Bobby Junior would have felt right at home
Binghamton University
Medieval medicine is undergoing a reputation makeover. New research reveals that far from being stuck in superstition, early Europeans actively explored healing practices based on nature, observation, and practical experience—some of which uncannily echo today’s wellness trends on TikTok.
It turns out the Dark Ages weren't all that dark! According
to new research, medieval medicine was way more sophisticated than previously
thought, and some of its remedies are trending today on TikTok.
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| Medieval manuscripts like the Cotton MS Vitellius C III highlight uses for herbs that reflect modern-day wellness trends. Credit: The British Library |
"People were engaging with medicine on a much broader
scale than had previously been thought," said Meg Leja, an associate
professor of history at Binghamton University who specializes in the political
and cultural history of late antique and medieval Europe. "They were
concerned about cures, they wanted to observe the natural world and jot down
bits of information wherever they could in this period known as the 'Dark
Ages.'"
The Corpus of Early Medieval Latin Medicine (CEMLM), funded by the British Academy, has collected hundreds of medieval manuscripts containing medical material predating the 11th century. Countless manuscripts that have been left out of previous catalogs were included, nearly doubling the number of known medical manuscripts from the Dark Ages.
Some of the recipes resemble health hacks promoted by
modern-day influencers, from topical ointments to detox cleanses. Have a
headache? Crush the stone of a peach, mix it with rose oil and smear it on your
forehead. It might sound odd, but one study published in 2017 showed that rose
oil may actually help alleviate migraine pain.
Then there's lizard shampoo, where you take pieces of lizard
to help your hair become more luscious and flowing - or even to remove it, a
modern-day parallel to waxing.
"A lot of things that you see in these manuscripts are
actually being promoted online currently as alternative medicine, but they have
been around for thousands of years," said Leja.
Leja spent the last two years with the rest of the team
preparing the new catalogue (which was just released online), reviewing
manuscripts from throughout Europe, and editing and formatting the catalog. She
had previously written about medieval medicine in her first book, Embodying
the Soul: Medicine and Religion in Carolingian Europe.
Many of the writings were found within the margins of books
totally unrelated to medicine -- manuscripts on grammar, theology, poetry,
etc. Leja said that this speaks to a preoccupation with the body's health and
figuring out ways to control it.
"It's true that we do lack a lot of sources for the
period. In that sense, it is 'dark.' But not in terms of any kind of
'anti-science' attitudes -- people in the early Middle Ages were quite into
science, into observation, into figuring out the utility of different natural
substances, and trying to identify patterns and make predictions" said
Leja.
The research team will continue to update the catalog with
new manuscripts and are working on new editions and translations of medical
texts that could be used in teaching. Leja noted that while previously catalogs
focused on texts from well-known authorities like Hippocrates, this isn't
necessarily material that people in the Dark Ages would have prioritized, and a
more comprehensive catalog will allow historians to show medicine in its
fullness.
The Corpus of Early Medieval Latin Medicine (CEMLM) is
available online, produced by team members from Binghamton, Fordham, St.
Andrews, Utrecht, and Oslo.
