Aromatherapy History: Middle Ages & Renaissance
Aromatherapy history and the use of essential oils continued through the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Physicians and perfumers, among others, continued the tradition, but there’s more, as you’ll read in the section dealing with the plagues. Although crude forms of distillation were practiced as early as 3500 BC, distillation as we know it today had its beginnings with the work of the Persian physician, Avidenna (980-1037 AD). Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) was a multi-talented German abbess, author, composer, herbalist, physician, scientist and more. For medicine, she was known to have used plants as herbs or, depending on the situation, used the essential oils of the plant. By the beginning of the seventeenth century, approximately 60 essential oils were known and used as medicine in perfumes. 1 Plagues Terrible plagues swept much of the world during the sixth, seventh, thirteenth, fifteenth, and seventeenth centuries. Even smaller outbreaks left many people dead. People in certain occupations seemed to escape these plagues and that’s where aromatherapy came into play. Perfumers were one such group. Another group was the tanners, who traditionally scented their handmade leather gloves with perfumes before selling them. At this time in history, these perfumes typically contained plant oils with antimicrobial properties. So the perfumers and tanners were protected by constantly being exposed to these plant oils in their daily work.
People in certain geographical locations were also spared from the plague. Bucklersbury, England is one such example. As the center of the European lavender trade, virtually the entire town was spared from the plague, while residents of other towns close by died in droves. 1. Valnet, Jean, M.D. The Practice of Aromatherapy. Rochester, VT: Healing Arts Press, 1982, page 28.
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Certain thieves and doctors were also spared because of their knowledge of the protective qualities of certain essential oils. The Thieves essential oil blend of the 20th century is based upon research about what certain bands of thieves used to protect themselves as they were robbing the dead and dying. The Thieves essential oil blend is item number 3423 at 
