What are the medieval medicine and the strange cures?
Those who blamed bad smells developed a ‘cure’ to make the bad smells go away. Those who blamed bad luck would use prayers and superstitions. Those who blamed the body’s four humours used bleeding, sweating and vomiting to restore the balance of the four humours. When by some luck, a patient got better or simply improved, this was a sure sign that a cure worked. It also meant that the cure used would be used again. If it did not work on the next patient, this was the fault of the patient rather than of the cure. Operations were carried out by ‘surgeons’. In fact, these men were unskilled and had other jobs such as butchers and barbers. The traditional red and white pole outside of a barber’s shop today is a throwback to the days in Medieval England when barbers did operations. The red stood for blood and the white for the bandages used at the end of an operation. Operations could end in death as post-operative infections were common. Instruments used in an operation were not sterilised
