Of Manors and Medicine

Today we learned that a "manor" refers to a medieval house (sometimes a castle, sometimes just a large house) where the lord and lady lived. Sometimes, the manor refers also to the land surrounding the house.

Big thanks to Bella Grace for pointing out that the Harry Potter books include Malfoy Manor as one of the settings!

Also, Mac and Diego taught us that medieval doctors were sometimes a bit dishonest about the condition of their patients. According to the story of Thomas in Good Masters, the doctor sometimes criticized his patient for waiting too long to ask for help ... knowing that this criticism would help the doctor whether the patient recovered or not!

After the prayer, let the patient rest

And tell his family "I will do my best

To fight this sickness, but I fear his fate -

It may be that you called me too late."

Then shake your head, look serious and wise - 

This sort of talk protects you if he dies.

If he recovers, it was all your skill

That brought him back to life. And that's better still!