Medieval Superstitions & Medicine

Use the following websites to start your research:

1. http://listverse.com/2014/03/03/10-completely-uncanny-superstitions-from-themiddle-ages/
2. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/8913709/Tony-Robinson-on-thetop-five-superstitions-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: Changelings
Changelings are deformed fairy or elf children
Fairies would swap changelings with human children
The child could be returned by making the changeling laugh or by torturing it
Mythical creatures wanted human babies in order to raise them as servants or as
their own
Non- baptized and beautiful children (Blonde Hair and Blue Eyes) were at a higher
risk of being swapped with a changeling
It was believed that putting a steel item over the cradle would protect a unbaptized infant from being abducted
There were often abusive methods used to get rid of a changeling such as beating,
drowning, and burning a child
Infants with birth defects were mistaken for changelings
Some people believed that treating the changeling with kindness would return their
child
Changelings were ugly and/or had very bad behavior

Medical Practice: Bloodletting

Bloodletting, a common medical procedure in medieval times, is said to have first
been practiced by the Sumerians and Egyptians.
Fevers and other sickness were believed to be an overabundance of blood
They often used leeches to drain blood out of a patient
The human body had was composed of for major substances or humors yellow bile,
black bile, phlegm, and blood.
If all 4 humors werent balanced it could cause mental changes
Bloodletting sometimes caused death due to blood loss
A special tool called a fleam was often used to puncture a vein in order to draw
blood
It was used to treat many different aliment
George Washington died from excessive bleeding due to a bloodletting procedure
A church prohibited their monks from performing bloodletting procedures in 1163