Medicine:- They based their medical practice on the knowledge of humours. The whole (spirit, body and soul) patient was to be treated. This involved understanding the temprement of a person which fell into four catagories - Melancholy (black bile), Choleric (bile), Sanguine (blood), and Phlegmatic (phlegm). These were the person in health and character, state of mind and mood. Knowing the temprement of their patient was how they treated his/her illness. An example of this, a melancholy person - a habitual tendancy to sadness, depression of spirit were to avoid fried meats and needed a greater number of hours sleeping. They were also extremely limited in the design and understanding of surgery and the tools needed. It was common for pig bladders with funnels to be used for enemas.
The life was described as 'nasty, brutish and short". Doctors, apothecaries, nuns, midwifes and wise women made up those that administered the medical attention. Most of these were skilled by practical experience. All the children born half died before they reached the age of five from infectious diseases and the many illnesses.
A doctor often turned to astrology. He used this to reason the best times to administer his medicine.
This is a cure for toothache - 'a patient should take a candle of mutton fat, mingled with seed of sea holly. Burn the candle as close as possible to the tooth, holding a basin of cold water beneath it. The worms which are gnawing the tooth will fall into the water to escape the heat of the candle."
For skin diseases the patient was recommended to - 'take gold filings in meat or in drink or in medicine, while the plates of gold, firey hot quenched in wine make the wine profitable against the evil of many other evils'.
Barley water was given to many convalescing patients, wine, honey, river-crab and dried figs were also believed beneficial. Milk also was used because of its healing value -'it ought to be imbibed direct from the udder. Comfrey as well as liquorice and calamint was used effectively in the treatment of bronchitis.
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