Meet the Middle Ages
BackRodwy the Blood-letter
Rodwy was in charge of one of the four bath-houses in Kalmar. She was called "blood-letter", because she knew a lot about herbs and remedies and she was particularly good at bleeding people.
Every Saturday night the people of Kalmar went to one of the bath-houses in town. There they had a good wash and they went to the sauna, they also had a drink and a nice meal. It was an evening out and an opportunity to meet friends, to talk and to tell stories. There would always be someone who wanted to be bled. When Rodwy bled someone she would open a vein and let out old blood. This was thought to make you strong and healthy. In the Middle Ages, one was advised to let oneself be bled four times a year in order to keep fit.
The bath-houses of Kalmar were set up during the latter part of the 14th century. They were all owned by various church establishments, such as the hospice, the convent or a church guild
Rodwy was not only an able blood-letter, she was also very good at mixing remedies when people were ill. People often came to the bath-house to get help. Rodwy made potions to cure headaches, stomach-pains and general listlessness. She had potent brews to strengthen the memory or a weak heart. If someone came to her with a nasty wound, she would apply a poultice made with garlic.
People who were ill might get help, not only from Rodwy, but also from the friars and sisters at the convents.
On one occasion Rodwy was short of money. Then she had to borrow money from the wealthy merchant Henrik Lassan.