The History of Early Cures & Remedies: Part Two

By Mr Ghaz, September 10, 2010

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The History of Early Cures & Remedies: Part Two

Doctors in the west continued to influence each other but knew nothing of the Chinese approach. After the fall of Rome in the fifth century AD, there was no medical teaching in Europe, but the Arabs studied and translated many Greek manuscripts, making useful additions of their own. Rhazes (865-925), chief physician at the hospital in Baghdad, was the first to distinguish between smallpox and measles. The medical works of the Persian writer Avicenna (980-1037) were compulsory reading for European medical students until about 1650.

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Medical teaching in Europe was revived in the tenth century, and Latin translations of the medical classics were made from the Arab works. Doctors still followed the teachings of Galen and Avicenna until the sixteenth century when there was a demand for them to start looking for themselves instead of slavishly following the words of the ancients. This meant dissecting bodies to find out how they worked

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In 1543, a young Belgian named Vesalius (1514-64) published the first work on human anatomy based on careful observation of the dissected human body. The work of Vesalius was not really appreciated during his lifetime. People still continued to cling to the theories of Galen. After trying unsuccessfully to promote his teachings, Vesalius gave up and burned all his unpublished manuscripts. But his work was an important step forward. The medical world was ready to move on to finding out for itself, a process that has been continued ever since.

Roman Ideas

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The Romans followed and improved upon many of the ideas put forward by Hippocrates, Galen (c. AD 130-200) was a Roman physician, who was born at Pergamum in Asia Minor. He learned that the muscles are controlled by the brain from his work as a doctor to the gladiators’ school in Pergamum. Galen later became personal doctor to five of the Roman emperors.

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Galen wrote medical works which covered 500 years of study by doctors of Greece and Rome as well as his own findings. He made many mistakes in his own theories because he did not base his arguments on observation of human patients. For example, he thought that the blood passed from one side of the heart to the other but did not realize that it circulated around the body. However, his skill in putting forward his arguments meant that his theories were not challenged for hundreds of years and remained the basis of medical thought for 1,500 years after his death.

Ideas from the East

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As with all other aspects of their early civilization, the Chinese developed their medical ideas independently of anyone else. By the sixth century AD, the Chinese had a system of medicine which is still used today. This was the theory of ‘yin and yang’. The Chinese believe that the two opposite forces of yin and yang dominate the world. These forces have to be balanced for good health. Each organ of the body is either yin or yang, and different circumstances and forces can influence the balance of yin and yang in the body. An imbalance leads to illness.

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The Chinese also believe that a life force, known as ‘chi’, flows through the body and that this flow must be steady. Many types of Chinese medicine, including acupuncture, are concerned with balancing yin and yang and maintaining a steady flow of chi. Herbs, massage and other forms of natural treatment are used instead of drugs. These forms of medicine are ‘holistic’, that is they aim to treat the whole body rather than just affected part.

Early Operations

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In the sixteenth century, doctors knew so little about the workings of the human body that internal operations were hardly ever attempted. Amputating or cutting off an infected limb was the most common operation. There were no anesthetics in those days and the patient had to be held down while the limb was sawn off. Many patients either died from the shock of the operation or from infections caused by unhygienic conditions. The stump of the amputated limb was sealed with red-hot iron or boiling pitch to stop the bleeding.

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The best surgeon of the time was Ambroise Paré (1517-90), a Frenchman who was surgeon-general to the armies of three French kings. Paré learned from the wounded soldiers he had to treat and operate on. He introduced new and more effective surgical instruments and a new way of stopping bleeding by trying up the arteries on the stump of an amputated limb. Paré also designed an artificial hand with fingers that moved by springs and small wheels. It was so effective that a soldier could grasp the reins of his horse with the fingers.

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By dissecting bodies, surgeons such as Vesalius and Paré were able to find out more about how the body worked. Unfortunately, many religious people at the time were opposed to the idea of cutting up’ the bodies of the dead. Vesalius’ first dissections were of bodies of criminals that he had stolen from the public gallows.

