- Egham, Surrey, United Kingdom
- Crusades, Crusades and the Latin East, Late Medieval History: Military Orders, Crusades, Ecclesiastical History, Folklore, History of Crusades, History of the Crusades, and 81 moreLater Crusades, Literatures and Cultures of the Crusades, History of the Crusades and the Latin East, British Folklore, Postage Stamps, Postage Stamps and National Identity, Medieval Medicine, Jewish-Christian-Muslim relations in the Middle Ages, Ancient Lapidaries, Lapidaries and Precious Stones, The History of Ancient and Medieval Pharmacy/materia Medica, James of Vitry, The military religious orders of the Middle Ages : the Hospitallers, the Templars, the Teutonic knights, and others, Crusader Archaeology, Western Magical Tradition, Medieval History, History of Medicine, Middle Ages, Medieval Studies, Medieval Archaeology, Fourth Crusade, CRUSADER KINGDOM OF JERUSALEM, Ancient Lithotherapy, Philately, Folklore Archeology, Mythology And Folklore, History of pharmacy, Ethno medicine and Materia Medica, Materia Medica, Amulets, Medieval Medicine and Herbals, History of Medicine in Medieval and Early Modern Europe, Medieval Medical History, History of Science and Medicine In Medieval and Renaissance Europe, Gemstones provenance in antiquity, Ancient Gemstones,jewelery, Early Medieval Gemstones, Glass Beads, Folklore (Literature), Folklore (Anthropology), Irish Folklore, Folklore Studies, History of Folklore Theory and Method, Mythology, folklore and supersition, Scottish Folklore, Indian folk art and folklore, European folklore, Welsh folklore, Early Medieval History, Late Medieval History, Ancient and Medieval History, Pictish History and Scottish Early Medieval History, Social History of Medicine, Serpents, Ammonites, Serpentinites, Snakes, Serpentine, Crusader Medievalism, Medievalism, Contemporary Medievalism, 19th-Century/Victorian Medievalism, Postcolonial Medievalism, The Royal Society, Royal Institution, Kunstkammer, Early Collections and Kunstkammer, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC), Dutch East India Company, Lapidary, Dragon, Dragons, Collecting and Collections, History of Collecting, Collectors and Collecting, History of Collections, History of Collecting and Antiquarianism, Wunderkammern/Kunstkammern/Naturalienkammern, Wunderkammer, Kunst- Und Wunderkammer, and Kunst- and Wunderkammeredit
- I am an independent scholar, currently working on the use of snakestones in medieval medicine and pharmacology. I gra... moreI am an independent scholar, currently working on the use of snakestones in medieval medicine and pharmacology. I graduated from the Crusader Studies MA at Royal Holloway, and actively maintain an interest in the field, including through researching modern memorialisation of the crusades in philately.edit
Snakestones were exotic, manufactured pharmaceutical items used to treat snakebite. Drawing on a spectrum of accounts, and building on my previous work, this article explores the role of snakestones in early modern European society.... more
Snakestones were exotic, manufactured pharmaceutical items used to treat snakebite. Drawing on a spectrum of accounts, and building on my previous work, this article explores the role of snakestones in early modern European society. Forming part of the gift-giving culture , snakestones were also subject to empirical trials by natural philosophers who sought to challenge established medical philosophy and advance the study of snakes and venom. Th eir high cost and limited medical use in comparison with remedies such as theriac and bezoar, resulted in snakestones having minimal eff ect on the British medical market, in contrast to other exotic imported pharmaceuticals.
Research Interests:
Distinctive accounts of the origin of snakestone beads occur in the folklore of Britain. The beads, usually formed of glass, were believed to be generated by the action of a knot of living snakes. This work considers snakestone bead... more
Distinctive accounts of the origin of snakestone beads occur in the folklore of Britain. The beads, usually formed of glass, were believed to be generated by the action of a knot of living snakes. This work considers snakestone bead folklore and explores when it may have developed—evaluating theories ranging from direct descent from the first century ad to early modern reinvention. Accounts of the creation of the snakestone bead from Scotland, Cornwall, and Wales are examined and compared, resulting in the identification of features unique to the folklore of each region.
Research Interests:
The medicinal uses of the snakestone bead within the British Isles are surveyed and considered for the first time. The snakestone beads of the British Isles - often annular beads formed of glass or paste, but also other items similar in... more
The medicinal uses of the snakestone bead within the British Isles are surveyed and considered for the first time. The snakestone beads of the British Isles - often annular beads formed of glass or paste, but also other items similar in form - were employed against a variety of ailments, including several of the most deadly childhood diseases of the nineteenth century: teething, whooping cough and ague. In addition, they were used in the treatment of livestock and as a remedy for eye diseases. The eighteenth century saw the snakestone beads conflated with the hag-stone and employed as an amulet against witches and evil spirits.
