Group items tagged

Truth is stranger than fiction. A tenth century Anglo-Saxon eye salve not only cures sties but eradicated 90% of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, otherwise known as MRSA. The recipe, translated from Anglo-Saxon, is from Bald's Leechbook, a leatherbound Old English manuscript kept in the British Library. The Leechbook is widely thought of as one of the earliest known medical textbooks and contains Anglo-Saxon medical advice and recipes for medicines, salves and treatments. Another reason why it pays to know obscure languages.