I’ve been reading a history book lately, which is all about the weird things medieval people believed about their bodies.
The book is okay, I honestly thought it would be a bit more about medieval life and thought in general, but mostly it talks about medicine and strange medical ideas during the Dark Ages.
So anyway, despite the book, Medieval Bodies: Life, Death and Art in the Middle Ages, not being a total favourite for me, it still has plenty of gems.
I’ve taken (low quality, sorry!) photos from my physical copy of the book and shared the fun here with you!
Hope you enjoy these gems as much as I did, and maybe even get a little chuckle 🙂
ABOVE IMAGE EXPLANATION:Â This totally gorgeous illustration portrays the wheel of fate, as spun by the goddess Fortuna.Â
We can see four kings on her wheel, and next to each is text, which translates to: I reign, I have reigned, I will reign and I am without reign.
The illustration was added in the eleventh century to a Visigothic manuscript.
I am in love with it
ABOVE:Â I’m less in love with this silliness!
Here is a hilarious illustration from 1260 England of a ‘Blemmyae’, a race of ‘headless men’ who medieval folks thought lived in Africa near the north African coastline.
Back then, people believed their bodies were created in the image of God, so thus were perfect, and especially their head was placed closest to heaven, so was quite spiritual and important (I mean, obviously heads are indeed quite important!).
But this all means that a headless dude like this Blemmyae pictured was considered a bit sinful. Oh dear.
I think they look quite funny!
Tooth Worms (yuck!)
Another weird story from the book, is that medieval people believed that when removing a tooth, you must ensure to also remove the ‘tooth-worm’ that poked out of the gum, which they thought caused tooth decay.Â
It took them a few hundred more years to realise those ‘tooth-worms’ were in fact nerves, and they should leave them alone.
Also, shit, I have to go to the dentist after I finish writing this, and talking about tooth-worms right now sort of freaks me out!).
Yuck!
ABOVE:Â A reliquary encasing the jawbone (squint and you can see the actual jawbone through the glass!) of Saint Anthony of Padua, made in 1349.
This saint was known for basically having what we now might call ‘the gift of the gab’. So when he died they encased his gabby jawbone in a heap of gems and gold. Also, the domed glass face part is made of clear rock crystal. Pearls and real gemstones, too. Very fancy!
ABOVE:  Last one, I promise. But I saved the best for last! This is an anatomical image (apparently!) of a skinless dude, casually carrying his own creepy skin flaps on a pole over his shoulder (complete with wispy hair!).
This one both disturbs me and makes me chuckle out loud! I think this is from 1306 in France. The book this appears in was called ‘Surgery’ and was an early medical tome for learning. So there you go!
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PJ Nwosu writes dark mystery novels set in epic fantasy worlds.
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