Mind Boggling Medicine!

The days are shorter, the dark nights are longer and Halloween is now just around the corner! A definite chill has crept through the halls of Dublinia as we prepare for All Hallows Eve and the arrival of Thomas, our bloody barber surgeon, and Biddy Deasy, who specialises in ‘alternative’ healing…  Together they are going to look at lots of Creepy Cures and Ridiculous Remedies that are sure to baffle you and send shivers down your spine!

We thought we’d take this chance to have a look at medieval medicine and see how it differs from the lotions and potions we use today!

To fully understand the kinds of sickness that flooded Dublin’s streets and the medicines used to cure them, we must remember that Dublin itself was a very different city 500 years ago. The streets were narrow and overcrowded. Living conditions were filthy. Boiling water was difficult so people washed themselves and their clothes in cold water. People were often sick and this would pass from person to person as well as house to house very quickly. But it’s how people got better that interests us here…

In Medieval times it was more often than not nuns and monks who treated you when you were sick in their monasteries or infirmaries. They used plants and herbs that were believed to have properties that could cure all sorts of things from mild sickness to dangerous diseases!

Do you have yellow dandelions growing in your garden? If so, you’re in luck! In Medieval Dublin people believed that because of its yellow colour dandelions could be used to treat jaundice, but also clear your   cold, help with dental problems and cure itchy boils and rashes! And those buttercups you love to pick and hold under your chin? If you picked a whole bunch of them and tucked them into a bag worn around your neck, it could have cured insanity. Pheuw!

Or how about garlic; do you love tucking into a slice of garlic bread with your dinner? In that case you’ll be happy to know that medieval doctors believed eating garlic helped soothe sore throats, treated infections in wounds, prevented flatulence (we kid you not!) and could even cure leprosy and cancer! Garlic was also believed to cure ear aches – simply insert a clove of garlic into your ear and let it work its magic… All this while being ridiculously tasty as a seasoning, although eating it raw or rubbing it on to your skin would have left a lingering smell which might not have been too pleasant!!

Even stranger still, eating prickly nettles with the white of an egg was believed to cure insomnia, while St John’s Wort was used as a cure for fever. The flower was most effective if it was found by accident when picked, and even more beneficial if it was picked on Midsummer’s Eve… If all of these plants and herbs failed to cure you, it was also handy if you had a dead body nearby as touching a dead man’s tooth would help with your tooth ache and goodness knows what else!

Monks and nuns often had other tools at their disposal to help cure you of your ailments. Different monasteries and convents had religious relics housed in their churches. These were parts of the remains of saints or martyrs, some of their hair, a finger or toe, or items associated with the person such as part of Jesus’ crown of thorns. They were all believed to have powerful healing powers as divine objects.

Going to the doctor in Medieval Dublin was definitely not like popping along to your local surgery today for a prescription, but it’s interesting to see how important plants and herbs were in medicine then – and how many people today use those same plants and herbs (although in tablet form!) to cure similar illnesses today! Pop into Dublinia from 29^th October to 4^th November to hear all about these Creepy Cures and Ridiculous Remedies, as well as loads more!

Creepy Cures and Ridiculous Remedies runs daily from 29^th October to 4^th November from 12pm – 1pm and between 2pm – 4pm. Performances are roughly 15 minutes long.