Barbarian medicinal prowess

**Phalanx300** · 10-16-2009, 09:08

From what I've hearded the Celts were very advanced with their medication.

But on the soap, wasn't that the Germanics? Or both?

I've read that the Germanics did care about hycene but who invented the soap, not so sure anymore now.

**Brennus** · 10-16-2009, 12:56

That's true about the Germans, Tacitus in Germania does note the German habit of washing each morning with warm water. I would give the reference but much to my annoyance I appear to have lost my copy of Tacitus.

**Cute Wolf** · 10-16-2009, 15:32

Yeah, if I was right, getting a doctor's service in Hellenic / Roman land need money, and you must be able to pay, and they didn't have any social donation for them, compare that with Druids and Witch-doctors that receive most patients with no payments, just for free (but I'm certain my Celtic / Germanic generals will pay), It looks like they are socialist community.

**Tellos Athenaios** · 10-16-2009, 15:51

Then at least in Hellenistic times you would've been quite wrong: you could go to an Aisklepion and similar holy sites dedicated to medicine -- and even in Celtic society quality private health care would've cost you a small fortune.

Doctors in Greek society at least were considered among the ‘craftsmen’ and I'd expect them to receive ditto pay. Most of what they did would -I expect- have been roughly equivalent to dietitian/physiologist/dentist/general practitioner; some would probably have been specialized in certain fields to find themselves a niche.

As for the Celtic welfare system; it is not unique. In fact it is fairly typical of small tribal societies; and the system probably varied between tribes anyways. Rhodos for instance had one too -- and such systems come up in political thought quite often: the ideal society of course would find people contributing according to their abilities and receiving according to their needs.

**Captain Pugwash** · 10-17-2009, 16:03

The issue is whether with one or four 'medical' ancillaries do they do anything extra that a straight forward herbalist/doctor cannot do. If x% of troops recover regardless then they are irrelevent and the slot could be filled with something more worthwhile. Either that or change what they give say influence/city health bonus.

If EB2 is being re tweeked then maybe some proper ancillaries could be added for the Barbs which seem pretty limited compared to the other factions

**moonburn** · 10-18-2009, 04:06

the reports of removing splintered skull bones are nothing new

the incas besides being able to shape skulls also had a kind of know how to remove splinted skull bones

even today in africa there are society´s who make those operations based on the principle that the "bad spirits" need to be removed (when someone as a mental illness they pierce the skull to remove the bad wind´s spirits or whatever)
(i learned this in a documentary about pain and how diferent people and diferent societies adress them since those african society´s have no anesthetics while the theory for the incas defend they used coca plants)

as for celtic society organisation i think we can all agree it´s something beteween the original comunitarism (do not confuse with nowadas comunism) of ancient societies and the civilization where you have a strict law saying whats your obligations and duty´s and what you shall receive in return (and civilization means you either have the coin or you will die since it´s a pre wellfare system )

what i do find most amazing is ozzie the iron age frozen man found in the alps who as evidences of reumatism treatments using hot iron´s on the joints wich ofc is for me far more amazing then the use of plants and herbs to treat some illness since the native americans and almost all others groups in the world catched up to fairly easy (he also had herbs from northern italy that is suspected of being for medicinal use but nothing as been proven yet i think)

those reumatism treatments using hot irons only as similarities with some tibetan tribes so not all humans knew hot to adress that problem efectively (or at least other cultures found other solutions for these problems probably drugs to make the body numb instead of techniques to get the body fully functional)

just my 2 cents for the debate

as for fonts i have once again none but if you think i might be on to something www.google.com shouldn´t be so hard to use and you get the bonus of both correcting me and improving the knowledge of the rest of the comunity

**A Very Super Market** · 10-18-2009, 05:21

Well, the fact that it apparently worked is tied to it existing. There would be no reason for them to continue holding these beliefs if all it resulted in was gangrene and death.