Throughout the Medieval era, medical treatment of ill patients consisted relied mostly on the divine Christ himself. Practitioners, especially priests, believed that suffering and disease were relieved by reciting holy prayers that called on God and the Saints. These “charms” as stated by Rawcliffe, were very religious and the some of the prayers recited to cure the patient were the “Hail Mary” and “the Our Father” (90). Ill patients were advised to recite these prayers often and finish by making the sign of the cross. By doing this, evil left the patient’s body, a process which can compare to today’s confession of sins in the church.
Even though this type of practice was to rid the evil of the ill or sick patient, there also were the herbal cures. Another major contributor of the medieval treatment was the use of herbs. Medieval women always kept an abundance of herbs, for use as remedies. The herbs grown by these women had specific curative characteristics, were based on “heat, cold, moisture, or dryness” (Rawcliffe 97). For example, lettuce, being cold and moist, treated burned skin. Other herbs were used to draw out and rid an imbalance in the humors.
These practices and herbal cures used served primarily as ways to rid the evils and cure certain diseases in late medieval times. Could Don Quijote’s enchanted potion, containing sage and other bitter herbs, be one of these herbal cures? In one example in Don Quijote’s story, he applies a certain potion which heals him and rids him of his pain. This herbal cure was not only used for ill people, but for the great Don Quijote.
Works Cited
1. Rawcliffe, Carole. Sources for the History of Medicine in Late Medieval England. Kalamazoo, MI: Medieval Institute
Publications, 1995.
Throughout the Medieval era, medical treatment of ill patients consisted relied mostly on the divine Christ himself. Practitioners, especially priests, believed that suffering and disease were relieved by reciting holy prayers that called on God and the Saints. These “charms” as stated by Rawcliffe, were very religious and the some of the prayers recited to cure the patient were the “Hail Mary” and “the Our Father” (90). Ill patients were advised to recite these prayers often and finish by making the sign of the cross. By doing this, evil left the patient’s body, a process which can compare to today’s confession of sins in the church.
Even though this type of practice was to rid the evil of the ill or sick patient, there also were the herbal cures. Another major contributor of the medieval treatment was the use of herbs. Medieval women always kept an abundance of herbs, for use as remedies. The herbs grown by these women had specific curative characteristics, were based on “heat, cold, moisture, or dryness” (Rawcliffe 97). For example, lettuce, being cold and moist, treated burned skin. Other herbs were used to draw out and rid an imbalance in the humors.
These practices and herbal cures used served primarily as ways to rid the evils and cure certain diseases in late medieval times. Could Don Quijote’s enchanted potion, containing sage and other bitter herbs, be one of these herbal cures? In one example in Don Quijote’s story, he applies a certain potion which heals him and rids him of his pain. This herbal cure was not only used for ill people, but for the great Don Quijote.
Works Cited
1. Rawcliffe, Carole. Sources for the History of Medicine in Late
Medieval England. Kalamazoo, MI: Medieval Institute
Publications, 1995.