Station: [26] Accident and injury

“Hoping for someone to ‘break a leg’ doesn’t always help: this crookedly mended bone is proof that medical care wasn’t a priority in the 16th century. Those who lived on in this manner were probably in pain for the rest of their lives. Working on a building site was bound to provide plenty of pain, as accidents were a frequent occurrence. Protective clothing and helmets had not yet been invented. If you were lucky enough not to have an accident, suffering from a number of diseases was also very likely – in most cases, effective treatments weren’t available. Even so, annoying tooth ache is easily avoided at this time – looking after one’s teeth is all that is needed. And that still holds true today – simple, really.”