John Hall (1575-1635), Shakespearean Physician

Shakespeare's son-in-law John Hall practiced medicine in Stratford until his death in 1635. In his burial record he is described as ‘medicus peritissimus’ (a very skilled physician).

(left) Entry in the Parish Register, Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon (marked with a cross) recording the burial of John Hall, 26 November 1635. © Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.

His casebook is a fascinating resource, providing invaluable insight into how medicine was practised in Warwickshire in the early 17th century. Roses are the most frequently mentioned ingredient in Hall’s casebook, appearing in almost all of his remedies in various formulations and used to treat a broad spectrum of ailments. Their use displays not only the versatility of rose-based products as remedies, but also Hall’s belief in their effectiveness. His casebook allows us to observe the application of some of the advice given by early modern medical writers to real-life health scenarios. In Hall’s casebook, rose flowers or petals were used as ingredients along with other substances, while rose oil was used in plasters. Rose syrup was used to ‘loosen’ or add liquid to strained concentrates. Sugar dissolved in rose water was used to turn powders into tablets.

We learn from the Casebook that, in 1617, Baron Compton was ‘cruelly tormented with pain of his teeth’ and ‘swelling of his gums’. Hall’s treatment was a gargarisme (mouthwash) made of rose honey, rose water and syrup of mulberries among other ingredients. Today we think of mouthwashes being made of mint, but rose breath fresheners were very common in the medieval and early modern period. Our partners Floris Perfumers still make a Rose Mouthwash.

Roses were believed to possess various health benefits, and medicine and food were part of the same spectrum when it came to healing. In Galenic medicine, roses (often along with violets) were classified as ‘cold’ scents, used to balance hot humours. Balancing one’s humours and preventing illnesses required a concerted effort, covering all aspects of life – from bodies to living-spaces, accessories to food and medications. It was believed that surrounding the person with the right smells played a major part in achieving good health.

In his Herball, Gerard declared that roses ‘are put into all manner of counterpoysons and other like medicines, whether they be to be outwardly applied or to be inwardly taken, to which they give an effectuall binding, and certaine strength[e]ning quality’. Contemporary sources indicate that rosewater was used for a variety of purposes: as an ingredient in counter-poison or plague preventative remedies, to add colour and fragrance to food, or to make medicines more palatable. Gerard agrees with Hall about the laxative properties of ‘loosening’ rose syrup: ‘the juice of these roses … doth move to the stoole … and also the syrup made thereof; the Apothecaries call it Syrrup of roses solutive, which must be made of the infusion in which a great number of the leaves of these fresh roses are divers and sundry times steeped’.

Click here to see Hall ‘cure’ Captain Bassett, Lady Jenkinson and many others with rose medicines.

You can find out more here from the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust about the man who married Shakespeare's oldest daughter.