Theory and Practice in the Anglo-Saxon Leechbooks: The Case of Paralysis

The Anglo-Saxon Leechbooks, medical texts in Old English written probably in the ninth century, contain several chapters on paralysis (OE lyftadl) and its treatment. This article examines these texts and their presumed Latin sources in an attempt to determine how an Anglo-Saxon physician might have understood paralysis and whether this understanding is reflected in the prescribed remedies. The evidence indicates that paralysis, even of the hemiplegic type (OE healfdead adl), was believed to occur when abnormal humors blocked channels in the “sinews” (peripheral nerves) that link the central nervous system to the muscles and sensory organs of the body. The treatment recommended for paralysis in both the Leechbooks and their Latin sources is clearly informed by this classical theory, attributed to Erasistratos of Alexandria, which became part of the knowledge-base of Anglo-Saxon medicine.