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The Physicians of the Celts v1.1 by Sorcha Nic an tSaoir bean Hamultun Our ancestors may have called them 'fáithliaig' (from the compound of 'fáith', a seer, and 'liaig' a leech) or perhaps they were called the Old Irish term 'midach'. Today we call them physicians. A facet of the multicomplex Druid personna, these people, both male and female, took care of the sick, the elderly, and the feeble, with complete and trustworthy dedication to the art of healing. The lore is repleat with Celtic Gods and Goddesses who were healers or had representative qualities of a healer; Brigid, Sequana, Belenus and of course the most famous of physicians, the Irish God of medicine Dian Cecht; he who is best known for giving Nuada his silver arm. In speaking of Dian Cecht, the author Charles Squire writes: "Some prescriptions of Diancecht's have come down to us, but it must be admitted that they hardly differ from those current among ordinary mediaeval physicians. Perhaps, after that unfortunate spilling of the herbs that grew out of Miach's body, he had to fall back on empirical research. He invented a porridge for "the relief of ailments of the body, as cold, phlegm, throat cats, and the presence of living things in the body, as worms"; it was compounded of hazel buds, dandelion, chickweed, sorrel and oatmeal; and was to be taken every morning and evening. He also prescribed against the effects of witchcraft and the fourteen diseases of the stomach." Dian Cecht's son, Miach, who proved to be an even better physician, healed Nuada's arm completely, bringing it back to flesh and bone. He also had a daughter, Airmid, who helped her father guard the sacred "Well of Healing" and is credited with naming the 365 herbs of healing. It was quite normal for physicians to run in families, passing down great tracts of knowledge in the medical arts. As was common, these were passed down most often as verbal skills. The oldest surviving medical book in Ireland is dated CE 1352, yet it is an obvious copy of a far older text. Through the turmoil of the English suppression of the Irish medical schools and the intelligensia of Ireland being destroyed, there are still a wealth of texts that still survive. Older medical books still exist and are kept at the British Museum. These medical works, the majority of which date between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries, are considered to be the largest surviving collection in any one language. There are many still left untranslated. The Physicians and Their Qualifications (The Laws) In pre-Christian times, there was little to no concern for the sick in most European societies (Romans and Greeks most often chose death as the 'cure' for their feeble, ill or elderly - believing that plagues and pestilence were caused by demons). The Celts differed as they had assured care for the ill and dying. They saw their responsibilities as a natural occurence. The laws were a reflection of natural laws (responsibilty for self and family), in all ways. [1] The laws offer several references to the qualifications of a physician and their legal duties. According to Bretha Nemed toisech ' three things confer nemed-status on a physician: a complete cure, leaving no blemish, a painless examination.' While these are not necessarily legal requirements, they are to be strived for as a physician. Public recognition was also required before a physician was free to practice medicine in a tuath. For a more extensive understanding of the laws regarding the midach, the Bretha Cro/lige and the Bretha Dein Checht still exist and provide more information in regards to the physician's function and illegal injury. Brehon laws are very clear in that only qualified physicians were allowed to treat the sick. Unqualified physicians faced severe penalties. As qualified physicians, they were responsible for the treatment of their patients. If, through negligence or ignorance, they were the cause of a patient's worsening condition, they were responsible for compensation by the laws. A physician was also responsible for the training of four medical students. According to Dr. James J. Walsh "The provision for nursing in these hospitals is rather interesting because it included, at the same time, the training of the young men for the practice of medicine, and therefore resembled, in certain respects at least, our (modern) system of clinical teaching." The physician was giving the utmost care to his patient, for as he worked, so did he teach; thus being constantly under scrutiny by his students for their understanding of medicine. The local clann was responsible for assuring that a physician should have time away from his practice so as to study new techniques and learn new knowledge. It was the clann's responsibility that ' he might be preserved from being disturbed by the cares and anxieties of life and enabled to devote himself to the study and work of his profession'. The Senchus Mor states: "All classes in the territory have the same right under the law of sick maintenance." What this means is that regardless of their stature, the sick and elderly were assured of curative treatments and nourishment. In addition, should a person be injured