‘Paediatric remedies of Meddygon (Physicians of Myddfai)’ Professor D. P. Davies National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth 26th June, 2015

Legend tells of a fairy maiden who comes out of a lake, in , to marry a mortal but who after many years has to return to her ‘otherworld’ realm after her husband had violated conditions she had laid down on their marriage. The sons of this fairy-mortal marriage were Meddygon Myddfai who came to possess special medical knowledge and healing skills that their mother wanted them to pass down for the benefit of future mankind.

History tells that Meddygon Myddfai were court mediciners to Rhys Gryg, a 13th century Welsh prince of Deheubarth, whose remedies, written in several medieval Welsh manuscripts ,were passed down to future doctors as Traddodiad Myddfai (Myddfai Tradition).

This merging of legend and scholarship is an example‘ how folktale, tradition and historical fact can become fused together’.( Morfydd Owen). Meddygon Myddfai, medieval Carmarthenshire general practitioners, would have treated people of all ages and their remedies show that children were a big part of this morbidity. Their ailments were treated with combinations of herbal remedies, surgery , ancient folk lore, blood letting, astrology and a touch of superstition, a medieval pharmacy that was a part of a pan-European materia medica based on the Classical- Arabic medical tradition.

Hindsight through a prism of modern science and western herbal tradition suggests that these doctors were very wise ,emphasizing the importance of exercise and diet in preventing illness,the need for quality control in their medicines, and using their experience to vary their remedies in order to improve effectiveness.

They were true paediatricians !

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