Leah Wenger

MA class of 2024, Johns Hopkins University

 

Originally published in 1604, The Kings Medicines for the Plague was a medical treatise first written for the plague outbreak during 1603-1604. The fourth edition of this book provides general instructions and medical practices for use during the Great Plague of 1665. This edition draws on the success of the prescriptions provided during the previous plague outbreaks to promote itself during the 1665 outbreak. According to its title page, the text was “Generally made use of, and approved in the years, 1625, and 1636. And now most fitting for this dangerous time of infection, to be used all England over.” Written by members of the Royal College of Physicians in 1604, the book contains fourteen pages of both preventative and treatment recipes for plague.

Plague scene on tankard engraved with scenes of the Great Plague and the Great Fire of London, O. S., 1673-74, silver, 18.7 × 22.9 × 15.2 cm, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The recipes are for both the health of the physical body and the spiritual body. The spiritual recipes draw from the language of bodily remedies and from biblical text, using medical terminology for the commandments of God (ie. “Take the herb of virtue” p. A4r). The recipes are organized in sections according to uses with easily identifiable headings for each section. The first part of the book consists of spiritual recipes for plague prevention and cure. The second and longest section is for medical recipes for plague prevention and cure, along with directions for maintaining a clean home and street to keep miasma at bay. The book ends with a section of prayers for those who have not been infected, and those who are currently infected. The very last page of this publication is a recipe not seen in the previous editions called A “Soveraigne Medicine against the Plague, both Preservative, and Curative.” This “Soveraigne Medicine” also appears in Londons Plague-sore, discovered, another 1665 publication (E.N., 8). Its presence in two different genres of publication (one medical, and one narrative) indicates that it was well-known and regarded by various audiences. The inclusion of this recipe at the end of the publications serves to remind the reader of their ultimate calling in life to be in good graces with God, and to provide intimate and personal details on how to do so.

Works Cited:

 

The King’s Medicines for the Plague Prescribed for the Year, 1604. by the Whole Collodge [Sic] of Physitians, Both Spiritual and Temporal. Generally Made Use of, and Approved in the Years, 1625, and 1636. And Now Most Fitting for This Dangerous Time of Infection, to Be Used All England Over (London: printed, for F. Coles, T. Vere, R. Gilbertson, and J. Wright, 1665)

N., E., London’s Plague-Sore Discovered. or, Some Serious Notes and Suitable Considerations upon the Present Visitation at London Wherein Is Something by Way of Lamentation, Information, Expostulation, Exhortation and Caution : Whereunto Is Annexed, A Never-Failing Antidote against the Plague (London: Printed for the author, 1665)