The Gruesome History of Eating Corpses as Medicine
The Gruesome History of Eating Corpses as Medicine In the 16th and 17th centuries, many Europeans (especially the wealthy kind) consumed parts of the human body (which included bones, the skull and even blood) believing it cured them of diseases. The term for it is medicinal cannibalism. Fat and bones were often extracted from corpses, even Egyptian mummies, for the same purpose. For example, powered human skull mixed with chocolate was used to treat bleeding. As far as human blood was concerned, it had to be as fresh as it could be. Enough said. blood. The practice was widespread among both the poor and the aristocracy—including at least a few members of British royalty. Although the specifics varied according to place and time, such cannibalism reached its peak in Germany, England, Italy, and France toward the end of the Renaissance, just as Europe was supposedly shaking off its long intellectual slumber and heading into the warm glow of the Enlightenment. As barbaric as it seems tod...