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: Drangey Island- A Place for Evil
1. Drangey is located in Skagafjrur fjord in the North of Iceland.
2. The forming of the island was explained by a tale of two giants, one female and
one male, crossing the fjord with the fjord with their cow in tow.
3. There are many different species and lots of birds on Drangey Island.
4. The rocky island Drangey in the middle of Skagafjordur is a flat topped mass of
tuff, rising almost 200 meters out of the ocean.
5. Drangey Island remnant of 700,000-year-old volcano, made of volcanic tuff,
forming massive stone fortress.
6. In late autumn of 1031, grettir assassinated lay virtually dying in shed on island.
7. Used ropes climb downwards fowling cliffs eggs, birds caught using rafts placed
on sea underneath cliffs.
8. Conditions for landing a boat at the island are extremely difficult.
9. Gumundur took it upon himself to bless the island.
10. Cliffs served as nesting places for millions of birds.

Medical Practice: Bloodletting

1. Bloodletting is one of the humanity's oldest medical practices, dating back
thousands of years and linked to many ancient cultures, including the Mayans,
Aztecs, Egyptians and Mesopotamians.
2. The typical purpose was to cure a person suffering from some kind of infirmity
(leprosy, plague, pneumonia, stroke, inflammation, herpes, acne pretty much
anything).
3. The patient was pierced or cut and then drained of several ounces of blood until
they fainted.

4. Galen would cut his patients in different areas, depending on what area he
wanted to treat.
5. Bloodletting was to help try and balance patients 4 humors.
6. Barber poles which still decorate the outsides of barber shops are a leftover
tradition dating back to the days of barber bloodletting.
7. The first U.S. president, died after having 3.75 liters of blood removed from his
body within a 10 hour period as treatment for a throat infection.
8. During the 1830s, France imported approximately 40 million leeches for the
purpose of bloodletting.
9. Bloodletting killed far more people than it cured.
10.
Research has shown that bloodletting could improve cholesterol, blood
pressure and blood glucose levels for people suffering from metabolic syndrome.