History Visits
Dominus Elias, Patriarch at Jerusalem's Prescription for King Alfred
These days the Patriarch of Jerusalem is the head of the Eastern Catholic Church, while the Pope is the head of the Western Catholic Church. Things have changed a lot since Elias and Alfred's time, but I think Elias was the equivalent of a high ranking bishop at the time...
Alfred the Great was born around 848/9 and died on 26th October 899 at the age of 50/51. He suffered in youth possibly from haemorrhoids, since he was fond of spending time in cold stone churches, and prayed often to be given another light (invisible) disease instead to be relieved from the symptoms of the first! From Asser's (King Alfred's biographer) descriptions modern doctors think he swapped haemorrhoids for Crohn's disease.
"Dominus Elias was Patriarch of Jerusalem from 879 to 907. According to Asser, Elias corresponded with Alfred and sent him gifts; and a medical text in Old English contains information about remedies for Alfred's ailments sent to him by Elias."
Wikipedia
Entry contained within Bald's Leechbook II (thought to have been commissioned by Alfred).
The contents of the chapter are listed in the heading, but "the manuscript has lost a gathering" and so the text of the chapter starts halfway through the entry for balsam...
.LXIIII. Læcedóm se monian wiþ innoþes forhæfdnesse & gutomon - wi# milte wærce & stice
& spican wiþ utsihtan & dracontjan wiþ fule
horas on men - & alwan wiþ untrymnessum - & galbanes wiþ nearwúm breostum - & balzaman
smiring wiþ eallúm untrúmnessúm & petraoleúm to
drincanne anfeald wiþ innan tydernesse & utan to
smerwanne - & tyriaca is god drenc wiþ innoþ
tydernessum - & se hwita stan wi# eallúm uncuþum
brocum.
64. Healing-law: the 'monian' for innards'
constipation and 'gut omon' - for spleen pain and stitch and spices for diarrhoea and dragon aurum for foul phlegm in a person - and aloes for infirmities - and
galbanum for narrowed breasts - and a balsam smearing for all infirmities and petroleum to
drink one-fold for innards tenderness and without to
smear - and theriac is a good drink for innards'
tenderness - and the white stone for all unknown afflictions.
Royal MS 12 D XVII fol. 64v
$te oþerne healfne pening gewege gegnid swiþe smale do þonne on hluttor æg & sele þam men to supanne - hió is swiþe god eác on þas wisan wi# hwostan & wiþ springe do þas wyrte on he
biþ sona hál.
another half penny weight, grind very small,
add then into clear egg (egg white) and give to the person to sip. This is very good also in this manner for cough and for 'up-springings' - add this plant into. He be soon whole.
Royal MS 12 D XVII fol. 105r
þis is balzaman smyring wiþ eallum untrumnessum þe
on mannes lichoman biþ · wiþ fefre · & wiþ
scinlace* & wi# eallum gedwolþinge*.
This is a balsam smearing against all infirmities which
on a person's body be - against fever - and against
delusions and against all 'deceitful-things'.
Royal MS 12 D XVII fol. 105r
Eal swa same se petra oleum he is god anfeald to
drincanne wi# innan tiedernesse & utan to smerwanne
on wintres dæge for þon þe he hæf# swi#e micle hæte
for #y hine mon sceal drincan on wintra · & he is god
gif hwam seo spræc oþfyl# nime þonne & wyrce
cristes mæl under his tungan & his an lytel swelge
- gif mon eac of his gewitte weor#e þonne nime
he his dæl & wyrce cristes mæl on ælcre lime
butan cruc on þam heafde foran se sceal on balzame
beon & oþer on þam heafde ufan.
Also similar - the petroleum - it is good one-fold to
drink against inward tenderness and without to smear,
on a winters day, because it has very much heat,
hence one shall drink in winter - and it is good
if for anyone the speech fails, take it thence and make
Christ's mark under his tongue, and of it a little swallow - if a man likewise from his wits becometh then take him his part and make Christ's mark on every limb
except the cross on the head in front it shall in balsam be and another on the head above.
Royal MS 12 D XVII fol. 105r
Tyriaca* is god drenc wiþ eallum inno#
tydernessum · & se man se þe hine swa begæþ swa hit
her on seg# þonne mæg he him miclum gehelpan.
