A lesson in Medieval medicine

Year 8 Historians embarked on a journey through Medieval medicine when they took part in a Barber Surgeon Workshop exploring the medicines, common illnesses and traditions of Medieval times. 

The workshop covered all aspects of early medicine and also included the developments of treatments and technology in the early Renaissance period. Barber Surgeons were medical practitioners who, unlike Physicians of the time, performed surgery, on their patients. The girls learnt that Barber Surgeons would usually learn their trade as an apprentice to a more experienced colleague and many would have no formal learning, and were often illiterate.

The Surgeon explained that for centuries people treated themselves with home grown plants, flowers and minerals. Lavender, for example, was used as a soporific to assist with sleep via its scent. The students learnt that there are many examples of modern chemists deriving their formulas from ancient medicine. If you had a headache, for example, in Medieval times you were encouraged to chew on willow bark. Inside the bark is acetylsalicylic acid which is the same active ingredient used today in aspirin. One of the main problems with Medieval medicine was the lack of knowledge of dosage ingested and other impurities consumed. Plants and herbs were also localised, so people often had to go into town to an apothecary shop to purchase them.

The Surgeon showed the girls an array of cures, including Alam - a mineral which acts as a natural antibiotic and is poisonous to bugs, it was even used as an antiperspirant in Roman times. Sulphur, derived from volcanoes is also a natural antibiotic, it was crushed up and applied to a wound or infection right up until the 1930s. They also considered the properties of the poppy including opium which was used as the basis for modern morphine.

Mrs Tinnelly, Head of History, said “This workshop was a fantastic way for the group to really think about the medical problems faced by people in the 1400s. Looking at history in this way allows us all to fully appreciate how the methods of the past have had a direct influence on the developments of modern medicine that is practised today.”