Tutor Patricia Taylor challenged us to look at the origins of domestic remedies through folklore, herbals, journals and household books from pre-history to present day. It was surprising to learn just how wide-ranging the subject is.

To start with we looked at past ideas and beliefs about well-being, disease and healing. Then we examined teratments and remedies used to cure a wide range of ailments. We learnt who prepared the remedies, and who was able to provide a range of treatments.

We considered how people knew which plant or other materials to select and then prepare for medicinal purposes. Some of the ingredients were familiar to us and accepted in modern medicine. Others, such as metals and animal waste products, may or may not have been beneficial, but definitely wouldn’t appeal today.

It was quite striking how the remedy would vary depending on what you could afford to pay. In some cases the remedy seemed to be to eat a vast meal, an option not available to the less well-off. Maybe the remedy for those that could afford less was more effective!

Thanks to Patricia we are now better able to appreciate the influence that magic and medicine had on the population throughout recorded history.  

To be kept informed of all branch courses please contact:

Richard Farquharson
WEA Helmdon Branch Secretary
Tel.: 01295 760079
E-mail: rcfarquharson@hotmail.com