Anatomists (people who study the inside of human bodies) were regarded with deep suspicion by most people until well into the nineteenth century.

The battle that defined the Serbs as a people that valued freedom and  Christianity above all else. It was the very battle that destroyed most of the Serbian male population, a fight to the bitter end against the most powerful force in the world , the Ottoman Turks.  It was the great Battle of Kosovo,  fought on St Vitus Day, June 15th 1389. It was the Battle of Kosovo that forged the Serbian national identity, defined the Serbs as a people that chose war over surrender, and Christianity over Islam. Serbs chose their inevitable demise over the betrayal  of Europe. The Battle of Kosovo ushered in an era of Islamic hegemony in the Balkans and the death of one of Europes most advanced civilisations of the time The Eastern Roman Empire, and with it the nation that became its protector, medieval Serbia.

What has the Battle Of Kosovo allowed to occur? Well despite being a Serb victory, it was a crippling battle that left Serbia a much weakened kingdom. This critical impact was taken as a chance for Hungary to attack and pillage Serbia after the Kosovo battle. It also allowed for the Turks to gather new recruits and eventually defeat the remaining Serb resistance over the following century after the battle. This solidified the Ottoman Turk presence in the Balkans, but also in a huge way weakening their military capabilities, so much so as to destroy the ability for any further expansionism into Europe. No it wasn’t the Catholic alliance that stopped the Ottoman Turks from destroying Europe altogether and enslaving the weak Western Europe of the time, it was some hundreds of years of Serb warring that crippled the Ottomans to a point that rendered further territorial gain  a mere ambition lacking military might. Its accurate to say that the Serbs had as a proud Slavic people saved Europe of decimation by deeply wounding the invading Islamic dog. Sadly this sacrifice had in itself solidified the Ottoman rule in SE Europe.

The Ottoman Empire was a practically a wall that blocked western endeavours into the remaining world. This prompted people like Marco Polo, Christopher Columbus and Captain Cook to travel the Atlantic ocean in search of far away lands.  This also allowed Western Europe to flourish, allowing for the renaissance, science and revolution to occur at the expense of Serb pain and suffering under the Ottoman Empire. Id say that the Western World wouldn’t even exist if it wasn’t for the Serb war sacrifices of the mid fourteenth to mid fifteenth centuries. Maybe today the world would be a society built upon Islamic ideals? Or a world free of Christianity all together. Maybe the Caucasian would have become the slave not the other way around? Either way it was the Serbs that through a range of huge medieval battles, and immense life and liberty losses, had achieved in allowing the Western European realm to flourish and the western world to develop.

What was the finest action the Serbs done for mankind? Fight a battle that was to cripple their once mighty Kingdom, and all in sacrifice to saving Christianity and the European people.  The great Battle Of Kosovo created a paradise for Western Europe and in doing so helped create the western world as we know it! The Serbian culture is built around martyrdom, sacrifice, medieval power, and a spirit that only matches their glorious past and heritage. No the Serbs aren’t a perfect model nationality, but they are the most heroic nation that has ever existed amongst their brothers the Russians. The Serbs will forever chose War and struggle over surrender and foreign rule. My bet is the world is yet to learn the full extent of this national and collective mentality! Will it cost the lives of all Serbs? Maybe at the cost of the destruction of all the major world powers with it. Lets just hope Serbia’s sacrifices don’t go unheard of or ignored. Just maybe a little respect and recognition is all that’s needed as a thank you for 500 years of modern day sacrifice and European preservation.

But then, just maybe, the battle of Kosovo is still not over…..

1. Joan of Arc

   
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   Known as the “Maid of Orleans,” she was granted the command of the French army in 1429 at a tender age of only 16 or17 by the Dauphin of France (the future Charles VII) during the Hundred Years’ War. She was sent to Siege of Orleans, where she captured all the English fortifications in just 9 days. Her victories in Jargeau, Meung-sur-Loire, Beaugency and Patay helped regained almost every English possession in France.

