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The Medieval Guide to Healthy Living
Brief Description
We often think of medieval medicine as strange, unhygienic, and unscientific, but The Medieval Guide to Healthy Living reveals a far richer story. Long before modern wellness trends, people in the Middle Ages were actively thinking about how to live well. They followed detailed health regimens,...
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Format: Hardback
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The Medieval Guide to Healthy Living
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See moreA fresh look at medieval wellness that echoes modern healthy-living concerns.
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Description
We often think of medieval medicine as strange, unhygienic, and unscientific, but The Medieval Guide to Healthy Living reveals a far richer story. Long before modern wellness trends, people in the Middle Ages were actively thinking about how to live well.
They followed detailed health regimens, balanced diet with exercise, considered the effects of emotions, and sought to avoid illness through environmental awareness and routine care. This book sheds light on the practical and surprisingly relatable ways medieval individuals cared for body and mind.
Drawing from historical sources that echo today's wellness concerns, it offers a fresh, thoughtful view of a misunderstood era. In understanding their world, we might see our own in a new, more connected light.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781836391845
Publisher: Reaktion Books
Format: Hardback
Date Published: 01 April 2026
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Reaktion Books
Illustration: 25 illustrations
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Width: 156.0mm
Height: 234.0mm
Weight: 300g
Pages: 336
About the Author
Katherine Harvey is an honorary research fellow at Birkbeck, University of London, who also teaches at the Open University. Her previous books include The Fires of Lust: Sex in the Middle Ages, also published by Reaktion Books.
Also by Katherine Harvey
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The Fires of Lust
An illuminating exploration of the surprisingly familiar sex lives of ordinary medieval people. The medieval humoral system of medicine suggested that it was possible to die from having too muchβor too littleβsex, while the Roman Catholic Church taught that virginity was the ideal state. Holy men and women committed themselves to lifelong abstinence in the name of religion. Everyone was...Paperback$4800Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 2-3 weeks -
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The medieval humoral system of medicine suggested that it was possible to die from having too much or too little sex, while the Roman Catholic Church taught that virginity was the ideal state. Holy men and women committed themselves to lifelong abstinence in the name of religion. Everyone was forced to conform to restrictive rules about who they could have...Hardback$4499Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks
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