CURES/HEALING

Because no one knew what caused diseases/illnesses, many things were tried. The church believed that all illnesses were a punishment from God for the patient's behavior. Blood-letting was a common practice, using leeches or cupping. No antibiotics were available during these times, and most medicines were created using herbs, resins, and spices. It was used in drinks, pills, baths, poultices, ointments, and purges.

ARROWS:
To remove an arrow, one would check the depth and position of the arrow; whether it was poison or not; the location of the wound, and contamination. It would then be removed swiftly, and then the blood had to be stopped from flowing. Many arrow blades were slim so they could penetrate the chain mail worn by soldiers and the problem with those were that they could penetrate the bone, making it hard to remove.

BLACK DEATH:
Black Death had a 30-40% death rate. It was treated by lancing the buboes and applying a poultice of butter, onion, garlic warmed up. Tobacco, arsenic, lily root, and dried toad were also used in desperation of the poultice not working.

BLADE:
Any cuts with a blade would either be stitched up and bandaged, or it if were too bad, the limb would be amputated.

BROKEN BONES:
When bones were broken, it was manipulated into place and the area was immobilized with a splint or plaster. The plaster mold was made of flour and egg whites which were put on the area that was broken.

BURNS:
First one would stop the blisters from forming by using ointments on the burn. Ointments usually were made of vinegar, egg, rose oil, opion, and other herbs. It was applied to the area and reapplied as needed.

Another way to treat a burn or scald was to take a live snail and rub it against the burn so the slime covers the wound.

COUGHING:
Mix Horehound with barley water, sugar and eggwhites; it was boiled to create threads, and eaten.

EPILEPSY/CATALEPSY:
Drink a mixture of cinnamon, cloves, cormorant blood, dragon blood (resin of the Dracaena draco tree), fennel, ginger, liquorice, mandrake, 3 kinds/pepper, roses, sage, and willow.

EYE STYE:
Using equal amounts of onion and leek and garlic, pound them together. Then take equal amounts of wine and bull gall and mix with the onion/garlic and put it in a brass bowl for 9 nights. Strain it through a cloth after the time has passed and at night use a feather to apply it to the eye.

FEVER:
Coriander was given to get rid of a fever.

GOUT:
Cut an owl open after removing all feathers, clean and salt it, putting it in a pot and covering with a ston. Let it set in an oven until it's burned. Then pound it with boar's grease and put on the gout.

HEADACHE OR ACHING JOINTS:
Headaches were treated with rose, lavender, sage, and bay while mixing henbane and hemlock were used to treat aching joints.

LUNG PROBLEMS:
Liquorice and comfrey were used to treat lung problems as well as a Horehound cough syrup.

MIGRAINES:
Using a half dish of barley, a handful of betony (grassland herb), another of vervain, and other herbs, boiling them together and wrap them in a cloth. Lay this on the head of the sick person.

SCIATICA:
There are several ways to treat Sciatica including taking a spoonful of red ox gall and 2 spoons of water-pepper, plus 4 of the infected's urine. Boil together half a french nut and suet as a small nut, and cumin. Boil together until it's like gruel then let the patient lay his hip against the fire as hot as he can bear, and anoint the patient with this ointment for 15 minutes before putting a hot cloth, folded 5/6 times on the area. At night, lay a hot sheet folded many times, to the spot and let the patient lay still for 2-3 days.

SEVERE THROAT INFECTION:
Flay a cat, clean and remove it's insides; use the grease of a hdeghog and bare fat, regins, fenugreek, sage, and honeysuckle gum, virgin wax, crumble the ingredients into the cat, roast it and rub the grease on the patient's throat.

STOMACH PROBLEMS:
For Colic; cumin and anise were put in wine to steep, and once that was done, it should stand for 3 nights. Then it was laid on an ash board to dry for 9 days and turned over during that time. It would then be put in an earthen pot to dry over the fire to make a powder. It was then eaten in a soup or drank. Normally it took 2 weeks to make, so it was bought from the apothecary.

STOMACH PAINS AND SICKNESS:
These were treated with balm, mint, and wormwood.

WOUNDS:
Wounds were cleaned and vinegar was widely used as a cleansing agent as it was believed that it would kill disease. Mint was also used in treating venom and wounds. Myrrh was used as an antiseptic on wounds. Yarrow, or Achillea was used to treat headaches and wounds, especially battle wounds.