Research Interests: Mythology And Folklore, Folklore, Medieval History, Early Modern History, History of Medicine, and 30 moreMedieval Studies, Late Medieval English History, Early Medieval History, Folklore (Literature), Social History of Medicine, Ancient and Medieval History, Mythology, folklore and supersition, Folklore (Anthropology), European folklore, Amulets, Serpents, Late Medieval History, Medieval Medicine, Middle Ages, Social and Cultural History of Medicine, Glass Beads, History of Medicine in Medieval and Early Modern Europe, Snakes, The History of Ancient and Medieval Pharmacy/materia Medica, Western Magical Tradition, Medieval Medical History, Medieval Medicine and Herbals, Western and Eastern Magical Traditions, British Folklore, Welsh folklore, History of pharmacy, Lapidaries and Precious Stones, Folklore Studies, History of Science and Medicine In Medieval and Renaissance Europe, and Scottish Folklore
‘Serpent stones’ have been credited with medical efficacy since antiquity. Likely hav- ing their root in ancient traditions from India, accounts are now widespread across much of the world. Serpent stones are known by many names and... more
‘Serpent stones’ have been credited with medical efficacy since antiquity. Likely hav- ing their root in ancient traditions from India, accounts are now widespread across much of the world. Serpent stones are known by many names and descriptions of their appearance and medical uses are diverse; however, they commonly have a legendary association with serpents and are most frequently considered efficacious in the alexipharmic treatment of snakebite. This work presents and details five broad categories of serpent stone: a round white stone (thought to be extracted from the head of a dragon), a smooth lens-shaped black stone (purported to be taken from the head of a snake, but artificially manufactured of burnt bone or horn), ammonites (the fossilized shells of extinct cephalopods), glass or vitreous paste in the form of rings or beads, and serpentinite.
Research Interests: Mythology And Folklore, Folklore, Medieval History, History of Medicine, Medieval Studies, and 26 moreEarly Medieval History, Folklore (Literature), Social History of Medicine, European folklore, Amulets, Serpents, Ammonites, Late Medieval History, Medieval Medicine, Middle Ages, Glass Beads, History of Medicine in Medieval and Early Modern Europe, Serpentine, Snakes, Western Magical Tradition, Medieval Medicine and Herbals, British Folklore, Serpentinites, Welsh folklore, History of pharmacy, Ancient Gemstones,jewelery, Lapidaries and Precious Stones, Ancient Lapidaries, History of Science and Medicine In Medieval and Renaissance Europe, Scottish Folklore, and Early Medieval Gemstones
Research Interests:
Paper presented at the Leeds International Medieval Congress, 3rd July 2018
Conference Abstract. History of Geology Group conference "Geology and Medicine: Exploring the Historical Links and the Development of Public Health and Forensic Medicine", 2-4 November 2014. Providing an introduction to the various... more
Conference Abstract. History of Geology Group conference "Geology and Medicine: Exploring the Historical Links and the Development of Public Health and Forensic Medicine", 2-4 November 2014.
Providing an introduction to the various strands of mythology regarding serpent stones across Europe from ancient times to the current day, and outlining the various medical uses to which they were put.
Providing an introduction to the various strands of mythology regarding serpent stones across Europe from ancient times to the current day, and outlining the various medical uses to which they were put.
Research Interests:
Very little has been written on the unique historical medical heritage of the National Palace of Mafra in Portugal, which celebrated its new status as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2019. This book brings together a set of innovative... more
Very little has been written on the unique historical medical heritage of the National Palace of Mafra in Portugal, which celebrated its new status as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2019. This book brings together a set of innovative studies which begins to consider the importance of this unique collection of medical texts and items of medical material culture. A team of international researchers has brought together a series of essays which addresses various aspects of the history of the Palace, its Monastery, and the associated Library and Pharmacy. Using an interdisciplinary approach, topics as diverse as the rise of alchemy at the hands of Paracelsus, the lives and contributions of neglected eighteenth century physicians, and the history of elements of the materia medica are brought together in this celebration of a Portuguese national icon.
This book will appeal to all those with an interest in the history of science, and especially those who enjoy the history of medicine and pharmacy, and bibliographic studies.
This book will appeal to all those with an interest in the history of science, and especially those who enjoy the history of medicine and pharmacy, and bibliographic studies.