There are fascinating medieval roots behind the healing cure in my book A SNOWFLAKE AT MIDNIGHT in which Medical Mistletoe makes an appearance.
From Mistletoe to Medieval Manuscripts
After researching mistletoe’s medicinal properties, I needed a believable, historic source for the cure my character discovers to save her father. My curiosity led me down a rabbit hole of ancient medical texts, especially those accessible in medieval England. That’s when I stumbled on Bald’s Leechbook—an Anglo-Saxon medical manuscript over 1,000 years old that contains remedies surprisingly effective even today.
What’s a Leechbook?
The name sounds gruesome, right? Most people think of leeches and bloodsucking when they hear “leechbook.” But the Old English word “leech” actually means “healer.” So a leechbook is simply a “healing book” — a collection of medical knowledge from that era.
Leeches, the worms, did have some place in history, and even modern medicine, for specific treatments like reducing bruising or blood pooling—but the leechbook itself is about much more than that.
Bald’s Eyesalve: A 1,000-Year-Old Antibiotic?
One remedy from Bald’s Leechbook grabbed my attention: an eye salve recipe that modern researchers have been testing for antibacterial effects. Christina Lee, an Anglo-Saxon expert at the University of Nottingham, collaborated with microbiologists to recreate and test this ancient formula.
Testing in the Lab and Beyond
They conducted in vitro tests (meaning outside a living organism—in Petri dishes) and found that Bald’s Eyesalve was highly effective at killing MRSA—methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a dangerous antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Following that, in vivo tests (in living animals, in this case mice) in the United States showed the salve worked better than conventional treatments on wounds.
So what’s in this ancient remedy? The recipe includes:
- Wine (the researchers sourced historically accurate English wine)
- Garlic (well-known for antibacterial properties)
- Leeks (another allium species)
- Ox gall (bile from a cow’s gallbladder)
- All mixed and left to stand in a brass vessel for nine nights
The brass is no accident—brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, and copper has well-documented antimicrobial effects. In fact, copper and similar metals are now being reconsidered for medical applications because they disrupt bacterial cell walls.
Bringing Bald’s Eyesalve into A Snowflake at Midnight
If you’ve read A Snowflake at Midnight, this should sound familiar. Here’s the villain Bracken reading the recipe in the book:
“Onion or leek. Garlic. Wine. Ox gall. A brass vessel. Mix and let sit for nine days.”
He smiled, smug. “A laboratory project easily conducted. We test the antimicrobial activity of all combinations in order to tease out any and all active ingredients. Brilliant.”
The story’s fictional research team, Evie and Dr. Wilson, even write a paper on metals and medieval remedies, echoing the real-world curiosity about these ancient cures.
The Challenge of Translating Medieval Medical Texts
My interest in medieval remedies also led me to Leechdoms, Wortcunning and Starcraft of Early England, an 1865 translation by Oswald Cockayne. Cockayne was a teacher and translator who sometimes dismissed odd-sounding instructions as “magic” rather than medicine, a common attitude of the time.
But today, we understand that many metals and plants mentioned actually have genuine antimicrobial properties, and we’re revisiting these texts with fresh scientific eyes.
A Living Field of Research
Groups like Ancient Biotics bring medievalists and scientists together to create databases of these old recipes, carefully mining thousands of ingredients and hundreds of remedies from different time periods.
The complexity and sometimes vague descriptions in the texts make the work challenging. Spelling varies, ingredient names can be ambiguous, and important details about harvesting or plant parts are often missing. Researchers have to interpret and experiment to understand how these cures might have worked.
This work isn’t limited to Europe—ancient Chinese medical texts have also been revisited, resulting in modern breakthroughs like the Nobel Prize-winning discovery of an effective malaria treatment.
A Final Note on Fiction and History
In A Snowflake at Midnight, the fictional Hardwicke’s Leechbook was inspired by all these fascinating realities. I even used Old English words (which are a whole other language!) for added authenticity.
All this history, science, and lore combined to create a believable and rich foundation for the cure Evie finds in my story—blending real medieval remedies with the magic and mystery of the past.
“Many of these recipes are complex, which makes them perfect for investigation. Take this eye salve, for example.” Bracken read aloud from the notebook. “Onion or leek. Garlic. Wine. Ox gall. A brass vessel. Mix and let sit for nine days.” He smiled, smug. “A laboratory project easily conducted. We test the antimicrobial activity of all combinations in order to tease out any and all active ingredients. Brilliant.”
Are researchers really mining medieval texts for ideas they can apply to modern medicine? Yes they are!
NOTES
AncientBiotics – a medieval remedy for modern day superbugs?
A 1,000-Year-Old Antimicrobial Remedy with Antistaphylococcal Activity
Getting Medieval on Bacteria: Ancient Books May Point to New Antibiotics
Antimicrobial copper-alloy touch surfaces
Medieval Herbal Remedies: The Old English Herbarium and Anglo-Saxon Medicine
‘Ancientbiotics’ team tests medieval treatments for modern ailments
Data-mining medieval text reveals medically bioactive ingredients
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2015
A rare manuscript. A midnight promise. A villain who would steal them both away.
A SNOWFLAKE AT MIDNIGHT
Book Four of the Elemental Web Tales
Pressured by looming deadlines and an annoying patron, Evie Brown, academic librarian, struggles to find joy this Christmas holiday. Worse, her sick father is ready to abandon treatments and surrender to fate – a decision she refuses to accept. Delving into a medieval manuscript, she searches for answers in the distant past.
For the woman who has stolen his heart, only a perfect proposal will do. Ash Lockwood, botanist, has transformed the rooftop greenhouse into a tropical fairyland. But when Evie begs him to help her harvest mistletoe at midnight, they venture down a different garden path – unaware that danger circles close.
When their plans implode and a murderer threatens their lives, only invention and teamwork will save them.