Medieval medicinal plants: Miasmas, monks and mandrake

In this history course, we will explore the medieval view of illness – what were the causes of disease thought to be? What diseases were common? Who did you go to if you got ill and how did they diagnose you? Our main focus will be on the plants involved in the prevention and treatment of disease. Today, some of these plants have proven medicinal benefits and other uses and a few are still used in herbal medicine. Is it possible that, in some cases at least, medieval medics really did have the right idea? Weather permitting, we will also visit some plants used in medieval medicine that grow in the Garden.

Dr Gwenda Kyd is a chemist and freelance science writer and editor. She is interested in plant-based healing and has studied herbal medicine and other therapies. She co-devised the Botanic Garden’s ‘Chemicals from Plants’ Trail and in 2014 published a book based on the Trail, ‘Molecules, Medicines and Mischief’.