Posted on 08/07/2005 4:58:33 PM PDT by blam
The medical world of medieval monks
By Jane Elliott
BBC News
All that remains of the hospital
Anaesthetics and disinfectants are thought to be a modern medical invention but evidence is coming to light that medieval doctors knew of them too.
Evidence found at the ancient Soutra Hospital site, in Scotland, suggests the medieval Augustine monks also knew how to amputate limbs, fashion surgical instruments, induce birth, stop scurvy and even create hangover cures.
The excavations at Soutra have also unearthed fragments of pottery vessels that were once used for storing medicines such as an analgesic salve made from opium and grease and treatment for parasitic and intestinal worms.
Dressings have also been found, some still with salves or human tissues attached and the scientists have discovered a mixture of Quicklime (calcium oxide) which scientists believe was used as a disinfectant and a deodorant.
Research
The hospital, high in the Lammermuir Hills, near Edinburgh, was dedicated to looking after the poor, travellers and pilgrims as well as the sick and infirm.
Dr Brian Moffat archeo-ethno-pharmocologist and director of investigations for the Soutra Project, studies clumps of seeds from the site.
We are in the unprecedented position to evaluate this system of medicine recipe by recipe - and ask, did all of it - or any of it - work?
Dr Brian Moffat
He said the scientists trawl literature of the period to try and identify remedies the herbs could have been used to create.
They then search the site to find medical waste evidence to support their theories.
He said that, using these methods, they had made a number of extremely significant finds and are regularly turning up new evidence about how ailments were treated during medieval times.
"We reckon we have stumbled upon a means of reconstructing medical practices."
Texts
He said that the methods used were considered controversial by some archaeologists, because they do not find direct evidence of the medicine in use, but their findings were always corroborated by other experts.
When ergot fungus and juniper berry seeds were found at Soutra scientists were intrigued about their use.
Searching the historical texts suggests they were used to help induce birth, despite a ban on men in holy orders assisting in any aspect of childbirth.
"When we looked at the site we found the still-born bodies of malnourished babies nearby so it is impossible not to link them," Dr Moffat said.
We began to think that the watercress was being used to ease scurvy
Dr Brian Moffat
"There was a ban on men in holy orders from interfering in childbirth, so any pregnant woman was left in the hands of an experienced village woman, but this would have been unacceptable to certain powerful people who wanted their wife or daughter to be looked after by physicians."
Another find revealed clumps of watercress lying close to a pile of teeth.
"There was no sign of forcible extractions on the tooth.
"So we searched the waste to see what might have been thrown out alongside the teeth and we found a small mass of watercress.
"We realised that watercress is very rich in vitamin C and we began to think that the watercress was being used to ease scurvy.
"Then we found one of the medieval texts which said loose teeth can be 'fastened or secured' by eating watercress.
"We consulted the World Health Organization who confirmed that a boost of vitamin C would stop teeth falling out from a bout of scurvy."
"They had noticed that scurvy is reversible if they took certain vitamins."
Hemlock
One of the exciting finds was of the abundance of hemlock in the drains. Scientists think the monks had used this as a painkiller before carrying out amputations.
Next to this they found the remains of the heel bone of a man.
Tony Busettil, regus professor of forensic medicine at Edinburgh University who corroborated the Soutra find, said the bone had ridges on it, which indicated that the man had walked on the side of his foot.
"It showed that the person appears to have had a limp so they could have been suffering from some sort of congenital palsy.
"Next to it they found evidence of very strong pain killers."
Dr Moffat said the monks' knowledge of herbs was so great it could be used to influence medicine today.
"You would not bother with strange plants at a monastery unless they were going to be used and these medieval brothers knew what to do. They knew more about plants than anyone alive today," he added.
GGG Ping.
Let's not get carried away in our worship of the elders.
cool!
Very interesting! Thanks for posting this.
I remember reading a description of a medieval hospital: on the upper part of the wall there was an inscription to the effect that to think of the afterlife behooves a good Christian much more than to hope for recovery...
for later
Basically they did what they could which wasn't very much. Medieval life would have been very hard and pretty short.
Well yeah! Anyone who has read a medieval herbal knows that.
The problem was that their quality control wasn't that good and the medicine tended to be a little on the harsh side.
later read....
Anyone know about Hildegarde of Bingen? I have one book with many of her health cures and remedies, and it is quite interesting. I would like to read more about her. For those who don't know of her, she was a nun in (guessing) the 12th century in Germany. She had (according to her and those who knew her) visions and revelations which taught her many things. She was an utterly fascinating personage. She also wrote music, which I would really like to hear.
There are recording of Hildegard's compositions; I've seem them in catalogs. Do some Google!
Interesting, but I don't see anything really novel here. Of course they treated wounds, did amputations, recognized the properties of opium, etc. Without antibiotics, anesthesia, and air conditioning, I'll skip it, thanks!
I should find one or two so I can hear them. I'm just terminally - chronic and acute - lazy and disorganized. And life is way too short to do all the things I want to do.
Boy, is this ever a crappy article. Maybe it's news to the know-nothings at the BBC but it's been well known for centuries that middle-ages medicine was reasonably competent.
Of course, the medieval period stretches from 400AD to 1500AD and naturally, the author doesn't bother to let us know when the Soutra Hospital was in operation or the period they're discussing.
If this is what passes for journalism today, you can keep it.
Laziness has become the chief characteristic of journalism, displacing incompetence.
- Kingsley Amis
I wonder what effect such a philosophy had on health insurance premiums.
They are wonderful recordings. It's on my list of things to download from itunes once I get my ipod back.
The height of British monasticism was from about 1000 to about 1450.
Ain't it the truth!
I don't think they had health insurance then; this medical invention [insurance] appears to be much more recent.
And life is way too short to do all the things I want to do.
** Hi LJ this is cyborg. I ask God to give me at least 120 years. Whether He gives it to me is up to Him :-)
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