Image of a hypocasium from a Roman bath at Chester.
The history of ‘alternative medicine’ does not begin in the twentieth century. The arguments between allopaths and homeopaths formed part of mainstream medical dialogue in the nineteenth century and alternatives to ‘heroic’ medicine or mainstream medical treatment have always enjoyed a greater or lesser degree of popularity. Today, therapies like acupuncture and medical massage are receiving critical attention; in the nineteenth century in Britain, the Turkish bath enjoyed a similar vogue.
In 1861, Erasmus Wilson published a small but enthusiastic book on the subject of therapeutic bathing, The Eastern, or Turkish Bath. Wilson comes across as a dedicated convert to beneficial effects of the Turkish bath — similar to a Finnish sauna, the Turkish bath was a multi-stage process, bringing the bather through a variety of heated and chilled rooms, shower baths, and massages.
Wilson begins with a lengthy history of the bath in the Middle East, Greece, Rome, and Egypt. Interestingly, he also mentions the history of similar bathing practices in Ireland, mentioning that the practice may have been inherited from Phoenician ancestry. (6) It was a popular theory at the time that the Irish were somehow related to an ancient Mediterranean civilization — such as the Phoenician, although the possibilities of early settlement by the Spanish or the Egyptians were also widely discussed.
Wilson also draws on other writers who have discussed bathing traditions, including Lady Mary Wortley Montagu from whom Wilson excerpts a description of a women’s bath in Turkey. Lady Montagu was a well-known traveller of the eighteenth century; her collected letters and writings about her travels in Europe and the Middle East are still used by researchers today and are highly readable.
Wilson’s technique of proving a long history for the modern phenomenon he wishes to support is still followed by those interested in alternative therapies today; part of legitimizing a “new” technique or idea can be to demonstrate that, really, it is quite an old idea. He also discusses the health benefits that regular bathers may expect, including the surprising fact that regular bathing can have the same effects as regular working: “…his blood [the bather’s] was washed as clean as that of the working man who eats the bread of labour–that sweetest of all bread, the bread that has been earned with the sweat of his brow.” (57)
As always, for more from the Medical Heritage Library, please visit our full collection!