Posted on 04/19/2019 12:30:29 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
The future King Henry V was hit by an arrow to the face at the Battle of Shrewsbury -- how did he survive? This was the topic of a paper given by Michael Livingston at the 48th International Congress on Medieval Studies.
Livingston, an Associate Professor at The Citadel, explains what happened in one of the most remarkable cases of battlefield surgery from the Middle Ages -- the arrow wound suffered by the future Henry V at the Battle of Shrewsbury in 1403.
Prince Henry was only 16 years old when he marched with his father's forces to Shrewsbury in western England to fight against the rebel army led by Henry "Harry Hotspur" Percy. With English longbowmen on both sides of the battle, arrows caused many of the dead and wounded, including Henry Percy, who was killed when he lifted up his visor and was struck down by a shot.
According to one chronicler's report, Prince Henry was also "hurt in the face by an arrow." A much more detailed account survives in the Philomena, a medical tract written by John Bradmore. The account was originally in Latin, and a Middle English translation of it survives as well.
Bradmore had been in the service of the crown since at least 1399. He notes in his work that before he arrived, others had tried to pull the arrow out of the prince, but while the shaft did come free the arrowhead remained buried six inches deep. Various medical experts had tried to remove the arrowhead with potions and other cures, but had no success.
(Excerpt) Read more at medievalists.net ...
Just another general comment about science & technology: We tend to think of technological progress in this age as “onward & upward”. I don’t believe that was always the case in earlier times, especially in the absence of a true scientific method where theories are rigorously tested. I think advances were often abandoned/forgotten only to be rediscovered at a later time & place.
There goes Stargate.
Riddle of ‘Baghdad’s batteries’
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/2804257.stm
Thanks all. The importance of cleaning wounds has long been upheld by health pros, and the Prince would naturally get the best care there was. In the Civil War, the need to perform amputations after a battle was enormous, and most army surgeons caught on to the importance of, y'know, rinsing off the implements a little between jobs. In Henry V's teens there was of course no idea about microbiology.
I read, during the 15th century, there was a potent incantation to say over a wound. Recovery was in the 80% range.
Oh yeah, it also included, almost as an afterthought, the instructions to thoroughly cleanse the wound, wrap it in clean linen and leave it alone. No cow dung or other such salves. :-)
Another one was, if possible, treat the weapon that caused the wound the same way as the actual wound itself. No success rate was mentioned for that one. Distantly related to the anti-gunners claim that the gun itself causes crime.
“Tis but a scratch!”
A most interesting thread and post, SunkenCiv. Thanks.
Oldplayer
Thank you, and I wholeheartedly agree -- the YT vid I linked was how I found out about the thing, remarkable story.
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