by Elizabeth Delaney

Created on: March 20, 2009

The Apothecary in the Middle Ages

What exactly was an apothecary?

The Medieval Apothecary was the precursor of our modern day pharmacist. The apothecary was someone that formulated and dispensed medicine. If you couldn't afford a physician you could see your local apothecary. They dispensed general medical advice and other services along side medicines.

The physician would do an examination and determine what he thought was wrong, and just like today he would write out a prescription for medication to treat your ailments. You would take that prescription to the local apothecary shop to get it fill, just like today when you take it to the local pharmacy. The apothecaries cliental wasn't just Mr. or Mrs. Smith from down the road, they also supplied the physicians, the hedge doctors, the wise women (local woman that took care of the local well being of her village), and midwives.

Some of the more common herbs used and dispensed by the apothecary in the middle ages included; Feverfew for use against migraines, Yarrow to help in the healing of wounds, and Thyme for your hang over the morning after a rousing night of gaming and drinking at the pub with the boys. Although most of the ingredients used in medicine in the middle ages were herb or plant based they did use other items as well. Crushed beetles and earth worms, spider webs, grave dirt, eggs ( fresh or rotten), urine, venom, feathers (for burning), mercury, lead, silver, gold, and even precious and semiprecious gems where included.

While most households were able to have a small plot in their gardens set aside for the more common herbs, if they needed something more exotic they would have to go to the apothecary shop to get it. Ingredients such as Opium, pepper, cinnamon, ginger and saffron could be found in the apothecary's medical supplies.

The shop itself was set up with retail in mind. The front of the store was the showroom. Rows and rows of shelves covered in jars and vials. The back room would have been set up as their still room or preparation room. This is where they would dry the herbs and mix the ingredients for the medicines. If there was room for another room it would more then likely have been used as consultation and examination room. This room would have been used for examining the patient in privacy and to help the customers with the selection of what supplies they needed. The apothecary would explain the preparation, if any, in this room.

For a simple cold or medication needed to help with a heart condition, the shop that you would go to would be that of the apothecary. The apothecary of the past was the beginning of our modern day pharmacist.

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