soot from a discharged bullet; white ointment; yellow ointment; red ointment

Ingredients

gall-bladder of a sheat-fish, soot from a discharged bullet, holy water, lard from a bear, hoof from a black cow, excrement from a rabbit

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

For bruises: 'One shall take the gall-bladder of a sheat-fish, soot from a discharged bullet and some holy water, and mix them all. The mixture should stay through the night and be consumed at three portions in the next morning' (p. 7). For hair growth: 'One shall take some lard from a bear, a hoof from a black cow, and an excrement from a rabbit, chop them together, smear them, and then spread the substance on the problematic spot' (p. 7).

Evidence

"The medicines are often described in terms of paints: white ointment, yellow ointment, red ointment. There are even cases when the medicine is said to have become identical with a paint. (p. 8)"

Remarks

The author analyzes how early modern medical recipes for ointments and curative mixtures were conceptually identical to paints and dyes (p. 8). The soot from a discharged bullet functions as a carbon-based colorant in the mixture. Colors like white, yellow, and red were used to classify both diseases and the 'paints' (ointments) used to treat them, aiming to restore the body to its natural, socially marked color (p. 8). In addition to medical mixtures, the manuscripts also contain instructions for dyeing yarn (p. 8).