Medicine & Physic

Article about a 13th century CE medical certificat e, described by the author as the earliest known. The physicians diagnosed leprosy, and the patient was considered to be contagious .

Article from the journal 'Medical History' discussing a sculpture of a medieval leper.

This online exhibition examines how medical science took root in Southern Europe, was absorbed and modified by local medical practice and knowledge, and spread into the hinterland and beyond. It shows how European medicine is the result of the confluence of different streams of thoughts - from classical antiquity to pre-modern science, from Greece to Western Europe, and from discoverie s based on reason to those rooted in tradition and experience .

This bibliograp hy is primarily intended for the contributi ng authors and expert advisers of the Anglo-Saxo n Plant-Name Survey. It is, therefore, biased towards Anglo-Saxo n England, but with a wider range of titles in areas where this may be appropriat e to ASPNS studies.

Subjects covered in this issue: the perils of indulgence in cosmetics; some 15th century remedies; purses & pouches; jacks; table etiquette; nine men's morris; the diet of a 15th century soldier; and the Burgundian camp in 1476.

Subjects covered in this issue: medieval cookery and medicine; Tacuinum Sanitatis; benches, shelves, and tables; a typical Swiss or South-German coif; and late 15th century swords.

Encourages study, teaching and practice of medieval herb uses, as well as study of medieval apothecary and pharmacy practice, in the East Kingdom.

A treatise on juniper water (aqua juniperi), before 1549.

National Library of Medicine's collection of scanned documents. Including: John Arderne, 1307-1310. Opera chirurgica. ca. 1400, The Englishmans doctor, or, The schoole of Salerne, or, Phusicall observations for the perfect preserving of the body of man in continuall health. London : John Helme and John Busby, junior, 1608, Hippocrates. The whole aphorismes of great Hippocrates ... translated into English ... of the Greek and Latine tongs. London : Printed by H.L. for Richard Redmer, 1610, John of Gaddesden, 1280?-1361. Rosa anglica practica medicinae. Pavia : Franciscus Girardengus and Joannes Antonius Birreta, Jan. 24, 1492 & Gilbertus, Anglicus. Compendium medicine. Lugduni, 1510.

A website from a past exhibit which showcased examples of the vast array of lavishly illustrated nonreligious manuscripts that were produced between 500-1500 A.D.

Most of us are familiar with flax and its byproducts, including linen and linseed oil. However, two related plants show up in East and Central Europe for similar purposes: hemp (Cannabis sativa) and nettle (Urtica dioica). Both hemp and nettle fibers were used to make cloth, as well as being used for food and medicine.

Studies of burial remains from the Viking age suggest that good health and long life was possible for at least some of the population.

There is a consensus amongst researchers of the history of medicine that early Arab and Muslim physicians had played a very important role in the development of medical science during the renaissance of Islamic civilization, which spanned for eight centuries. This was achieved through translating earlier medical and scientific scripts and developing these sciences in the light of their clinical expertise.

Here you can learn about Islamic medicine and science during the Middle Ages and the important role it played in the history of Europe. This site, with its biographies, colorful images, and extensive historical accounts of medieval medicine and science is designed for students and everyone interested in the history of Islamic and European culture.

This 1593 version of Ibn Sina's Canon of Medicine has been digitized and published by the Saab Medical Library as a contribution to the online body of historical medical knowledge for research and teaching purposes.

A transcription of a 16th century Spanish work, including recipes for a few dishes, several cosmetics, and many remedies.

English translation

The history of medicine and doctors.

Medicina Antiqua is hosted by the Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine at UCL. It is devoted to the study of medicine in the Graeco-Roman world.

A syllabus (with reading list) from a course exporing the history of medical theory and practice in Europe from the 12th to the early 17th century, using methods from social, intellectu al, and cultural history.

Aspects of female beauty routine and cosmetics, as we find them in medieval sources (mainly the Trotula). Includes notes on daily wash, deodorant, hair care, hair removal, dental hygiene, nailcare, ear spoons, decorative cosmetics, and sun screen.

