Author Archives: Ruth

Bald’s eye salve: a modern story

Posted on July 28, 2016 by Ruth

After remedies for head pain, the medical books turn to eye problems. It’s very clear that swollen and infected eyes were a serious issue in that time, because both books have a number of remedies. And here, we find a … Continue reading →

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Herbal remedies for head pain

Posted on July 26, 2016 by Ruth

I’m going to take some Anglo-Saxon herb lore books as representative of medieval herbal medicine. The Anglo-Saxon kingdoms took to literacy fairly readily, especially after King Alfred made a serious initiative to teach reading and build up libraries. During a … Continue reading →

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Natural magic

Posted on July 21, 2016 by Ruth

Natural magic was inseparable from what we’d consider “real” herbal lore. Since the chemistry of why some plants were medicinal was very, very far out of reach, “that’s just how its natural magic works” was the best explanation. In pre-Christian … Continue reading →

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Medieval idea of disease

Posted on July 19, 2016 by Ruth

In the Middle Ages, what was disease? Everyone agreed that health was wholeness: it was the body functioning as it ought to. I guess our contemporary writers who talk about “wellness” are taking a similar view. So loss of health … Continue reading →

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Spices as medicine

Posted on July 17, 2016 by Ruth

Imported spices fit very well into the Greco-Roman theory of the Four Humors. We still refer to many spices as “hot” in informal conversation, even if we mean nothing particular by it. They just took it seriously. In the early … Continue reading →

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Roman medical theory

Posted on July 8, 2016 by Ruth

When the Celtic and Germanic tribes of Europe converted to Roman Christianity, they adopted a long-established written tradition of scientific principles. Their own herb lore continued, probably in many cases without reference to the new “science.” But it became, increasingly, … Continue reading →

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Judeo-Christian medical care in early Rome

Posted on July 1, 2016 by Ruth

In reference to medical history, Christianity must be seen, first, as a Jewish movement. Within a few centuries, root and branch had become hostile to each other, so it’s hard to bear in mind just how fundamentally Jewish the early … Continue reading →

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Roman medical care before conversion

Posted on July 1, 2016 by Ruth

Rome’s empire rested heavily on Greek culture, which the Romans had recognized as superior in sophistication. On conquering portions of Alexander’s former empire, Rome found itself in possession of Greek philosophy, literature, sports, and medicine. Greek medical theory was based … Continue reading →

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Christian and Roman conversion

Posted on June 14, 2016 by Ruth

Christianity came first to the Near East; its earliest adherents were in the Roman provinces of Palestine, Egypt and Ethiopia, Syria, Macedonia, and other places around the Mediterranean rim. In 301, Armenia formally adopted the Christian religion. During the next … Continue reading →

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High religion: War gods and Wyrd

Posted on June 12, 2016 by Ruth

As I explained in the last post, I am dividing pagan beliefs into “low” and “high” religion. Low religion is the daily stuff of getting along with the earth and raising children. High religion is the philosophy and mythos of … Continue reading →

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