09-10-2012, 10:55 PM
fascinating stuff! there is still interest in the ancient use of herbs to heal common ailments, even today.
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by Sam Shead, Daily Mail
A rare medieval book gives an insight into the bizarre medical practices used 500 years ago.
It has gone on display for the first time at the University of Aberdeen.
The De Hortus Sanitatis, which translates as the Garden of Health, shows some of the medical methods practiced in Scotland five centuries ago and is one of the earliest European medical texts.
The book, first printed in Mainz, Germany, in 1491, is a fusion of late medieval science and folklore.
It contains detailed writings and annotated illustrations on plants, herbs, animals, and minerals.
Meanwhile, detailed illustrations reveal how physicians used to study the color of urine to make diagnoses.
It was once owned by George Peacock, an Aberdeen apothecary who in the early 1600s taught at the then newly-established Marischal College - one of the two founding colleges which merged to become the University of Aberdeen in 1860.
Siobhan Convery, head of Special Collections at the University of Aberdeen, said: 'Hortus was the most popular and influential herbals of its time, and served as an encyclopedia of all knowledge and folklore on plants, animals, and minerals.
'It combines elements of natural history with subjects traditionally found in herbals, accompanied by mythical fantasies and fables.
'There are striking depictions of contemporary medical practice, the making of drug compounds, treatment for the removal of head lice etcetera, as well as the settings for much of this, a surgery and an apothecary’s shop.
'One image shows a woman removing head lice from a young boy.
'Another shows a boy removing honey from a comb. In the medieval period honey was used in a wide variety of ways, to cure coughs, as a diuretic, as a cure for some poisons and even as an application to rid hair of lice.
'A lively scene from an apothecary’s shop shows physicians analysing the colour of urine samples to diagnose ailments. Urine charts and astrological charts were used side-by-side by physicians to diagnose diseases and to determine treatment.'
The book is part of a new exhibition, Pharmacopoeia, meaning 'preparation of drugs', which includes some of the earliest recorded interpretations of the natural sciences.
Items on display demonstrate the history of pharmacy and medical chemistry from its roots in a monastic setting through to modern chemical isolation and synthesis.
Another 'very rare' compendium written in Middle English in the early 15th century includes herb and plant based remedies for a range of minor and major ailments, from bad breath, nose bleeds and snake bites to broken limbs, childbirth and tumours.
It reads: 'Here men may see the uses of diverse herbs, which may be hot and may be cold, and how many things they can be used for.'
'It lists fennel leaf which is said to be good for headaches and also that "to do away with aching and swelling in the womb" the patient should "drink dried fennel leaf".
'More soberly, and reflecting the high infant and maternal death in childbirth there are numerous references to concoctions and recipes to ease labour pains, to accelerate deliveries and to assist with childbirth situations.
'For example on this page, "if the child be dead in the mother’s womb take mugwort and stamp it small and plaster it to the mother’s womb until all cold and she will have delivery".
'Following on from that is the use of hemlock as a cure for insomnia: "hemlock will make a man sleep. Soak the herb in water and apply it to the temples and forehead and after bathe his feet in it, as hot as he may suffer it. Then make a plaster of henbane seed and apply it to his temples"'.
![[Image: article-2201221-14F065E1000005DC-42_308x485.jpg]](http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/09/10/article-2201221-14F065E1000005DC-42_308x485.jpg)
![[Image: article-2201221-14F063B7000005DC-563_308x490.jpg]](http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/09/10/article-2201221-14F063B7000005DC-563_308x490.jpg)
woman removes lice from a boys hair with a brush
![[Image: article-2201221-14F06618000005DC-679_312x486.jpg]](http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/09/10/article-2201221-14F06618000005DC-679_312x486.jpg)
physicians analyze the color of urine samples
![[Image: article-2201221-14F06539000005DC-612_636x849.jpg]](http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/09/10/article-2201221-14F06539000005DC-612_636x849.jpg)
illustration of the Iris flower
![[Image: article-2201221-14F065AB000005DC-703_640x714.jpg]](http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/09/10/article-2201221-14F065AB000005DC-703_640x714.jpg)
boy removes honey from the comb
![[Image: article-2201221-14F063C2000005DC-37_640x960.jpg]](http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/09/10/article-2201221-14F063C2000005DC-37_640x960.jpg)
Physicians consulting a series of patients in a sick room
![[Image: article-2201221-14F06447000005DC-836_640x1020.jpg]](http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/09/10/article-2201221-14F06447000005DC-836_640x1020.jpg)
a group of intellectuals deep in discussion on a medical or botanical matter
![[Image: article-2201221-14F0637B000005DC-688_640x985.jpg]](http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/09/10/article-2201221-14F0637B000005DC-688_640x985.jpg)
drawings provide an insight into the relationship between humans and animals
--------------------------------------------------
by Sam Shead, Daily Mail
A rare medieval book gives an insight into the bizarre medical practices used 500 years ago.
