The Medieval Guide to Healthy Living Katherine Harvey
Event details
We often think of medieval medicine as strange, unhygienic and unscientific. But long before modern wellness trends, people in the Middle Ages were actively thinking about how to live well. They followed detailed health regimens, balanced diet with exercise, considered the effects of emotions and sought to avoid illness through environmental awareness and routine care.
Join historian Katherine Harvey, author of The Medieval Guide to Healthy Living, as she sheds light on the practical and surprisingly relatable ways medieval individuals cared for body and mind. Drawing from historical sources that echo today’s wellness concerns, she will offer a fresh, thoughtful view of a misunderstood era. In understanding their world, we might see our own in a new, more connected light.
Book sales
You can buy copies of many of our speakers’ books from Fox Lane Books, a local independent bookseller and Festival partner. In some cases, author signed bookplates are available too.
About the speaker
Katherine Harvey is an Honorary Research Fellow at Birkbeck, University of London, UK, who also teaches at the Open University. Her latest book is The Medieval Guide to Healthy Living (Reaktion, 2026). Her previous books include The Fires of Lust: Sex in the Middle Ages (Reaktion, 2021).
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