Discusses the scant evidence for sanitary pads, and medieval theories about menstruati on.

An 1893 partial modernized translatio n of 'De Proprietat ibus rerum' by Bartholome w Anglicus.

This database contains descriptions of all medieval western manuscripts written in Latin script and produced up to c. 1550 now preserved in public and semi-public collections in the Netherlands. These include the collections of libraries, museums and archives, as well as the collections of monastic orders and some other private institutions that are open to researchers.

Medieval Medicine is dedicated to discussing the history of medicine as it was practiced from 1000 - 1600 A.D.

Covers a wide range of topics, including the physical sciences, technology, and experimental archaeology in the SCA.

Surgeons were carrying out complicated skull operations in medieval times, the remains of a body found at an archaeological dig show.

A general introduction to medical practices in the Middle Ages accompanied by a bit of myth-breaking.

An ongoing site with articles and links on Herbalism as it applies to the Middle Ages and the SCA.

The Institute and Museum of the History of Science, in Florence, is one of the foremost internatio nal institutio ns in the history of science, combining a noted museum of scientific instrument s and an institute dedicated to the research, documentat ion and disseminat ion of the history of science in the broadest senses.

A series of engravings that bring to us the very clear representation of the crafts and technology of his time, and the relative importance which these discoveries and inventions had in the mind of a well-informed layman of the 16th century.

New Discoveries includes illustrations of: The Lodestone, The Magnet; The Astrolabe; America; Gunpowder; Printing Books; Iron Clocks; Guaiacum (a New World remedy for syphilis); Distillation; Silk, or the Silkworm; Stirrups, or Foot Rests; the Watermill; the Winged Mill (windmills); Olive Oil; Sugar; Oil Colors (oil-painting); Spectacles (eyeglasses); Longitudes of the Earth Found from the Deviation of the Magnet from the Pole; Polishing Armor; Engraving on Copper; and the travels & discoveries of Christopher Columbus, Amerigo Vespucci, and Ferdinand Magellan.

A transcription and translation.

The complete title was "Libro llamado Refugium infirmorum , muy útil y provechoso para todo género de gente, en el cual se contienen muchos avisos espiritual es para socorro de los afligidos enfermos, y para ayudar a bien morir a los que están en lo último de su vida; con un alfabeto de San buenaventu ra para hablar por la mano." (Book called refuge of the sick, very useful and beneficial for all kinds of people, in which is contained much spiritual advice for assistance of distressed sick persons, and for helping those who are at the end of their lives to die well; with Saint Bonaventur e's alphabet to speak by the hand).

It contained a manual alphabet that could be used as a mnemonic, or as a method of manual communicat ion.

The Regimen Sanitatis Salernitanum, written sometime during the 12th or 13th centuries, is one of the most popular poems in the history of both medicine and literature. Although the work claims to be the product of the famous medical school of Salerno, Italy, and written for an anonymous English king, the true author is entirely unknown. The manuscript probably has its origins in an Arabic work, originally entitled "Sirr al-asrar." The work is filled with what is essentially common sense advice - don't eat too much, use moderate exercise, keep yourself clean, etc. For the modern enthusiast of the Middle Ages, the Regimen is an ideal source for information on daily life, beliefs, thoughts, and practices; it is also a source for authentic attitudes and prescriptions concerning every day foodstuffs, such as vegetables, herbs, and meats, along with advice on when to eat, how much to consume, and what foods were safe and which should be avoided to prevent disease.

Links to related articles.

Philip Stubbes started writing around 1581 producing small tracts in which he sharply denounced the manners, pastimes, fashions and culture in England. His major work, The Anatomie of Abuses, was first published in 1583.

P hilip Stubbes had a gift for keen observatio n. Although his comments should not be considered to reveal mainstream thought or opinions of the time, (even his contempora ries thought him extreme) his virulent attacks on the abuses in fashion and English society provide us with a detailed, colorful and picturesqu e glimpse into the England of Shakespear e's youth.