Dentist in the Middle Ages
The enchantments were not only used to ward off demons, but also to calm the sick. An analysis of the history of medicine reveals what is behind the idea of dental worms and the power of expressions such as “hocus pocus”.
“Go away, toothworm, don’t drink any more blood!” — long before antibiotics, anesthesia, and X-rays changed the face of medicine, this is how healers around the world tried to banish disease with words.
In the Middle Ages, incantations were used to directly address “demons” of illness or body parts, such as plague spirits or the “wandering uterus” — guilty of abdominal pain or infertility The idea of this personalization was to threaten the supposed source of the disease and persuade it to leave the body.
To this day, enchantments continue to be used in folk medicine or in religious rituals around the worldusually in combination with herbs, massages and other treatments.
Fight against demons
One of the oldest examples comes from the ancient region of Mesopotamia, largely present-day Iraq. In a formula from around 1800 BC, the “tooth worm” is described as living between tooth and gum and drinking the blood of its host before the god of wisdom, Ea, strikes it with a “strong hand.” To cure the problem, an incantation was recited several times and a healing ointment was applied to the tooth. The image of the worm served as an explanation for the toothache, as well as an adversary — in the form of a demon — to be defeated, while the ointment calmed the inflammation.
“Incantations tended to be used especially for certain conditionsnot equally for everything,” Catherine Rider, professor of Medieval History at the University of Exeter, told DW. “They are often found for hemorrhage, epilepsy, toothache and childbirth,” she added.
For centuries, the distinction between prayer and witchcraft was the subject of heated debate. In his book “Magic and Religion in Medieval England,” Rider describes how religious scholars, confessors, and doctors constantly debated whether a specific formula constituted a pious prayer or forbidden magic. Incantations containing biblical quotations or names of saints were generally tolerated, while mysterious sequences of syllables were most often considered potentially demonic.
Healing for body and soul
Rider told DW that it was important to note that the incantations were primarily used as complementary therapy and added that “medieval medicine books often listed them alongside other remedies, such as drinks or baths, so that the practitioner and patient could choose which approach to adopt.”
According to the teacher, specialized knowledge about symptoms and active ingredients did not contradict the incantations, but, on the contrary, was combined to form a comprehensive package designed to treat the body and soul.
Even ancient medicine followed this dual principle, with exorcists reciting spells to drive away spirits while applying ointments, incense and potions, and using amulets to literally bind healing blessings to the body. Prayers and spells also merged into traditional Islam. Certain verses of the Qur’an were believed to possess healing powers and were recited over the sick, written on paper or added to the water the sick person drank.
The term “hocus pocus,” often used to describe alternative healing practices, is an onomatopoeic imitation of the Latin Mass formula “Hoc est enim corpus meum” (This is my body). However, the term is mainly used in a pejorative sense, as healthcare professionals often consider homeopathy and shamanism to be ineffective or esoteric.
The healing power of words
Repeated words spoken with authority—whether by a priest, exorcist, or doctor—can reduce fearsubjectively alleviate pain and strengthen the patient’s willingness to endure demanding treatments.
Catherine Rider is convinced that the incantations also served as suggestive or psychological support for patients, similar to a placebo effect. “Most medieval doctors didn’t explain them in these terms, but there is a treatise by a medieval Arab doctor called Qusta ibn Luqa who talks about how spells also help if the patient believes they will work. So at least one medieval doctor recognized the placebo effect“, she said. The scholar had already described the placebo effect around 860 AD, concluded Rider.
In some cultures, illnesses were believed to be attacks from angry spirits or gods. In turn, the enchantments transformed the symptoms into an understandable story. Those who believed they knew which demon was responsible were able to bear pain better and even painful treatments.
Nowadays, fever, toothache and depression are treated with medication, surgery and psychotherapy. However, the history of enchantments shows how powerful words could be in moments of crisis, making the invisible and incomprehensible more understandable.
According to the Bible, Jesus said to a man cured of leprosy: “Get up and go; your faith has made you well.” Most likely, the real miracle of these spells is not the supposed exorcism of demonsbut the understanding that healing almost always requires conviction to stand firm.
