Learnings: Medicines and Medics

A remedy for þeór-wærc, or "dry pain," taken from Bald's Leechbook / 10th cent.

Greek and Roman writers had argued that certain troubles of the mind and the body were caused by an imbalance of the four humours (blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile). If a person had too much of one humour, the key was to restore balance by stimulating the opposite humour. For example, if someone had a fever, it was a sign they had too much yellow bile, a humour linked to fire. The opposite humour of yellow bile was phlegm. To counteract the fever, a doctor would prescribe the patient a cold bath to stimulate their phlegm.

An excess in one humour could also be rapied through its release from the patient's body through a process such as bloodletting. Doctors used leeches to treat patients in whom they diagnosed a "surplus" of blood.

Monasteries were central places of learning and gathering in their communities, and their halls attracted sick people who sought healing. Monks and nuns were often involved in taking care of the ill and injured. They used efficient medical remedies that are still effective today.

Monasteries had the resources to grow herbs used in these remedies. They also had the resources to create, compile, and consult medical manuscripts. By collecting these resources in one place, monasteries eased the consultation and transmission of medical knowledge. An example of one of these medical manuscripts is the Old English Bald's Leechbook illustrated here. It is a 10th-century copy of 9th-century texts, including some from King Alfred's court.