The story of medieval medicine shares a surprising connection with St. Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) who as a doctor of the Church is one of the Church’s most remarkable figures. Her life and writings reveal how spiritual insight, natural science and healing wisdom were deeply intertwined long before the modern age.

In the Middle Ages, St. Hildegard was known as a visionary, theologian, musician and healer. Born in Germany, she entered a Benedictine monastery at a young age and experienced mystical visions throughout her life. She was a contemporary of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, and through him was introduced to and supported by Pope Eugenius III. Her correspondence with popes, bishops, kings and emperors made her one of the most renowned women of her time.  

St. Hildegard’s writings, particularly Physica and Causae et Curae, explore the medicinal properties of plants, stones and foods. She believed that all creation was imbued with “viriditas” — the greening power of life — a divine energy linking physical health with spiritual well-being. This holistic approach reflected a profound harmony between the natural and the divine.

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 Across the centuries, humans have turned to nature for healing and in the Middle Ages, scholars and healers such as St. Hildegard documented remedies made from herbs, plants and foods, combining practical observation with spiritual understanding. Her holistic approach emphasized balance and the curative power of natural ingredients like fennel, spelt and galangal. Though once regarded as outdated folklore, ancient remedies and recipes are now attracting renewed scientific interest. For example, 1,000 years later, the same natural healing remedies resonate anew through modern scientific projects like AncientBiotics, a collaboration among researchers at the universities of Nottingham, Warwick and others. The connection between St. Hildegard’s wisdom and this research both recognize that knowledge, whether spiritual or scientific, seeks to restore harmony and healing in human life. 

Medieval experts in partnership with scientists are studying medieval manuscripts to test ancient remedies using modern laboratory methods. In doing so, they echo St. Hildegard’s belief that healing arises from understanding nature’s inner order. Dr. Christine Lee, an Anglo-Saxon expert, and Dr. Freya Harrison, a microbiologist at the University of Nottingham, study ancient medical manuscripts and recreating historical recipes in a modern laboratory with an aim to identify potential clinically useful natural products inspired by the remedies of historical and traditional sources.  

One notable example of their work is the testing of a recipe for an infection called Bald’s eye salve, taken from a 10th-century Anglo-Saxon recipe found in the leather bound Bald’s Leechbook. It is thought to be one of the earliest medical textbooks with advice and recipes for treatments.

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Together they worked to translate the recipe from the medieval language and in the lab, recreated the ancient formula. 

It calls for a blend of crushed garlic, onion, wine and cow bile. The recipe specifically instructs the user to “let (the mixture) stand for nine nights in the brass vessel.”  When scientists reconstructed the recipe they found the mixture to be remarkably effective against Staphylococcus aureus, including antibiotic-resistant MRSA strains. They found the remedy killed up to 90 per cent of MRSA bacteria and believe it is the effect of the recipe rather than one single ingredient.  

Lee said there are many similar medieval books with treatments for what appear to be bacterial infections. Such discoveries suggest that medieval healers, though lacking modern technology, often possessed deep empirical knowledge. Their careful experimentation with plants and foods sometimes produced genuine therapeutic effects.

Revisiting these “old ways” does not mean replacing modern medicine, but rather enriching it. In an age of rising antibiotic resistance, ancient recipes may inspire new solutions rooted in natural chemistry. The partnership of ancient wisdom and modern science reminds us that the past still holds untapped potential — and that the healing power of nature, understood centuries ago, remains vital to our future.

So in this month, the Church declares St. John Henry Newman the 38th Doctor of the Church. Like St. Hildegard, he exemplified the three marks of a Doctor: insignis vitae sanctitas (a life of holiness), eminens doctrina (eminent teaching), and Ecclesiae declaratio (recognition by the Church).

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The Latin root docere, “to teach,” reminds us that a Doctor of the Church is not a physician of bodies but a healer of souls. Yet in St. Hildegard’s case, the two are inseparably linked. Her spiritual and medicinal writings bridge Heaven and Earth, faith and reason, spirit and science. As St. Pope John Paul II once called her, she remains truly “a light for all people” — one whose medieval wisdom continues to inspire modern discovery.

(Donna Fagan’s website is foodandfaith.ca)