Jack Hartnell is an Associate Professor of Art History specialising in the art of the Middle Ages and it shows in this book. "Lauded above sweat or urine or spiritus, blood was the medieval body’s most vital substance." Chapter 7Occasionally the author drifted off topic and while still maintaining my interest in the content provided, it weakened the overall structure of the book in my opinion. The appropriate treatment was then prescribed, which might include blood letting, leeches, poultices and more. Of course, this includes the four humours (blood, yellow bile, black bile and phlegm), and if a person was unwell, this was attributed to an imbalance of the humours. head, heart, hands, feet and so on) from the head to foot in order to provide the reader with an overall picture of the body in the middle ages and the approach to medicine at the time. Medieval Bodies is structured with chapters dedicated to different parts of the body (e.g. Medieval Bodies: Life, Death and Art in the Middle Ages by Jack Hartnell was a great follow up after reading Life in a Medieval Castle by Joseph Gies and Frances Gies in July.
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