unlawfully, it was incumbent upon the party causing the harm to pay for the care of the injured whether it be in a hospital or in a private house. The "Law of Torts" states that 'full sick maintenance (must be paid) to a worker injured for the sake of unnecessary profit...' The Brehon laws also insist that the family of the ill should be provided for, in that the dependents of a sick or injured man would not be without food or security until recovery. Peter Berrisford Ellis in 'The Druids' writes: "Each territory had to maintain a hospital. The law is exact on this. It should have four doors, be placed by a stream of running water and be maintained free of charge or taxation by the local assembly. The existence of numerous hospitals in ancient Ireland is attested by the names of towns or places, such as An Spide/al (Spiddal,Spital etc.) The laws were very explicit on how these hospitals should be run. "Local physicians and their students would practise at the hospital. A full-time caretaker, or hospital manager in modern parlance, had to be employed who would be responsible for keeping away dogs, mentally sick people (who had their own insitutions) or anyone liable to cause the sick and injured distress." The Physicians and Their Skills A physician had many instruments with which to perform his skill. Some of which were a stethoscope, a horn called a gipne or gibne (in Cormac's Glossary [2] as adarc lege - physician's horn), tweezers, and a surgical probe (fraig). It is known that the surgeons were knowledgeable in closing up wounds by the story of Conchobha Mac Nessa's head wound being sutured with gold thread. Herbs were widely recognized and used for their curative purposes. Other, perhaps less practical, instruments or techniques were also used, such as astrological observations, augury, and what were known as 'healing stones'. The physicians of the celts were widely versed in different surgical skills; from amputations, to Caesarian Sections (A woman physician of the tuath (banliaig tuaithe), whose main work may have been as a midwife, would have been present at births. [3]), to eye surgery to what is known as "trephining" defined as the drilling of holes into the head and removal of damaged areas of the skull/brain. "...at the Battle of Magh Rath in AD 637 a young Irish chieftain by the name of Cennfaelad had his skull fractured by a sword blow. He was taken to the medical school of Tomregan and had the injured portion of his skull and a portion of his brain removed. On his recovery, it is said his wits were sharpened and he became a great scholar and the author of _Uraicept na n-eces_ (Primer of Poets), a work still existing in copied form. Certain legal commentaries on the _Book of Acaill_ are also ascribed to Cennfaelad who is credited with founding the famous bardic college at Derryloran, Co. Tyrone." Baths and Springs One of the fascinating areas of the Irish sagas is the use of medicated baths. Everything from "the milk of 159 white hornless cows" to medicinal herbs was used for healing wounds of the wounded warriors. Cormac's Glossary also says that a medicated bath (fothrucud) was most often used for lepers. Medicinal herbs were widely advocated and prescribed. In fact, the Bretha Cro/lige states that the "purpose for herb gardens was for care of the sick." That which is called a 'hot-air bath' has been used in Ireland for a cure for rheumatism up until recent years. The building, which was constructed of stone, has been described as five to seven feet long and is called a Tigh 'n alluis or "sweating house". A fire was used to heat the inside of the building and then removed. A patient, wrapped in a blanket, was put inside the building and the door was closed behind them. They were left in the building until they were sweating, once removed they were plunged into cold water and then rubbed warm. After this procedure, they were encouraged to meditate (dercad) to achieve a state of peace (sitcha/in). These are more commonly known in this age as "Turkish baths". A place in southwest England now known as Bath was, in the Iron Age, revered for its natural hot springs. In the findings at Bath was an oculists stamp for an eye salve, the suggestion that the physicians of the time would hold clinics near these areas would not be unreasonable. The nearness to the revered area, would in itself, add to the enhancement of the reputation to both the site as well as the physician making the cures. It is commonly understood that the Iron Age celts gave offerings of both votive and sacrificial nature for healings by leaving models or caricatures of body parts in or near sacred springs. Models recovered of arms, eyes, legs, breasts, and internal organs in the form of wooden sculptures or less often as embossed plaques of metal leave little doubt to the belief in the curative powers of the water. Other well known sites for these types of findings are the shrine of Sequana at the source of the Seine in Burgundy and Chamalieres near the Clermont-Ferrand. Notes:
[1] For a better understanding of this ideology read What Is Tribal Culture and Its Pertinence To Gaelic Traditionalism v. 1.0 Sources: prepared by Sorcha Nic AnTsaoir bean Hamulton |
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