Curious Cures: Medicine in the Medieval World

Sat 29 March 2025 - Sat 6 December 2025

Cambridge University Library

Fascinated by health and wellbeing? So were our medieval ancestors.

Discover a time when unusual ingredients and questionable remedies mixed with genuine curiosity about how bodies function, creating a complex and intriguing world of ritual healing, herbal recipes, stargazing and surgery. Come and see what the doctor ordered...

The culmination of a two-year Wellcome-funded research project, to digitise, catalogue and conserve over 180 precious medieval medical manuscripts, Curious Cures brings together texts, diagrams and case-notes from special collections cared for by Cambridge University Library and twelve Cambridge colleges.

The exhibition is curated by Medieval Manuscripts Specialist, Dr James Freeman.

The Curious Cures exhibition is hosted in two parts: Part One is in the Milstein Exhibition Centre and Part Two is along the North and South Galleries on the 1st Floor. Visitors to the exhibition are also welcome to enjoy the Library Tea Room, which is open 9am – 3pm Monday to Friday, and until 2pm on Saturdays.

Group visits: Groups are welcome to visit the exhibition. Please email events@lib.cam.ac.uk to discuss visits for groups of 15 or more. Groups under this number may book tickets directly. We’d love to hear from you if you are planning to visit with a community group, local interest group or school – drop us a line at participation@lib.cam.ac.uk ahead of your visit.

Cost: Free