The „Legend of the Lady of the Lake” : Did a connection exist between medicine and pharmacy in Ancient Egypt and Medieval Wales?

David, Rosalie (2022) The „Legend of the Lady of the Lake” : Did a connection exist between medicine and pharmacy in Ancient Egypt and Medieval Wales? In: Aegyptus et Pannonia VII. Magyar-Egyiptomi Baráti Társaság, Ókori Egyiptomi Bizottság, Budapest, pp. 65-76. ISBN 9786156571014

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Abstract

The “Legend of the Lady of the Lake”, one of the most popular and important medieval Welsh legends, occurs in many collections of Welsh literature. The legend relates how an “otherworld” woman emerged from a lake and met a young man from a local family whom she married. Eventually, following a dispute with her husband, she returned to the lake but came back periodically to meet her three sons to teach them about the medical properties of plants and herbs that grew in the neighbourhood. Welsh literary sources from the 14th century AD onwards mention specific locations for these events – a beautiful lake (Llyn y Fan Fach) and the surrounding farming district of Myddfai, situated in what is still a very remote area of central Wales in the United Kingdom. Aside from the legend, it is noteworthy that a household-dynasty of herbal medical specialists – the “Physicians of Myddfai” – practised for generations in later medieval and early modern Wales. Several descendants of the same family continue in this profession even today. This legend does not occur in isolation, however; versions, some entitled the “Fairy Bride”, are known throughout northern and western Europe. The Welsh texts provide details of over 200 treatments for a variety of medical conditions which, according to the legend, were transmitted by the Lady to her sons. These include rules for hygiene, uroscopy, craniotomy, children’s diseases, and a long list of plant and animal pharmaceutical remedies. Parallels have been identified with Latin and European sources. There has been speculation that some aspects of this Welsh medieval tradition may in fact reflect concepts found in ancient Egyptian and Classicalmedical practices: this paper will consider whether any such links can be identified.

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