It has gone on display for the first time at the University of Aberdeen.
The De Hortus Sanitatis, which translates as the Garden of Health, shows some of the medical methods practiced in Scotland five centuries ago and is one of the earliest European medical texts.
The book, first printed in Mainz, Germany, in 1491, is a fusion of late medieval science and folklore.
It contains detailed writings and annotated illustrations on plants, herbs, animals, and minerals.
Meanwhile, detailed illustrations reveal how physicians used to study the color of urine to make diagnoses.
It was once owned by George Peacock, an Aberdeen apothecary who in the early 1600s taught at the then newly-established Marischal College - one of the two founding colleges which merged to become the University of Aberdeen in 1860.
Siobhan Convery, head of Special Collections at the University of Aberdeen, said: 'Hortus was the most popular and influential herbals of its time, and served as an encyclopedia of all knowledge and folklore on plants, animals, and minerals.
'It combines elements of natural history with subjects traditionally found in herbals, accompanied by mythical fantasies and fables.
'There are striking depictions of contemporary medical practice, the making of drug compounds, treatment for the removal of head lice etcetera, as well as the settings for much of this, a surgery and an apothecary’s shop.
'One image shows a woman removing head lice from a young boy.
'Another shows a boy removing honey from a comb. In the medieval period honey was used in a wide variety of ways, to cure coughs, as a diuretic, as a cure for some poisons and even as an application to rid hair of lice.
'A lively scene from an apothecary’s shop shows physicians analysing the colour of urine samples to diagnose ailments. Urine charts and astrological charts were used side-by-side by physicians to diagnose diseases and to determine treatment.'
The book is part of a new exhibition, Pharmacopoeia, meaning 'preparation of drugs', which includes some of the earliest recorded interpretations of the natural sciences.
Items on display demonstrate the history of pharmacy and medical chemistry from its roots in a monastic setting through to modern chemical isolation and synthesis.
Another 'very rare' compendium written in Middle English in the early 15th century includes herb and plant based remedies for a range of minor and major ailments, from bad breath, nose bleeds and snake bites to broken limbs, childbirth and tumours.
It reads: 'Here men may see the uses of diverse herbs, which may be hot and may be cold, and how many things they can be used for.'
'It lists fennel leaf which is said to be good for headaches and also that "to do away with aching and swelling in the womb" the patient should "drink dried fennel leaf".
'More soberly, and reflecting the high infant and maternal death in childbirth there are numerous references to concoctions and recipes to ease labour pains, to accelerate deliveries and to assist with childbirth situations.
'For example on this page, "if the child be dead in the mother’s womb take mugwort and stamp it small and plaster it to the mother’s womb until all cold and she will have delivery".
'Following on from that is the use of hemlock as a cure for insomnia: "hemlock will make a man sleep. Soak the herb in water and apply it to the temples and forehead and after bathe his feet in it, as hot as he may suffer it. Then make a plaster of henbane seed and apply it to his temples"'.
woman removes lice from a boys hair with a brush
physicians analyze the color of urine samples
illustration of the Iris flower
boy removes honey from the comb
Physicians consulting a series of patients in a sick room
a group of intellectuals deep in discussion on a medical or botanical matter
drawings provide an insight into the relationship between humans and animals
![[Image: Zy3rKpW.png]](https://i.imgur.com/Zy3rKpW.png)
Maybe it's just me.
