Surviving Tudor England: Medicine, Superstitions, and Strange Cures

Life in Tudor England was brutal. Disease, poor hygiene, and bizarre medical treatments were an everyday reality, and just reaching adulthood was an achievement. With high infant mortality rates and limited medical knowledge, survival depended on a mix of faith, folklore, and questionable medical practices. Let's explore the world of Tudor medicine, the odd cures they believed in, and the dangers of simply staying alive in the 16th century.

The Dangers of Everyday Life

Tudor England was filled with health hazards. Infant mortality was extremely high—around 14% of babies died before their first birthday, and many women didn’t survive childbirth. If you lived past your 40th birthday, you were considered old.

Diseases such as plague, dysentery, tuberculosis, and influenza were common. The terrifying "sweating sickness" could kill within 24 hours, and no one knew its cause. Even Henry VIII himself was paranoid about illness, often isolating himself when outbreaks occurred.

The Theory of "Bad Air" and Disease

The Tudors believed that disease was caused by “miasma”—or "bad air." If an area smelled unpleasant, they thought it spread sickness. To counteract this, people carried herbs, pomanders, or sweet-smelling bags to ward off bad air. This belief influenced everything from town planning to personal hygiene, though unfortunately, it did little to stop infections.

Bizarre Tudor Medical Treatments

Without modern medical knowledge, doctors relied on a mix of herbal remedies, astrology, bloodletting, and superstition to treat their patients. Some common (and disturbing) cures included:

• Bloodletting – Removing "excess blood" to balance the body's humors. Leeches or cuts were used to drain blood, sometimes making patients weaker.

• Shaving the head and smearing it with fox grease – A "cure" for headaches.

• Drinking a mixture of lavender, sage, and marjoram – Used for various ailments, sometimes while holding a hangman’s rope to the head for extra effect.

• Eating live spiders covered in butter – Suggested as a cure for asthma.

• Placing a dead pigeon on plague sores – A desperate attempt to absorb disease from the body.

• Swallowing powdered human skull – Thought to help with various illnesses.

• Boiling a red-haired dog with worms, pig marrow, and herbs – A strange remedy for smallpox.

Disease Prevention and Hygiene

Surprisingly, the Tudors had some practical hygiene habits—even if they didn’t fully understand germs. Water was believed to be dangerous, so instead of bathing, people rubbed themselves with linen cloths and combed their hair daily.

The wealthiest Tudors avoided building houses near stagnant water or rubbish heaps, realizing (correctly) that filth contributed to disease. Herbs and flowers were scattered on floors to cover bad smells, and aromatic containers were heated to "purify the air."

Crime, Punishment, and Health Risks

Staying out of trouble was essential, as punishment in Tudor England was often deadly. There was no police force, and even petty crimes (like stealing an item worth more than five pence) could result in execution. Henry VIII’s reign was particularly brutal, with up to 72,000 executions. Treason was punished by being hanged, drawn, and quartered, while women accused of poisoning their husbands were burned alive.

Food, Diet, and Survival

The Tudor diet was seasonal and heavily reliant on grains. Beer, bread, and pottage made up most meals, with meat being a luxury. Dairy products like butter and cheese (called "white meat") were important sources of protein. Fresh fish was eaten by the wealthy, while the poor relied on salted or pickled fish to survive winter.

Magic, Superstition, and Religion

With limited medical knowledge, people turned to saints, charms, and magic stones for protection. Before Henry VIII’s religious reforms, people prayed to saints for healing—St. Sebastian for plague protection and St. Apollonia for toothaches.

People also wore amulets and carried "sweet purses" filled with herbs to protect themselves from illness. Superstitions were deeply ingrained, and many believed diseases were a punishment from God.

What Can We Learn from the Tudors?

While Tudor medicine was often ineffective (or outright dangerous), some practices—such as herbal remedies, avoiding dirty water, and isolating during outbreaks—hint at early public health awareness. The belief in "bad air" may not have been entirely accurate, but it did encourage better town planning and hygiene.

Fortunately, today we have modern medicine, vaccines, and scientific understanding to keep us safe. However, history teaches us that medical knowledge evolves, and what seems like "good science" today may be viewed differently in the future.

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Tudor Vocabulary List

• herbs - zioła

• plague - dżuma

• bloodletting - upuszczanie krwi

• miasma - miazma (złe powietrze)

• humors - humory (płyny ciała w medycynie humoralnej)

• execution - egzekucja

• superstition - przesąd

• amulet - amulet

• pottage - polewka (gęsta zupa)

• pomander - pomander (zapachowy woreczek lub kula do ochrony przed złym powietrzem)

• sweet purse - pachnąca sakiewka

• dysentery - czerwonka

• tuberculosis - gruźlica

• starvation - głód

• saint - święty

• ointment - maść

• leeches - pijawki

• hangman’s rope - lina kata

• pox - ospa

• sweating sickness - poty angielskie (tajemnicza choroba Tudorów)

• quartering - ćwiartowanie

This vocabulary list will help you understand key Tudor-era terms and their Polish translations!