Medical Knowledge

Faelivrin

Well-Known Member
What kind of knowledge of healing and medical technology will the Elves and Dwarves have at first, and what is their trajectory for learning more?


Elves and Dwarves are both immune to disease, but not injury or poison. So already in Middle-earth, during the Great March, and among the Dwarves after they awaken, there may be a gradual development of some healing practices as they go along. The Sindar living mostly a very pleasant and relatively safe life in Beleriand will not necessarily need to keep increasing their skills, but they will sometimes get injured and need healing. So between needing to use their knowledge occasionally, and having Melian (herself a great healer) to teach them, the Sindar should know a fair amount about healing. They may teach the Dwarves, just as the Dwarves teach them weaponmaking, armormaking, and how to delve awesome underground palaces.

However, after the First Battle, the Sindar will have battlefield wounds, possibly poisoned wounds, to treat. Again they have Melian to help, but I feel like they will still have to learn more after that Battle, how to heal wounded Elves and Dwarves.


Meanwhile, the Noldor have lived in bliss in Valinor, where injury is probably very rare if it ever happens, and poison literally doesn't exist. They no doubt have detailed theoretical knowledge of biology and Elven anatomy... but essentially no practical healing knowledge, because there's no need for it. What they had known on the Great March is remembered by those who marched, but not taught to younger generations.

When they begin their rebellion, suddenly they are confronted with battlefield wounds, poisoned Ork weapons, hypothermia, drowning, starvation, torture, etc. ... and they are probably at a loss at first. I think that the Noldor will struggle in the early years because healing injuries of any kind had just disappeared from their culture. Those rebels who had come from Kuivienen will have to dig out their old knowledge of healing, and then learn much more and fast, and possibly get the Sindar to teach them some.

On the other hand, there was athelas in Beleriand, but possibly not natively -- it certainly wasn't native to the lands east of Eryd Luin. I wonder if the Noldor knew enough to bring the seeds of athelas from Valinor.

By the time of the Dagor Aglareb, the Noldor are probably either caught up with the Sindarin healing knowledge (with some help from Sindar who joined their kingdoms) or close to the level of the Sindar (of course not including what Melian herself knows and is capable of.)


Disease, other than veterinary disease, will not be a matter for Elves to deal with, until they meet the Edain. Even then, the Edain mostly heal their own people in their own communities, except in battlefield conditions.
 
I think that every culture knows how to set broken bones, as that is a type of injury that happens to all of the races, and in peace time, too.

Same with treating burns. That is fairly advanced, actually, but still - I see no reason they couldn't figure that out. Burns are very common injuries in children who grow up around open fires in the house. That is...pretty much everyone at this juncture. Plus any injuries from the forge.

Men are the slowest on the uptake, being the least 'civilized' and the least 'instructed by the gods' of the groups we see in the Third Season. But even after they interact with the Elves and become the Edain, they're clearly not medical geniuses - Sador Labadal's wound maims him permanently, though he does survive it. Brandir the Lame likewise suffered a childhood injury that had permanent consequences, but the people of Haleth spent less time interacting with elves, so...

Even the orcs are able to treat Merry's headwound, though the treatment is painful and leaves a scar.


No one, anywhere, has a cure for old age.
 
Maybe throw athelas/kingsfoil in there as well? Even Huan knows of the healing properties of athelas.
 
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