Mummies, Cannibals and Vampires: the History of Corpse Medicine from the Renaissance to the Victorians

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Mummies, Cannibals and Vampires charts in vivid detail the largely forgotten history of European corpse medicine, when kings, ladies, gentlemen, priests and scientists prescribed, swallowed or wore human blood, flesh, bone, fat, brains and skin against epilepsy, bruising, wounds, sores, plague, cancer, gout and depression.

One thing we are rarely taught at school is this: James I refused corpse medicine; Charles II made his own corpse medicine; and Charles I was made into corpse medicine. Ranging from the execution scaffolds of Germany and Scandinavia, through the courts and laboratories of Italy, France and Britain, to the battlefields of Holland and Ireland, and on to the tribal man-eating of the Americas, Mummies, Cannibals and Vampires argues that the real cannibals were in fact the Europeans. Medicinal cannibalism utilised the formidable weight of European science, publishing, trade networks and educated theory. For many, it was also an emphatically Christian phenomenon. And, whilst corpse medicine has sometimes been presented as a medieval therapy, it was at its height during the social and scientific revolutions of early-modern Britain. It survived well into the eighteenth century, and amongst the poor it lingered stubbornly on into the time of Queen Victoria. This innovative book brings to life a little known and often disturbing part of human history.

Mummies, Cannibals and Vampires: the History of Corpse Medicine from the Renaissance to the Victorians Review

I do not write this lightly - "Mummies, Cannibals and Vampires: the History of Corpse Medicine from the Renaissance to the Victorians" is one of the most eye-opening and phenomenal books I have ever read. It is incredibly well researched, well written and states the case of medicinal cannibalism throughout the ages with great detail and reference. There is no other book like it and I feel so fortunate to have it upon my shelf.

Some may find the writing style dry, as the subject matter must be backed up with lengthy references, but it is worth reading through to get to the evidence - which is a revelation for anyone who is a lover of history. It would be a fantastic book to accompany a college class of the same subject.

Drinking human blood, snorting powdered human skull, suspending a thieves' finger in a barrel of ale, birthing straps made from tanned human skin, pressing the spiced human loam of mummies into open wounds - yes, it happened and Richard Sugg has exhaustively referenced these shocking yet common cures of the past.

But why? Why would someone think that drinking the blood of a freshly beheaded person would cure them of epilepsy? Richard Sugg answers that too, explaining the past's cultural belief of the spirit and body in such a way that I completely understood it. With the church forbidding any delve into the science of the body, it was only natural that even the most educated people of the day would believe all kinds of far-fetched things about our anatomy and in turn, how to treat disease and sickness.

Surely, this is a book not to be missed for anyone who is a lover of history.

Highlights for me include:

The origin of the word "mummy".

Beautiful passages from plays that haven't been seen by audiences in 400 years.

Pope Innocent VIII - 16 illegitimate children *and* the bloody scene on your deathbed? Wow - go big or go home, I guess.

Beheadings and the crowd gathered to fill vessels with warm spirit-brimming blood. So many things - I didn't know epilepsy was such a problem, I'm fascinated by the spirits people thought roamed the body and I had no idea that Germanic bloodlust went back so many hundreds of years. Well - I guess not just the Germans - how about *everyone's* blood lust?

The entire chapter "Dirty History, Filthy Medicine" is astounding. It has also ruined any and all cinematic period pieces that I will ever watch, as I would constantly be pointing out the actor's white teeth, clean clothes, kempt hair and tidy homes. The daily living conditions documented in this book coaxed an audible reaction from me several times, but I couldn't put it down because I was so fascinated. Descriptions of the bones, feces, rubbish and dirt that scattered even the most stately manor floors completely changed my perception of the way people lived in the past.

King James I - you *filthy* bastard.

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