Welcome to this, the final post in my erased women in STEM series, celebrating Science Literacy Week, Women’s History Month, and the release of my new children’s book, THE MATILDA EFFECT: HOW 25 WOMEN WERE ERASED FROM HISTORY.
Today: Trota, the famed healer of Salerno. There’s a mountain of misinformation about Trota, both online and in otherwise reputable academic sources – for full details, see my previous blog post or read Trota’s biography in THE MATILDA EFFECT.
For today’s purposes, I thought it would be fun to share a couple medieval remedies from The Trotula, the renowned handbook of women’s medicine that (it turns out) wasn’t actually written by Trota (see above for details). And buckle up, because it’s about to get weird:
1) Is your face a little pale? Dab on some bryony root and rose water. It’s both rouge AND perfume – bonus!
2) Did you overdo it with the bryony and now your face is red? Put some leeches on it. Just be sure to dab the skin with wine first. (To be fair, sterilizing the skin with alcohol before poking holes in it is still a really good idea!)
3) Pesky menstrual cramps? Tie a slab of bacon to your belly. To no woman’s surprise, that piece of advice comes from the part of The Trotula that was written by a man!
A thousand years ago, all of these treatments were based on cutting edge medical knowledge and (often) empirical experiments. But that was a thousand years ago, and science knows better now. While I am not that kind of doctor, I would advise against trying anything recommended by The Trotula. Even if some of those treatments are still promoted by the wellness industry today…
And that brings us to the end of Science Literacy Week! As a thank you for joining me, I’ve made you a present, a FREE PDF resource you can download here:
Canadian Women in STEM Reading List for Kids
The list features books about Canadian women in STEM, and STEM books written by Canadian women. Special thanks to all the Canadian authors who sent in their recommendations.
I hope you find it useful and inspiring!
Want more free resources?
1) Read all of the posts in the erased women in STEM series:
Rosalind Franklin: DNA Decoder (1920-1958)
Margaret E. Knight: Professional Inventor (about 1837-1914)
Ellen Eglin: A Lost Legacy (1800s)
Eunice Newton Foote: Forgotten Climate Scientist (1819-1888)
Jeanne Baret: Globe Trotting Botanist (1740-1807)
Lady Mary Wortley Montagu: Mother of Immunology (1689-1762)
Trota of Salerno: Mistress of Medieval Medicine (1100s)
2) Sign up for my email newsletter to receive your FREE Women’s History Month Resource Kit.
3) Check out my Fall 2026 children’s book THE MATILDA EFFECT: HOW 25 WOMEN WERE ERASED FROM HISTORY, which features women in STEM, sports, the arts, politics, war, and more. Email subscribers who pre-order THE MATILDA EFFECT get some extra bonus goodies, too, including an exclusive ticket to the virtual book launch.
Happy reading!