>>2587750>Also, how does “community medicine” (which I’m assuming she means DIY quack cures like pink salt) prevent a fucking pandemic or treat/cure illnesses that often result in early death if left untouched? What a fucking idiot.In the context of late medieval Europe, you've got an accumulation of folk remedies of variable effectivity. The stereotypical idea of magic, where you mix a bunch of junk together, say a spell, and then something weird happens, has its roots in this.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Old_Recipes/comments/nyzron/a_fascinating_thread_tracing_old_traditional/
>So there’s this old German remedy for getting rid of boils. A mix of eggshells, egg whites, and sulfur rubbed into the boil while reciting the incantation and saying five Paternosters. And according to my prof’s friend (a doctor), it’s all very sensible. The eggshells abrade the skin so the sulfur can sink in and fry the boil. The egg white forms a flexible protective barrier. The incantation and prayers are important because you need to rub it in for a certain amount of time. So for these people, the "magic" element, what I guess she's referring to by "community medicine", is that traditionally passed down knowledge, which could theoretically have pre-Christian roots. Kind of like how American English days of the week have Pagan roots with most Yankees having no cultural knowledge about who Fri was or why its his day.
It's not all totally crazy mumbo jumbo, because there's got to be SOME kind of efficacy to what they're doing, even if it's just a placebo effect, or else it wouldn't be passed down. The thing is though, it's like you said, home remedies and superstitious voodoo isn't going to stop bubonic plague or whatever.