writer Pliny highly recommended cumin and
wrote:Yet of all the seasonings which gratify a fastidious taste, cumin is
the most agreeable.Pliny also mentioned that cumin mixed with
water commonly was used to treat stomach ache. In modern Egypt crushed
cumin added to water and medicinal teas are used to treat colic and indigestion, and may be offered to
pregnant and recently delivered women.
9. Feverfew Tanacetum parthenium
Before opium, feverfew was one of the major sources of pain relief. Used to
treat arthritis, psoriasis, and headaches. It also was used to reduce fevers. I
was also used to induce abortions, but wasn't fairly effective and could have
some super dangerous side effects.
10. Cardamom Elettaria cardamomum
The Arabs flavoured their coffee with it, and it was also used in mulled wine.
Meat and rice dishes are often flavored with cardamom. Used to ease digestion,
reduce gas and tummy aches, and as an aphrodesiac. Also chewed to freshen
the breath and to help calm hiccups.
11. Lemon Balm (Melissa) Melissa Officinalis
Light green oval leaves that smell and taste of artificial lemon. Used in foods
and drinks; considered an aid against melancholy. Fresh leaves were used to
polish furniture Beekeepers used it to charm bees into a new hive. (The
flowers do attract bees!) The herbal known as “The Grete Herball” written
by Gerad, recommended using balm as an ointment for all aches; steeped in wine
to “keep one from swooning if the cause be cold.” The “Horitus Sanitatis”
recommends placing the dried leaves of lemon balm atop the head to “…draw
out congestion and leave one light headed.” This book also states lemon
balm is helpful to clear the chest, relive difficult breathing, and “helpeth
conception more.” Lemon balm was also used for seasoning soups ans
sauces and cold wine beverages in medieval times.
12. Basil Ocimum basilicum
Used in cooking-- for 'potage' or boiled greens, in salads and green pickles.
Symbolic of both love and hate. Culpeper cautions that smelling it too much may
breed a scorpion in the head. Since the oldest written records, basil was
associated with creepy-crawly things such as snakes and
lice—but especially scorpions. In the Middle Ages, scorpions and worms
were widely believed to be conjured from basil leaves. In the 1500s,
doctors of the day warned that merely smelling basil would
breed “scorpions of the mind.” It’s strange that a plant with such a vile
reputation would also be called the “king of herbs,” but many ancient
cultures treated this plant with great reverence. In India, basil
was associated with two of the highest gods in the Hindu pantheon, Krishna
and Vishnu. Christians dubbed basil St. Joseph’s Wort, in reference to the
earthly father of Jesus. In Bulgarian and Catalan folklore, the smell of
basil is identified as the medium for impregnating the Virgin Mary. In the
Middle Ages, basil was believed to be poisonous simply because it would
not grow near rue. Rue was considered the “enemy of poisons,” and any
herbs that would not grow near it were suspect.
13. Borage Borago officinalis
The leaves boyled among other pot herbs do much prevaile in making the belly
soluble, they being boyled in honied water be also good against the roughnesse
of the throat, and hoarsenesse, as Galen teacheth. Syrrup made with the floures
of Borage comforteth the heart, purgeth melancholy, and quieteth the
phrenticke or lunaticke person. Let whoever’s eyes are cloudy break borage into
pieces, smear this on a piece of red silk cloth, and put this on his or
her eyes at night. Do this often; the cloudiness of the eye will flee. It
is not harmful if some of the ointment touches the inside of the
eyes. If the piece of silk be green or white, let the person put
borage juice on it and then smear it ion felt. Place this around the
entire neck, over the back of the head and right up to the ears, but not over
the ears. Do this often and the ringing of the ears will stop. Borage was
used as a mild medicine. It was said to calm the heart, purge melancholy
and calm lunatics. The leaves eaten raw were said to ‘engender good blood’, or to encourage health. It was known as a diuretic,
demulcent, emollient. Herbalists
believed that borage imparted a sense of well-being, and the Roman scholar
Pliny considered it to be an antidepressant. It was associated with courage:
"I, Borage, Bring Courage."