2. Septima Zenobia

   She possessed exceptional beauty and was well educated, able to speak Latin, Greek, Syriac and Coptic. Upon claiming the throne of the Palmyrene Empire (present day Syria) (3rd century A.D.) upon the death of her husband Septimus Odenathus, she led armies in defeating the Romans, who weren’t too thrilled on having women ruling their vast territories. She also conquered parts of Egypt and Asia Minor, but was ultimate betrayed by the new emperor Aurelian due to gender prejudice.

3. Ahhotep I (1560-1530 B.C.)

   She acted as regent when her young son Ahmose I ascended the throne of Egypt. She personally trained, equipped and rallied her troops in defeating the Hyksos invaders; and united Upper and Lower Egypt under one rule. This warrior queen, whose military exploits were recounted on a stone monument in the temple of Amun-Re, was found buried with three “golden fly” medals symbolizing her heroic courage in battle.

4. Angelica Bruton

   She was adept in both sword and hand-to-hand combat and served in various campaigns defending Corsica from 1792 to 1799. At first, she fought disguised as a man, but when her true gender was discovered, she had already proven her worth that she was permitted to continue in the army. This French lieutenant was awarded the French Legion of Honor by Napoleon III, the first woman to be so honored.

5. Aethelflaed

   The daughter of Alfred the Great and sister of Edward the Elder of Wessex, she became the ruler of Mercia (912 – 918) after her husband Aethelred, Earl of Mercia, died in battle. As a military leader, she had ordered the fortifications of her borders, led forces in defeating the Danish invaders and was able to recover lost territories.

6. Matilda of Canossa

   
   Sculpture by Bernini (Saint Peter’s Basilica, Rome)

   She was the Countess of Tuscany, had excellent weapons training as a child, and accompanied her parents in battle in 1061 defending the interests of Pope Alexander II and fighting against the antipopes. In 1069, she began to command armies and spent the next three decades in the service of several popes waging war against the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV.

7. Urraca, Queen of Aragon

   She spent thirteen years waging warfare against her second husband Alfonso I of Aragon in order to defend the inheritance rights of her son by her first husband Raymond of Burgundy. She was able to recover much of her domain and reigned victoriously for many years as Queen of Leon and Castille from 1109 until her death in 1126.

8. Tomoe Gozen

   
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   A samurai from 12th century Japan, she was well respected and fought as bravely as any male samurai. While other women took up arms to defend their homes, she was the consummate warrior, skillful in archery, swordmanship and horsemanship. She was a loyal captain of her husband Minamoto Yoshinaka’s army, having led troops during the Gempei War and Battle of Awaru.

9. Catalina de Erauso

   A Basque woman from San Sebastian Spain known as “the Lieutenant Nun,” she escaped tp convent in 1596 at age 15, cut her hair short, and wore man’s clothes. She then traveled to Peru, where she enlisted herself, joined in the Arauco War against South American natives, took command when her captain was killed, and led her troops to triumph. However, her tendency toward violence was not only confined to the battlefield but also in her ordinary everyday life, involving herself in gambling, brawling, murders, thefts and various other crimes.

10. Nadezhda Durova

    

    A decorated army captain, she published in 1836 “the Cavalry Maiden,” a memoir recounting her military experiences. Though married with a son, she left home and joined the Russian cavalry, disguised as a man under the name Alexander Sokolov. She served with distinction in all 1806-1807 Prussian campaign and the 1812 Napoleon’s invasion of Russia, that Tsar Alexander I, who heard of her peerless courage, awarded her the Cross of St. George making her the first known female officer in the Russian military.

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• Famous Teen Deaths
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• Heroes of the Holocaust & Their Stories of Courage 1
• Heroes of the Holocaust & Their Stories of Courage 2
• 10 Bizarre Deaths in History
• 10 (More) Bizarre Deaths in History
• 10 (Ultimate) Bizarre Deaths in History