In the Middle Ages they did some things differently, and worse, however medieval medicine came before the Renaissance. We may have learned a lot since then, but they knew a lot too.
In medieval times they had medicine, or more people would have died. Today some practices used in the Middle Ages are useful and safe. They successfully used various herbs, such as chamomile, mint, and ginger. These herbs are common in the medical world, and for many people, in ordinary homes. A few herbs are no longer in use, but overall, people in the Middle Ages were pretty good at finding successful herbs, and when they found a new use for a herb, they told people so that even more people survived. However, leeching and bloodletting could be very dangerous. We no longer use those practices, since we discovered that they cause more harm than good. Blood is essential to the healing process. We still use herbs that were used in the Middle Ages, and we are healthier and happier because of them.
That isn’t all the people in the Middle Ages did with their medicine, though. Keep reading to learn more.
Did They Have Medicine in the Medieval Times?
Medicine is an essential part of life for us today, and it was for people in the Middle Ages, too. Medieval Medicine was part herbs, prayers, hard work, and magic. They had physicians, barber surgeons, midwives, and others that knew how to help. Some medical practitioners were just ordinary people with experience with herbs, while others had gone to one of the few colleges available.
Some of the differences are important. First, some were expensive, and only the rich could afford them, others were cheap, and some were just out to get money. Second, some expensive doctors performed dangerous practices, and some ordinary people could do safer work with herbs and prayers. Sometimes, people would buy charms or sing chants that were supposed to help, and other times folks would go on a pilgrimage to a saint’s shrine to pray for healing.
What Were Different Medieval Medicines?
Medieval medicine is large and diverse. They used all kinds of herbs, had powerful beliefs in prayer and saints, and resorted to magic when they deemed it necessary. They used things like dittany for problems with digestion, feverfew to help with migraines, and comfrey for many different things. There were many herbs for women in childbirth, like wormwood or poppy to ease pain, hops for their calming effect, and black currant syrup for fever, which sounds delicious.
A few unfortunate medicines include raven dung on infected teeth and goose grease for rashes. Many people would have relied on prayers and pilgrimages to help heal them. I would choose to pray if my choices were pray or have my blood let out. People would also use whatever magic they had at their disposal to give them the best possible chance of living. The church disliked magic but people still used it. No one can fault a person for wanting to survive. To avoid illness, people bought charms.
In the world of childbirth, wealthy women could use birth girdles. Birth Girdles were pieces of parchment with pictures of saints on them that were tied around a mother’s stomach while she was giving birth. The saint on the birth girdle would then help. It was not very easy to have good hygiene in the Middle Ages, but people are creative (see my posts on hygiene for poor people here and wealthy people here). For foot odor people used Mugwort. Rosewater was sweet smelling, and rich people would use it to perfume their hands.
Occasionally, people were able to bathe, but not super often. Herbs smelled nice and made homes smell better. People used clothing that would not absorb body odor very quickly to avoid washing their clothes as often as we do. Due to a lack of things like toothpaste, many people had yellow teeth. Though unfortunate, this was a part of life.
What Medieval Medicines Are Still Used Today?
Today, we still use many different herbs and practices that Medieval people would have used. Our medicine and doctors may be more advanced, clean, and safe to visit than in the Middle Ages, but we had to learn somewhere. Medieval medicine was a good starting place for us, and after that time, we learned a lot. We use mint for stomach aches, chamomile for headaches, and ginger for sicknesses, particularly with upset stomachs.
They used licorice, sage, lavender, rosemary, and thyme. Medieval medicine wasn’t all bad. We use the same herbs for different uses like candy flavoring, cooking, and scent. We still use a few practices like surgery and even trepanning. However, we use sanitized tools, gloves, and much more caution. We have learned to sanitize items that we use on the human body.
Time has improved things like surgery. In the Middle Ages, dissections were not allowed. While that sounds ok, it stopped doctors from learning more about the inside of the human body, so their understanding was flawed. With our knowledge today, which came partially from dissections, surgery is safer and more effective.
What Medieval Medicines Are No Longer Used?
Medieval medicine had some unsafe practices as well. Bloodletting is the practice of letting out varying amounts of blood to cure sickness, and we only got rid of it in the 1800-1900s. Continuing this practice caused a lot of death and problems for all of the people who became sick. Many more people have lived thanks to the doctors who discovered how bad it was for a sick person.
However, donating blood to a well-practiced doctor is safe. One way of bloodletting was to slit small blood veins in the body. A second was leeching, where leeches were attached to the person in question and allowed to drink the blood.
Another mostly discontinued practice is boil lancing, where a doctor would cut open a boil, which could also be very dangerous. The knives used for either one could be disgusting and cause more infection. Herbs that looked like drops of blood or milk, a heart, or another similar body were also part of medical care. These herbs were largely useless, but I don’t think they caused actual harm.
To learn more…
(and my sources)
If you want to learn more about medieval herbs visit…
Types Of Medieval Herbs Used In Cooking and Medicine
For more about births you might enjoy…
Medieval Midwives | A Writer’s Perspective by April Munday
For fictional books that include real life medicines, and set in the Middle Ages I suggest…
- Catherine Called Birdy by Karen Cushman
- The Midwife’s Apprentice by Karen Cushman