14. Rosemary Rosmarinus officinalis
Pine-scented leaves, symbolic of wisdom and faithfulness. The flowers, boiled
in tea, were an all-purpose medicine. A 1525 herbal suggests it boiled in wine
for a face wash. Putting the leaves under your pillow guarded against
nightmares. The ashes of the wood, burnt, were used for cleaning teeth. Brides
and grooms exchanged rosemary wreaths instead of rings; rosemary was also
planted or strewn on graves. Rosemary was burned as an incense to kill or
prevent infection, including the plague. Rosemary is said to have blue
flowers because the Virgin dried her cloak on it on the way to Egypt.
15. Rue Ruta graveolens
The proverbial bitterness of rue was regarded as an indication of its potency.
Jerry Stannard, an authority on ancient and medieval medicinal botany, notes
that the sharper and more pungent an herb, the greater the apparent faith in
its efficacy, an aspect of ancient pharmacology that may have been grounded in
folk belief. The Roman natural historian Pliny regarded rue as one of the chief
medicinal herbs. Also called 'the herb of grace' because it was used as a holy
water sprinkler. Used to treat venomous bites, and poor eyesight. Medieval
authorities upheld rue’s ancient reputation as a warming herb; the Tacuinum
Sanitatis, or Tables of Health, classes rue as warm and dry in the third degree.
In Physica, Hildegard of Bingen treats rue both as a simple and as an effective
ingredient in more than a dozen compound recipes. She considered the raw leaves
to be more beneficial than those chopped and cooked in food.
16. Yarrow Achillea millefolium
Used to treat headaches and wounds, especially battle wounds, and the bite of
mad dogs. The wound treatment caused it to be associated with knights. Yarrow,
with its botanical name, is linked to one of legends’ greatest heroes. It is
said of Achilles that he tended the wounds of his men. Hence, most of its
common names are linked back to war: ‘Herbe Militaris’; ‘Soldiers Woundwort’;
and amusingly ‘Devil’s Plaything’. During the Medieval period it was a
herb connected with the casting out of witches, and at one time dedicated
to the Devil. Having strong antiseptic qualities, this herb is good
for the stomach, kidneys, skin and heart, and as a salve, external wounds.
This herb was also known to the Chinese, in ancient times. With 49 Yarrow stalks
being a form of divination, connected to I Ching, or Book of Changes.
17. Anise Pimpinella anisum
Smells and tastes like licorice. The seeds were used to treat gas and to make
people sweat. They were also used in sweets and candies.
18. Ginger Zingiber officinale
The dried slices were often powdered for use in recipes. Gingerbread was a
popular sweet cake, sold in decorated slices by gingerbread baking guilds, at
least in Torun. Suspected of provoking lust, but widely used in saucing meats,
in cakes, and side dishes anyway. Its warmth was used medicinally to treat
stomach problems, and as a remedy for the plague. Modern science confirms its
use as a mild anti-nausea treatment.
19. Calendula (Pot Marigold) Calendula officinalis
Associated with the sun, they were said to follow its progress across the sky.
Flower petals were used in broths and tonics, and in treatments to strengthen
the heart. Now used in skin creams.
20. Chamomile Matricaria chamomilla
Used in handwashing waters and for headaches. Lawns and garden seats were
planted with chamomile, for it 'smells the sweeter for being trodden on'.
Scientific testing indicates that it really may help settle the stomach
and soothe the nerves, which may be why it was used in fevers.
21. Hops Humulus lupulus
The cone-shaped flowers of the hop vine were used to flavor beer in much of
Europe, though it only came to Britain late in period. Also used as a sedative
(to make people sleep).
22. Lavender Lavendula spp
Used in food, and in refreshing washes for headaches; a cap with lavender
flowers quilted in it kept headaches at bay. Used extensively in baths, as a
personal scent and as a moth repellent.
23. Roses Rosa spp
Petals of white, pink and red roses [damask, apothecary, and dog roses among
others] and the distilled water made from them were widely used in food as well
as for scent, and added to medical preparations to strengthen the patient
generally.
For Further Study:
- Dragon's Blood and Willow Bark: The Mysteries of Medieval Medicine by Toni Mount
- The Medieval Vagina by Karen Harris and Lori Caskey-Sigety
- Medieval Medicine and First Aid: https://donwinn.blog/2014/09/11/medieval-medicine-and-first-aid/
- 5 Things to Pack in Your Medieval First Aid Kit: http://www.medievalists.net/2015/12/5-things-topack-in-your-medieval-first-aid-kit/
