The Castell of Helth (c. 1541) - Sir Thomas Elyot

The Castell of Helth

Sir Thomas Elyot | c. 1550 edition | Historical PDF facsimile

Step into a Tudor household and discover what it meant to live healthfully in sixteenth-century England. In The Castell of Helth, scholar and diplomat Sir Thomas Elyot brings the medical ideas of classical authorities into English, offering readers a remarkable guide to food, herbs, temperament, sleep, exercise and the emotions.

Printed in dense blackletter and early Tudor English, this beautifully preserved historical scan is a window into the medical world of Henry VIII's England. It is especially fascinating for readers interested in traditional herbal energetics: Elyot explains the four elements and the qualities of heat, cold, moisture and dryness that underpinned early modern theories of the body.

What you will discover

• The four elements and bodily temperaments: earth, water, air and fire, each assigned hot, cold, moist or dry qualities.
• Food as physic: Tudor discussions of fruits, vegetables, spices and herbs, including fennel, purslane, garlic, thyme and other everyday plants.
• Health beyond remedies: a regimen encompassing diet, sleep, movement, rest and the affections of the mind.
• Remarkable botanical history: Elyot credits Queen Artemisia with discovering the virtues of motherwort. 
• Knowledge for ordinary readers: a spirited defence of writing about medicine in English rather than restricting it to learned languages.

About this edition

Author: Sir Thomas Elyot (c. 1490–1546)
Work: The Castell of Helth (also catalogued as The Castel of Helth)
Edition: c. 1550, bibliographically attributed; the title page reads 1541
Language: Early Modern English, in original blackletter type
Format: Downloadable PDF facsimile of the historic printed book
Collection: The Ancestral Library

Edition note: Some surviving copies bearing the 1541 title-page date have been catalogued as printed around 1550. This scan is supplied as a historical facsimile; its exact impression should be treated as an approximate attribution rather than a confirmed 1541 printing.

Historical and safety notice: This work is provided for research, education and historical enjoyment. It describes obsolete medical theories and potentially unsafe remedies. It is not modern medical guidance. Do not use its treatments, dosages or dietary prescriptions to diagnose or treat illness.

For lovers of Tudor history, herb lore, forgotten physic and healing.