Към историята на медицината в Северна Македония през X–XIII век
On the History of Medicine in Northern Macedonia, 10th–13th Century

Author(s): Grigori Simeonov
Subject(s): Language studies, Language and Literature Studies, Fine Arts / Performing Arts, Visual Arts
Published by: Кирило-Методиевски научен център при Българска академия на науките
Summary/Abstract: This paper deals with the different aspects of medical practices in Northern Macedonia during the High Middle Ages. After the Christianization of Bulgaria in the 860es, the Orthodox church adopted the idea of Christian charity and fulfilled what she saw as her duty – to care for the sick and the poor. Due to the Byzantine tradition these activities were emphasized after 1018 but the monasteries close to the older imperial provinces in Thrace and Southern Macedonia seem to have surpassed those in the newly conquered northern areas as centers of Christian philanthropy. In Ohrid, Tiberioupolis and Bregalnica three sites of local pilgrimage were established, where the sick could rely on the help of the holy relics. Following the example set by St. Clement of Ohrid, the clergy supported the veneration of the Holy Unmercenary Healers, among whom Cosmas, Damianos and Panteleimon played the most significant role. Apart from that, folk medicine practices – such as the use of herbal remedies or the wearing of amulets, are also attested in a region inhabited by a predominantly rural population. Here it was mainly the elite that could seek the assistance of professional physicians and the achievements of Hippocratic medicine.

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