The Skilful Physician was an anonymously written medical guide, published in London in 1656. While The Skilful Physician drew much of its content from existing works, it was intended for ordinary folk rather than doctors so was written in a more simple vernacular. Much of The Skilful Physician’s content is concerned with prevention, suggesting lifestyle choices, eating habits and natural prophylactics to ward off common illnesses and ailments. But it also lists more than 700 recipes, natural cures or treatments, such as this one for epilepsy:

“Take young feathered ravens… before they touch any ground. Remove the skin and feathers until clean and pull out all the guts and entrails… then put into an oven and dry so that you can make a powder thereof, then beat flesh and bones together thereof… let the patient drink it with ale or wine when the fit begins, and by God’s grace it will help.”

For problems with eyesight, such as cataracts, The Skilful Physician suggests mashing up a handful of wood lice with three different herbs, then taking this with beer. And for those painful haemorrhoids, take out the salad dressing and find some nice aged dog dung:

“Take a very old and hard white dog’s turd, which will be [found] on top of the molehills, and boil it in salad oil [until] very thick, and put it up the piles therewith, and it will help very quickly.”

Source: Anon, The Skilful Physician, containing Directions for the Preservation of a Healthful Condition and Approved Remedies for All Diseases, London, 1656. Content on this page is © Alpha History 2019-23. Content may not be republished without our express permission. For more information please refer to our Terms of Use or contact Alpha History.