Mr. Evans

English 9 – 4

17 May 2002

     Did you know that during the Elizabethan Era out of every ten births, only seven or eight actually lived to see

the age of ten years old (Singman 22)? The sanitary conditions in England in the sixteenth century were

deplorable, therefore causing a high child mortality rate. Furthermore, in the Elizabethan Era many different

techniques or different medicines were used to help children and adults suffering from illness or diseases.

In the Elizabethan Era, people didn’t have the modern techniques and medicines that today’s society has.

Therefore, this caused them to use strange and painful procedures.

     One practice they used was bloodletting. There are many different forms of bloodletting. One form the

Elizabethans used was with a leech. They would place the leech on a person’s wound and let it suck the blood.

They thought that this would rid the illness or disease (Singman 23). For example, in barber and surgeon

companies, barbers would place a leech on a person’s wound and have it remove the blood. They would then

use a bandage or towel to absorb the blood into it. After that, they would place the bloody towel on a pole

outside the shop and let the wind dry it. This is where the red and white striped poles outside of barbershops

came from.  Another form of bloodletting was when barbers placed a cup over a wound or cut. This was

thought to cure the person’s illness and rid the "bad" blood (Singman 23). For example, in the sixteenth

century barbers used the cup method to cure people’s sicknesses.

     In addition to this, barbers and surgeons in the Elizabethan Era shared their companies and worked together

in the same shop.  As a matter of fact, barbers in the sixteenth century did most of the work that would be done

by surgeons today. For example, instead of surgeons doing the surgeries and removing blood, barbers were in

charge and were responsible for the embalming, autopsies, dentistry, and the removing of blood of their patients.

By the early 1700’s a new law forbade barbers to perform surgery, remove blood or do any other practice that

involved cutting the skin. After this law barbers were only allowed to cut and work with hair. Therefore, surgeons

started removing blood and performing surgeries while barbers and hairdressers worked with hair (Franck 22).

     In the Elizabethan Era there were many different types of medicines. The most common medicine during

this time period was herbal remedies. Herbal remedies were mixtures of herbs passed down from generation

to generation. It could also be an old family recipe that was made to cure different kinds of sicknesses

(Shakespeare’s World and Work: An Encyclopedia for Students 95). Many believed that the medicines could

actually help cure different types of illness (Shakespeare’s World and Work 94). For example, Cinchona was

the first effective herbal medicine that cured Malaria (fever). The women of the house made other herbal

medicines.  These women were expected to concoct and make the herbal remedies for their families

(The Reader’s Encyclopedia of Shakespeare 513).

     Furthermore, Elizabethans had many different beliefs. The strongest belief of medicine during this time was

in the four "humours" of the body and the four elements of earth. The four humours were phlegm, yellow bile,

blood, and black bile. If one person had more of one humour than another person, they were considered

different. For example, if one person had more blood than another, they were considered passionate, joyous,

and kind. They also had an amorous personality. Aristotle made the four elements of earth that Elizabethans

depended on.  They were earth, air, water, and fire.  For example, each element had a different meaning.

Air meant  cold, water meant moist, earth meant dry, and fire meant hot. Each element of earth was used in

different ways to help Elizabethans with their illness (The Reader’s Encyclopedia of Shakespeare 514).

     For a final thought, in the Elizabethan Era there was a high child mortality rate. This was caused by the

unsanitary conditions that they faced. The many medicines like herbal remedies and techniques they practiced

were used because they didn’t have "modern day technology" like today’s society. Each new hardship they

faced brought up new ideas and medicines to help people then and now (Patter). The ideas that they came up

with were carried from generation to generation. Some of the medicines they came up with had added

ingredients (herbs) and others took some away. The medicines that we use today may have some reflection

on the medicines that the Elizabethans came up with. So now, whenever you pop an Advil in your mouth,

just think of where it came from and if the Elizabethans were the first to discover that medicine.

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Franck, Irene and David M. Brownstone. Healers: A Volume in the Work Throughout History Series. New

     York: Facts on File, 1989.

"Medicine." Shakespeare’s World and Work: An Encyclopedia for Students. 2001.

"Medicine." The Reader’s Encyclopedia of Shakespeare. 1966.

Singman, Jeffrey. Daily Life in Elizabethan England. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1995.