Aches, Pains and Leeches: Introducing Medieval Medicine

From the use of healing crystals and medicinal herbs to ointments made of bear fat, to surgery without anesthetic, the Medieval approach to the diagnosis and treatment of sickness, is full of surprises. Whether it was plague or childbirth, hemorrhoid's or seasickness, the medieval physician and surgeon were up for the challenge.

This talk, illustrated with images from Medieval manuscripts, covers many ‘weird and wonderful’ aspects of Medieval medicine as well introducing the natural theories on which medieval practitioners – many of them, women - based their approaches.

Dr Carmel Bendon is an author, academic and presenter on “all things medieval”. She has a PhD in Medieval Literature, and her specialist area is the medieval mystics.