HEALING PRACTICES IN RUS’
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37445/adiu.2025.03.12Keywords:
anthropology, Middle Ages, trauma, medicine.Abstract
The paper provides a comprehensive overview of healing practices in Old Rus’, situating them within the broader cultural and intellectual framework of medieval Europe. Drawing on written sources, including Byzantine, Greek, Bulgarian etc. medical texts, as well as archaeological and anthropological evidence, the paper reconstructs the coexistence of several traditions of healing. Professional physicians, folk healers, and monastic medicine formed a diverse and overlapping system of medical care. Monasteries played a central role, serving as centers for the preservation and translation of medical treatises, the establishment of hospitals, and the practice of herbal medicine, diet, and hygiene. Women were actively involved in medicine, both as midwives and healers, and in some cases as authors of treatises, such as Princess Eupraxia-Zoe. Foreign doctors from Armenia, Syria, and Byzantium also contributed to the medical life of Rus’ bringing in knowledge from other traditions. The study highlights evidence of surgery and traumatology, the therapeutic use of bathhouses, and the integration of phytotherapy into daily medical practice. Illness was perceived not only as a physical condition but also as a spiritual trial, shaped by Christian ideology, which promoted healing through both prayer and practical remedies. While some scholars argue that medicine in Rus’ lacked the rational foundations of the Hippocratic tradition, the findings of the paper suggest otherwise: Old Rus’ actively absorbed and adapted external knowledge, ensuring its inclusion in the broader European intellectual and cultural space. Anthropological data from early medieval Kyiv populations (Upper Town, Podil, and Kopyriv End) reveal varying levels of trauma and evidence of healed cranial and postcranial injuries. Such cases indicate both the application of medical skills and the existence of successful treatment, particularly in instances of severe cranial trauma. The summary underscores the hybrid nature of medical practice in Rus’, where rational, empirical knowledge coexisted with religious beliefs, creating a unique model of medieval healthcare.
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