Welcome to the History Extra podcast, fascinating historical conversations from the makers of BBC History Magazine.

What would have been inside the medieval first aid kit? What were the most curious cures of the era? And is it true that it was better to

steer clear of the doctor altogether in the Middle Ages? Speaking to Emily Briffitt,

Elma Brenner answers your top questions about medieval medical theory and practice, from how gruesome

surgery was to whether leeches were really that useful.

Hi, Alma, thank you so much for joining us on the History Extra podcast. Thank you for having me.

So we are going to be delving into the world of medieval medicine. And I think the first question is

probably the one we need to ask the most, and that's, on average,

was it actually better to go to the medieval doctor than it was to nods?

It's a good question. I think it relates to how we think about our health today as well,

particularly with having a health service that is kind of there available for us to use.

It would really depend on what was wrong with

you and what kind of access you had to medical practitioners. So if you were very ill, sadly,

and if, for example, you had a severe infection, there probably wasn't a great deal that a medieval

physician could do for you. At the same

time, there was a lot of really good advice that a physician could give you about how to stay

healthy and prevent yourself from getting into a state of severe illness. And this related to

diets and exercise and other aspects of lifestyle. And so it's kind of tied to that

kind of balancing act between avoiding illness and dealing with illness when it comes along.

The other thing I'd say is that, and I think this is definitely the case today, a medical practitioner could give you reassurance. So, for example, if you were really worried that you were very ill, you might go to them and describe your symptoms and they could actually tell you that I think you're probably okay or you're going to be okay. Or if they did diagnose something that they considered to be quite serious, they

could offer you strategies to cope with that. So I think overall it was worth visiting a medical

practitioner if you could have access to one, but they definitely couldn't solve all the

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