History Visits
Medical Dictionary
B
Within these pages I will try to list out some of the ailments the Anglo-Saxons suffered from, the remedies that might have been associated with them, and the tools and ingredients used.
For translations of the plant names, I have used the most excellent website (Dictionary of Old English Plant Names) found here. (It is free to register). Where a plant has been definitively identified the name will be written in regular text; where there is some discussion or confusion of the name, it will be highlighted and further notes will be underneath the entry. There are many issues around plant identification because of scribal error, foreign plants, etc...
These pages are for entertainment purposes only. Please always seek the help of a trained medical professional.
balsam balzaman
"the resinous exudate (or sap) which forms on certain kinds of trees and shrubs. Balsam (from Latin balsamum "gum of the balsam tree", ultimately from Semitic, Aramaic busma, Arabic balsam and Hebrew basam, "spice", "perfume") owes its name to the biblical Balm of Gilead."
Wikipedia
Species and Find Sites:
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non native to England
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commonly identified as Commiphora gileadensis (Arabian balsam tree) synonymous with Commiphora opobalsamum (L.) Engl.
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opobalsamum is given in the contemporary Latin glosses
bath(ing) beþing(c)e, beþe, gebeðede, bæ#
Baths or bathings are prescribed for many conditions, within most of the medical texts.
see here:
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For 'air disease'
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In case women be stopped in their month condition (amenorrhoea)
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If theor be stopped in one place
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For the liver swelling or tumour
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Healing-laws which the thinning power have and reducing
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For a hard swelling of the maw
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Dominus Elias, Patriarch at Jerusalem's prescription for King Alfred
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For a joint sore
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For bladder sore
see also here:
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If anyone be in head pain after a bath
Dropsical woman in a bath, attended by St. Radegund, from The Life of St. Radegund (vellum) by French School, (11th century); Bibliotheque Municipale, Poitiers, France
Notes:
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The Patriarch's quote is "go him then into a bath to sit thereon so that he sweat", which suggests a receptacle large enough to sit down in (King Alfred 848/849 – 26 October 899 seems to have had contact with many overseas peoples.) Medieval bath tubs are wooden, sometimes covered with a cloth to avoid splinters. The Radegund bath seems to be barrel-like. The only other older baths I could find online were sunken pools in the ground and used for ritual bathing (mikvah for example).
biotin (Vitamin B7)
Biotin is needed in very small amounts to help the body break down fat. The bacteria that live naturally in your bowel are able to make biotin, so it's not clear if you need any additional biotin from the diet. Biotin is also found in a wide range of foods, but only at very low levels.
NHS Choices
bloating wamb biþ windes full
The most common reason for bloating is having a lot of gas in your gut. This can be caused by some food and drinks, such as some vegetables and fizzy drinks, or by swallowing air when you eat. It can also be caused by a problem with your digestion, such as: constipation.
NHS
gif sio wamb biþ windes full þonne cym# $ of
wlacre wætan - sio cealde wæte wyrcþ
saran. Wiþ þon sceal mon seoþan cymen on ele - &
merces sæd - & moran sæd - & diles - gif se
cyle sie mara do þonne rudan & laures blede -
& finoles sæd gesoden on ele - gif þonne git sio
adl egle gebringe inne þurh pipan o##e
horn swa læcas cunnan þonne deþ $ $ sar
aweg. Gif þonne git sio adl
egle do spatl to & gelauredne ele
$ is laures seaw o##e blostman gemenged & eac
oþru þing gir þearf sie sece mon.
If the belly be of wind full whence cometh it from
lukewarm moisture - this cold moisture worketh
sores. For this shall one cook cumin in oil - and
celery's seed - and root's (2) seed - and dill's - if the
chill be greater, add then rue and laurel's blade -
and fennel's seed cooked in oil - if then, still be the
disease troublesome, bring in through a pipe or
horn (as leeches know) then causes it (that sore)
to go away. If however, still be the disease
troublesome, add spittle to [it] and laurelled oil -
that is laurel's juice or blossoms mixed, and any
other thing, if need be, seek out one [shall].
Bald's Leechbook II
Cockayne 1864 vol 2, pg 224/5 xxviii
bone ache ban ece
Balds Leechbook I
Cockayne 1864 vol 2. pg 68/69, xxviii
Resources:
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Cockayne, Leechdoms 1864