What did the Anglo-Saxons know of the healing arts and what text books did they refer to if any? Today I take a look at the oldest surviving documents from Anglo-Saxon Period relating to healing. This is Bald Leechbook.
Bald’s Leechbook
Bald’s Leechbook is the only document whose content appears to reflect a fairly pure English tradition and is free of much influence from the Meidtaeranean world. The plant names are given in English for example. The surviving manuscript, which is held at the British Museum, was probably compiled in the ninth-century, possibly around 850 AD. The books title is from an inscription which reads Bald habet hunc librum Cild quem conscribere iussit, meaning “Bald owns this book which he ordered Cild to compile.” Who Bald and Cild are we have no idea.
Saxon Traditions and the Christian Faith
What is interesting is that although this book was written during the mid Anglo-Saxon period when Christianity was well established it is clear that many beliefs from the earlier pagan religions were still held as well as the new faith. This is shown by these examples of illness caused by dark-elves whom the Saxons believed attacked people during the night or by relations with the devil.
For elf sickness, a leechdom… one must sing over the plants before one takes them and one must place them under an altar.
Make a salve for the elvish race and nightgoers and the people with whom the devil has intercourse.
Some interesting methods of treatment
For palsy, if the mouth be crooked or deficient, take coriander, crush it into a woman’s milk and put it in the healthy ear. Here they seem to be talking about what we today call Bell’sPalsy which causes paralysis and dropping of the side of the face. Not sure what putting milk in the other ear would do.
For Lice, give him boiled cabbage to eat often having fasted overnight, he will be protected from lice. Not sure how that was meant to work – unless the smell of boiled cabbage drove the lice away!
For that one be moon mad, take a dolphin’s hide, make it into a scourge, beat him with it , he will soon be better. Maybe I wont suggest this one to my patients.
For if a man’s skull be wrenched, lay the man out flat, drive in two pegs at the shoulders then lay a broad crosswise over the feet , then strike on it thrice with a hammer and it will go aright shortly. Or else I guess thepatient would have broken legs and be unable to run after you!
Not entirely without basis
Despite these more outlandish treatments areas where the Saxons has remedies that often do make sense is either in the creation of salves and ointmnents for external wounds – using herbs with known antiseptic effects or sometimes drinks for internal consumption for gripes, abdominal pains and vomiting.
For gripes and ache of the lower abdomen take bethony and wormwood, marche, radish, fennel, pound them and put into ale. Drink a cupful.
Here Wormwood does have known effects on suppressing harmful abdominal bacteria whilst fennel has antispasmodic effects and can impair a fever and both are used in herbal remedies today.
9th Century League Tables?
If a man be hacked and you may have to cure him, if you see that he be facing towards you when you go in, then he may live; if he be facing away, do not attend him. – Bald’s Leechbook. 9th Century way of avoiding treating patients likely to die. In today’s world such a man would affect your ranking on surgeon’ s league tables so don’t be touching him!! I wonder if a similar think is going on here. A healer’s reputation is important then as now after all.
I may return to this subject again – but I probably wont suggest many of these to my own patients!
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