The Gathering Place by Mary Colwell

Author:Mary Colwell
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781399400558
Publisher: Bloomsbury Wildlife
Published: 2023-03-06T00:00:00+00:00

In fact, this medieval travel guide warns of deadly poisonings for people as well as animals. It lists the different rivers and the fish that must be avoided in Navarre, particularly it warns against eating barbel, tench and eels, advising, ‘Should you eat any of them in any part of Spain or Galicia, you will undoubtedly die shortly afterwards or at least fall ill.’ There is some truth in the barbel advice. Barbel eggs (or roe), but not the flesh, are poisonous to people, so much so the condition is referred to as ‘barbel cholera’. Eel blood is likewise extremely poisonous if eaten raw. The inclusion of tench is a mystery, especially so as it was considered a ‘doctor fish’. The particularly thick slime covering its body was thought to heal other fish that rubbed up against it, causing some people to boil the slime and use it as an ointment. Some doctors recommended tying a live tench to the stomach to cure jaundice or advised strapping one around your head to get rid of headaches or to the back of the neck for eye inflammation. Surprisingly, if one was tied onto the soles of the feet, it was thought to cure the plague and reduce fever.

The perils faced by pilgrims over the ages were varied and real. No wonder amulets, badges or other trinkets were carried on the journey to ward off evil, both natural and human. If these were held against a shrine it was thought their power could be recharged by a holy flow of energy. One of the likely reasons for wearing the badges depicting genitalia was to repel death by sporting images of what gives life. Some travellers carried certain gems that were thought to have special powers; for the wealthy, emeralds, diamonds and rubies were especially popular. These were either sown onto clothing or dropped into drinks to neutralise poisons. One fabled cure was to carry a bezoar, a hardened spherical deposit of indigestible material that forms in the gastrointestinal tract of ungulates, but, unsurprisingly, they were not that easy to obtain. Another recommended method was to carry shavings from the horn of a unicorn (probably the tusk of a whale called a narwhal), which was, presumably, no less difficult to find.

Bizarre as they seem today, when faced with a world of dangers, both seen and unseen, any promise of protection was seized upon. Perhaps a pause for thought is worthwhile. Crystal healing and protection is alive and well and has enjoyed a revival in recent times. The Covid pandemic saw a steady increase in internet searches for ‘crystal healing’ and ‘crystal shops near me’. The singer Adele believes crystals reduce her anxiety on stage and Gwyneth Paltrow’s lifestyle brand offers a medicine bag complete with crystals to help with clarity of thought, serenity, courage, creativity and emotional strength. For around $100 you can buy water bottles with healing crystals built into the structure. Religions still hold to the power of relics and medals.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.