Leech Books and Early Medical Texts | Magic and Medicines #16
The Three Ravens PodcastPlay episode
Show notes
On this week's Bonus Episode, Eleanor leads us through the libraries of early medical history to guide us through Leech Books and early medical texts!
We start off talking about the book generally thought to be the oldest 'English' medical text, Bald's Leech Book, discussing how the Medieval mind perceived of ailments - namely as issues interlinked with spiritual and supernatural problems, not just physical ones.
We then leap back to discuss Ancient Chinese medicine, its roots in the work of the mythical 'Yellow Emperor,' and how Classical writers like Hippocrates and Galen developed and refined concepts like Humorism.
From the works of fundamentally important Medieval writers such as Ibn Sina and Hildegard of Bingen to the advent of Protestant medicine, as practiced by the likes of Andreas Vesalius and William Harvey, it's a slightly squishy and bizarre journey through mankind's understanding of the body, from ancient times to today.
Yet, considering that some of the remedies proposed by these writers are still in use today, it's a bit simplistic to suggest that they were just 'wrong' about medicine and how the body worked.
So, let's raise our scalpels and peel back the layers of what they got right and wrong and why, and open up questions about what modern physicians might perhaps benefit from learning if they look back towards the half-forgotten past...
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