Medieval Superstitions & Medicine

Use the following websites to start your research:

1. http://listverse.com/2014/03/03/10-completely-uncanny-superstitions-from-the-middle-ages/
2. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/8913709/Tony-Robinson-on-the-top-fivesuperstitions-that-gripped-medieval-Britain.html
3. http://www.stylist.co.uk/life/13-strange-superstitions
4. http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/health_and_medicine_in_medieval_.htm
5. http://listverse.com/2013/07/31/10-bizarre-medieval-medical-practices/
6. https://www.aimseducation.edu/blog/medieval-medical-practices-still-use-today/
After skimming the websites above, choose the 1 superstition AND the 1 medical
practice that intrigue you the MOST. Continue your narrowed research to learn the
specific details of each. Compile a list of at least 10 facts about each. Bookmark the
website(s) where you found your information on your Pearltrees account.
Superstition: The Wild Man of Orford
Facts1) There is a memorial of him on the market square in Orford.
2) The story takes place in the 12th century.
3) The Wild man is called a Wild man because he is very hairy and because he does
not speak or recognize Christian symbols.
4) A man named Ralph of Coggeshall wrote the story.
5) Ralph wrote the story thirty years afdter it supposedly happened.
6) Many believed that the wild man was an evil spirit from a fisherman that
drowned.
7) The wild man would eat anything they gave him and even squeezed juice out of a
fish before eating it.
8) The wild man broke through three nets to escape.
9) Many believe that the wild man was incarcerated at St. Bartholomews church,
others believe he was incarcerated in the castle.
10)Back then, the sea was seen as mysterious and dangerous but vital.

Title of Website: suffolkfolktales.com

Medical Practice: Bloodletting
Facts1)
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Bloodletting is believed to have originated in Ancient Egypt.

It was believed that all illnesses were cause by an overabundance of blood.
Bloodletting was a common treatment in Medieval Europe.
Bloodletting was a treatment for plague and smallpox.
The practitioner would usually cut a vein in the neck or forearm.
The blade used to cut the vein was also called a fleam.
Monks were prohibited from performing bloodletting on a person.
Barbers commonly practiced bloodletting and other medical surgeries.
George Washington was believed to die because of bloodletting.

10)Leeches were also used for bloodletting instead of a blade.

Title of Website: history.com