Theriac is a good draught against all inward
tendernesses - and the man who him so behaves as it
here in says then may it him greatly help.
Royal MS 12 D XVII fol. 105r
To þam dæge þe he wille hine drincan he sceal fæsten
oþ midne dæg & ne læt wind beblawan þy dæge · ga
him þonne on bæþ sitte þær on o# $ he swæte ·
nime þonne ane cuppan do an lytel wearmes wætres
on innan nime þonne ane lytle snæd þæs tyriacan &
gemenge wiþ $ wæter & seoh þurh þynne hrægl
drince þonne · & ga him þonne to his reste & bewreo
hine wearme · & licge swa oþ he wel swæte · arise
þonne & sitte him up & scirpe hine & þicge
siþþan his mete to nones & beorge him georne
wiþ þone wind þæs dæges · þonne gelyfe ic to gode $
hit þam men miclum gehelpe.
On the day which he will himself drink, he shall fast
until mid day and not let wind blow upon that day - go
him then into a bath to sit thereon so that he sweat -
take then a cup, put a little warm water
inside, take then a little piece of the theriac and
mix with that water and strain through a thin garment,
drink then - and go him then to his rest and wrap
him warm - and lie so until he well sweat - arise
then and sit him up and clothe him and consume
afterwards his food at noon and shelter him earnestly against the wind of the day - then trust I to God that
it for the man greatly helps.
Royal MS 12 D XVII fol. 105r-105v
Se hwita stan mæg wiþ stice & wiþ
fleogendum attre* · & wiþ eallum uncuþum brocum.
þu scealt hine scafan on wæter & drincan tela
micel & þære readan eorþan dæl scafe þær to & þa stanas sint ealle swi#e gode of to drincanne wiþ
eallum uncuþlicu þing.
The white stone is powerful against stitch and against 'flying venom' - and against all unknown afflictions.
Thou shalt it shave into water and drink a beneficial
amount and the red earth a part shave there to and the
stones are all very good from to drink against
all unknown things.
Royal MS 12 D XVII fol. 105v
þonne $ fyr of þam stane aslegen hit is god
wi# ligetta · & wi# þunorrada & wi# ælces
cynnes gedwol þing · & gif mon on his wege biþ gedwolod slea him anne spearcan beforan biþ he
sona on rihtan.
When the fire from the stone is struck out it is good
against lightning - and against thunder and against all
kinds of deceitful things - and if one in his way be-eth
gone astray strike himself a spark before be-eth he
soon in the right.
Royal MS 12 D XVII fol. 105v
þis eal het þus secgean ælfrede cyninge domne
helias patriarcha on gerusalem.
This all ordered thus to say Alfred the king, Dominus Elias, Patriarch at Jerusalem
Royal MS 12 D XVII fol. 105v-106r
Notes:
-
scinlace - = (1) magic, necromancy, sorcery; (2) a particular act of magic, a sorcery, delusion produced by magic; (3) delusion, superstition, frenzy, rage; (4) a delusive appearance, a spectre, apparition, phantom
-
gedwolþinge = deceptive thing - magical delusion, sorcery.
-
tyriaca = 'theriac' see wikipedia (it is a medical concoction, probably an antidote, containing all manner of ingredients).
-
fleogendum attre = literally 'flying venom': Shirley Kinney in Anglo-Saxon Medicine, Cures or Catastrophe? says "the term was used to describe an illness without a perceivable cause that spread quickly and could affect many people and cause visible irritations of the skin." (viruses or airbourne bacterial infections)
Sources:
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Cockayne, 1864. Leechdoms, etc. Vol 2, pg 288/291
-
AUDREY L. MEANEY (1978) ALFRED, THE PATRIARCH AND THE WHITE STONE, Journal of the Australasian Universities Language and Literature Association, 49:1, 65-79, DOI: 10.1179/aulla.1978.005
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https://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/Viewer.aspx?ref=royal_ms_12_d_xvii_f064v
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ASSER’S LIFE OF KING ALFRED TRANSLATED FROM THE TEXT OF STEVENSON’S EDITION BY ALBERT S. COOK available here
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Alfred the Great: a diagnosis G Craig BA SRN Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine Volume 84 May 1991 - available here