In ancient times, when medicine was still in its infancy, diseases were still fought. The lack of certified doctors led to the fact that people were engaged in healing, who learned to relieve suffering on the basis of the life experience of their ancestors.
In ancient Russia, at first, medical personnel were represented by herbalists and herbalists. The former were used in the treatment of plants, the latter tried to drive out ailments with the help of conspiracies and potions. This was declared a crime against the faith and was punishable by death. But soon there appeared people with elementary medical skills - hereditary healers.
Monastic secrets
Some specialized in Kamchuzhne (treatment of rheumatism), others, "face-to-face", helped with eye diseases. Kamnesechians eased the suffering of those who had problems with the bladder. Keel and Chechuyans treated hernia and hemorrhoids, respectively. Where did they get their knowledge for healing remains a mystery, most likely based on the experience accumulated by generations. They went on trips in order to help other unfortunate people, and at the same time to make money. Hence their common name - plantain healers.
In Western Europe, the situation was somewhat different. There, at first, monks acted as doctors. Since, firstly, they were the most educated people, and secondly, they had at their disposal the scientific treatises of ancient Arab physicians, which served as a source of knowledge. However, this lasted only until 1215, when the Pope forbade the inhabitants of the monasteries to provide medical services.
Then the monks began to teach local peasants to do the simplest surgical operations. Although this was problematic, due to the lack of strong anesthetics. The most effective for pain relief in those days was considered a tincture made on the basis of castrated bull bile, belladonna juice, opium and vinegar, which was diluted with wine.
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Strange medicines
The recipes used by itinerant healers could have been quite disconcerting. For example, the most popular was a powder from a human skull, which supposedly prolonged life. The same powder, but made from the skull on which the moss grew, was recommended as a hemostatic agent. It was also believed that an ointment made from human fat mixed with cinnabar was good for treating rabies. The water with which the deceased was washed is effective in relieving seizures. Cadaveric poison helps to remove warts, a tooth taken from a deceased prevents caries. Powdered droplets made from dried human excrement have been shown to resist the development of glaucoma.
To obtain such ingredients, self-taught doctors were forced to make significant efforts, since mockery of the dead was punishable by death. Only the bodies of the dead homeless and criminals were available. But it was easy to profit from such prey during the times of numerous wars. It was believed that medicines prepared from corpses that died a violent death have additional healing power.
To protect against poisoning and subsequent diarrhea, healers sold the talisman bezoar - stones extracted from the stomach of animals. They were coated with cholic acid and phosphate salts, turning them into a “healing gallstone”. I must say that there were enough other prejudices in practice.
For example, one of the manuals for European travel healers gives the following recommendation: “If a healer, approaching the house where the patient is lying, sees a stone lying next to it, turns it over, and if he, the healer, sees some living creature under it, whether it be a worm, an ant, or another creature, the healer can confidently assert that the patient will recover."
In Russia, the first certified doctors appeared at the invitation of Ivan the Terrible to serve him and the courtiers of the royal court. But the first hospital with 15 beds appeared in Russia only in the 17th century. Foreign doctors working there, for a high fee, served only wealthy citizens. Therefore, the commoners had to, in the old fashion, seek help from roadside healers. They stopped their travels only in the second half of the 19th century, turning into rare sedentary folk healers for the local population.
Sergey Uranov