Prayer and Poultices
1. Bishop
It may be hard to measure the impact of a medieval bishop on the environment but it would have been significant and far reaching. As a large-scale landowner he would have been related both to cultivation and to building.
In many ways the bishop was responsible for shaping parts of the urban environment. As bishop he was superior over a number of commontys which were for peat and fuel cutting purposes and would have established regulations to preserve those rich areas.
Many bishops also undertook substantial building campaigns, notably William Elphinstone, Bishop of Aberdeen from 1488-1514. William Elphinstone was responsible for the foundation of King's College, for initiating the building of the Bridge of Dee and for the setting up of Old Aberdeen as a Burgh of Barony over which he remained the feudal superior.
Archaeologists have been involved in recording a number of the buildings associated with the bishops of Aberdeen, including the Cathedral of St Machar and the parish church of St Nicholas to which they contributed substantial funding. In Old Aberdeen, the stone foundations of the 15th century palace or residence of the bishops of Aberdeen were discovered by archaeologists in 2002.
2. Friars
From the 13th century until the 16th century there were three orders of friars active in Aberdeen; the Trinitarians, the Carmelites and the Dominicans (Blackfriars). A further group, the Franciscans (Greyfriars) took up residence in the later 15th century.
Friars played a part in shaping elements of the urban environment particularly in the Green, where the Carmelites and the Trinitarians were neighbours. Their stone churches, cloisters and precinct walls would have stood out amongst the surrounding largely wooden buildings. The Trinitarians may have been involved in reclaiming land: certainly both the Carmelites and the Trinitarians had large gardens and cultivation areas associated with their places. In this regard they contributed to the 'greenness' of the city. There are no statutes which point to friars having had any negative impact on the medieval environment in Aberdeen.
Excellent records mean that we know the names of a number of the Carmelite Friars in Aberdeen, among them John Bothuile (1380) and Alexander Fluckar (1543). The Friary had a piped water supply in the 13th century, several hundred years before such a system became the norm in Aberdeen. However, as the source of the water is uncertain, that may not have protected them from the polluted streams from which many citizens obtained their supplies. Indeed, the lead piping may even have been a health hazard in itself.
3. Leechers and Barber Surgeons
Leechers and barber surgeons were like other crafts in that they were organised and they elected a deacon. There are no statutes or ordinances which point to the fact that any of these people had any significant impact on the environment. However, apothecaries, who were more akin to modern pharmacists would have utilised herbs and roots in order to treat patients. Among medical practitioners in medieval Aberdeen were Gilbert Quhite (1479), George Maunis, leecher (1537), Robert Coul, leecher (1541) and William Urquhard, chirurgon (1554).
There is evidence of medical treatment on some of the skeletal remains excavated at the Carmelite Friary site. Some bones also indicate that people endured periods of poor nutrition during their lives. Medieval diet was very dependent upon seasonal availability of foods and therefore on variability of climate. A number of plant remains found in Aberdeen may have derived from medicinal use for example opium was useful as a sedative, figs as an effective laxative, while hemlock as a painkiller. In addition, early Aberdonians would have been more aware than we are today of the benefits of several other plants which we know from archaeological work to have been available. For example the properties of yarrow (sneezewort) as an anti-allergenic, of selfheal as an antibiotic, of hemlock to dull pain and of borage as an emollient.
