Examination of Medieval Healing Formulas Utilizing Dove Excrement, Fox Pulmonary Organs, and Additional Components
One of the most significant contrasts between medieval and modern life is our advanced medical knowledge today. We now have an abundance of vaccines; we’ve wiped out some of the most lethal diseases known to humanity; and, most importantly, our comprehension of the human body and health is considerably more sophisticated than ever before. We might take an Advil for a headache or use Neosporin on a cut, but what remedies did our ancestors in the 15th century utilize? Curious Cures has some insights.
Supported by a Wellcome Research Resources Award via the University of Cambridge, Curious Cures acts as a detailed digital archive, housing 186 medieval manuscripts that encompass 8,000 unedited medical recipes. These recipes, or receptaria, were composed in Latin, French, and Middle English between the 11th and 16th centuries, with a majority originating from the 14th or 15th centuries. Throughout the collection, we find familiar ingredients like ale, white wine, vinegar, milk, and honey, mixed with astonishing and occasionally strange items like roasted puppy fat, dove droppings, fox lungs, salted owl, and eel grease.
In addition to these peculiar components, many recipes also reflect medieval beliefs regarding the human body, some of which may seem superstitious. For example, one recipe by astrologer, occultist, and alchemist John Dee speaks of a medicinal salve for wounds that purportedly can heal individuals from as far as 30 miles away. The recipe grows even stranger, as Dee asserts that instead of applying the ointment directly to the wound, it should be used on the “blooded weapon” that caused the injury in the first place. Unsurprisingly, the ingredients for this recipe are equally bizarre: skull moss, human fat and blood, and powdered mummy.
“The gruesome recipe was at the center of a heated debate in which the Calvinist physician Rudolph Goclenius defended the salve, explaining that it operated through magnetic powers between the weapon and wound that [traveled] via the stars, whereas the Jesuit priest Jean Roberti attributed its efficacy to demonic powers,” a Curious Cures researcher notes in an essay about Dee’s remedy.
Some manuscripts lean even further into the supernatural, containing instructions in Latin for crafting a mystical amulet that purportedly shields its wearer from demons. Yet another text explains a magical hazel branch that could be utilized to stop bleeding, while another emphasizes the Cross as a healing symbol. Besides medicinal discussions, the digitized manuscripts include bibles, poetry, mathematics, astronomy, and theology, among other topics.
To delve into the entire database for yourself, check out the Curious Cures page on the University of Cambridge website.
Managed through the University of Cambridge, the Curious Cures database assembles over 180 medieval manuscripts that feature 8,000 unedited medical recipes.
These medieval medical recipes showcase some peculiar ingredients, including skull moss, dove droppings, fox lungs, and eel grease.
While unusual, these recipes provide fascinating insight into medieval perspectives on the human body, medical science, and superstition.
Curious Cures in Cambridge Libraries: [Website](https://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/curiouscures)
_All images via Curious Cures_.
_Sources: [Medieval Medical Recipes](https://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/collections/medievalmedicalrecipes); [A Cure from the Crypt: Weapon Salve in the Library of John Dee](https://specialcollections-blog.lib.cam.ac.uk/?p=29262); [Thomas Wort, ‘leech’, and his book of remedies](https://specialcollections-blog.lib.cam.ac.uk/?p=27848); [Curious Cures completed: hundreds of medieval medical manuscripts now accessible](https://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/stories/curious-cures-completed); [Childbirth and charms: two new online exhibitions](https://specialcollections-blog.lib.cam.ac.uk/?p=28528)_
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