Herbal medicines in the treatment of the nobility in the eighteenth-century Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

“Health care was one of the most important issues in the hierarchy of social values in the early modern era” writes in her newest research prof. Bożena Popiołek. The article “Herbal medicines in the treatment of the nobility in the eighteenth-century Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (based on the example of pharmacy orders from Elżbieta Sieniawska, née Lubomirska, castellan of Kraków)” was published in the Journal “Medycyna Nowożytna”.

The causes of diseases and the possibility of avoiding them were indicated, health prevention was recommended in the form of rest, “taking May”, relaxing water and herbal treatments, herbal infusions were drunk, various talismans and amulets were worn. Purchases of various herbal medicines can be found in orders for goods delivered to noble courts and in court accounts throughout the eighteenth century. However, treatments were rarely recommended and the herbal medicines used brought the expected results, ruining the health of patients.

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