Dragon's Blood & Willow Bark: The Mysteries of Medieval Medicine

Toni Mount

Apr 2015 · Amberley Publishing Limited

Ebook

288

Pages

Eligible

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About this ebook

Calling to mind a time when butchers and executioners knew more about anatomy than university-trained physicians, the phrase ‘Medieval Medicine’ conjures up horrors for us with our modern ideas on hygiene, instant pain relief and effective treatments. Although no one could allay the dread of plague, the medical profession provided cosmetic procedures, women’s sanitary products, dietary advice and horoscopes predicting the sex of unborn babies or the best day to begin a journey. Surgeons performed life-saving procedures, sometimes using anaesthetics, with post-operative antibiotic and antiseptic treatments to reduce the chances of infection. They knew a few tricks to lessen the scarring, too. Yet alongside such expertise, some still believed that unicorns, dragons and elephants supplied vital medical ingredients and the caladrius bird could diagnose recovery or death. This is the weird, wonderful and occasionally beneficial world of medieval medicine. In her new book, popular historian Toni Mount guides the reader through this labyrinth of strange ideas and such unlikely remedies as leeches, meadowsweet, roasted cat and red bed curtains – some of which modern medicine is now coming to value – but without the nasty smells or any threat to personal wellbeing and safety. N.B. No animals, large, furry or mythological, were harmed during research for this book.

About the author

Toni Mount’s first career was in science before spending many years in a second profession, teaching. She has a first class honours degree from the Open University, an MA by Research in medieval medicine from the University of Kent, Diplomas in European Humanities, Literature and Creative Writing. Her love of history led to a third career as a writer, specialising in the ordinary lives and fascinating characters from history. Her first book, released by Amberley Publishing in 2014, was Everyday Life in Medieval London. She continues to teach history to adults both in person and online and has now written many successful non-fiction and fiction books. This latest study, The World of Isaac Newton, sees her return to her first love, science, with the chance to take a fresh look at one of the world’s most famous characters.

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