Therapeutic Bloodletting In Ireland From The Medieval Period To Modern Times

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Bloodletting by venesection or by the application of leeches was commonly engaged in by medical practitioners until the late nineteenth century. Based on the classical ideas of Hippocrates and Galen that humoral imbalance was the cause of disease, bleeding was used to treat sickness and maintain health. While the paradigm of humoral medicine was challenged by iatrochemistry in the early modern period, bleeding remained popular into the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Bloodletting was practised widely in Ireland from at least the thirteenth century and possibly earlier; both the Gaelic and Anglo-Norman communities resorted to bleeding. This paper explores the origins of therapeutic bleeding in Ireland and examines the experiences of bloodletting among the Irish in the context of evolving ideas in medicine from the medieval period until it was abandoned in the first half of the twentieth century.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1-22
Number of pages22
JournalProceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, Section C: Archaeology, Celtic Studies, History, Linguistics and Literature
Volume121C
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2021
Externally publishedYes

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