12 Common Historic Herbs

8/13/2019 12 Common Historic Herbs

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A DOZEN MEDIEVAL HERBSSine ni Dheaghaidh

ANISE Native to the Middle East. One of the oldest known herbs. Related to caraway, cumin, dilland fennel. In Ancient Greece valued as an aphrodisiac. Pythagoras in 6 Century BC recommended it

as an antidote for scorpion stings. Romans introduced it into Tuscany and by the Middle Ages it hadspread over most of Europe. Has always been popular as digestive (Roman served anise-cakes after

rich meals) Medieval travelers carried anise to put in evening drinks to help them recover from

fatigue. Also used in form of comfits (coated with sugar) as a digestive. During reign of Edward I, a

tax on anise helped defray expenses for repairing London Bridge.

BALM, LEMON (Sweet Melissa) The name Melissa comes from the Greek for honeybee. Sacred

to the temple of Diana and used medicinally by the Greeks some 2,000 years ago. Called hearts

delight in Southern Europe and the elixir of life by the Swiss physician, Paracelus. He believed

the herb could revive a man. Lemon balm was reputed to be among the morning teas imbibed in the

thirteenth century by Llewelyn, Prince of Glamorgan, who lived to be 108, while John Hussey of

England lived to be 116 after drinking it every morning for 50 years! It is said to dispel melancholy.

BASIL From India. Regarded as sacred by Hindus. Much used for disinfecting where malaria waspresent. Pliny said basil was an aphrodisiac and was given to horses and asses during mating season.

It was believed that it would not flourish unless the gardener hurled profuse insults at it during

planting. The plants Greek name basilikos(which means royalty) got mixed up with the Latin word

basiliscus(which means basilisk, an evil dragon-like animal) and for ensuing centuries people thought

that basil could either protect you from basilisks or could breed such monsters

.

DILL Native to Asia Minor and Europe. Common name derives from either Anglo-Saxon dylle orthe Norse dilla, which means to soothe or lull. In reference to calming infants with hiccoughs or

colic, dill-water is still in use today. It was used by Egyptian doctors 5,000 years ago and remains ofthe plant have been found in ruins of Roman buildings in Britain. It had widespread usage during the

Middle Ages and was well loved by the roving Norsemen.

FENNEL Native to Southern Europe. Used by the Romans and Greeks. In the Middle Ages it wasused to garnish fish: supposedly to help digest the fat. Used medicinally to induce sweating. Thought

to have magic associations and was hung over doors on Midsummers Eve to ward off evil spirits.

Romans believed fennel seeds aided in sharpening vision and it was used as a symbol of victory. In

the Middle Ages, seeds were chewed on fast days to allay hunger. Gerard referred to it as being useful

for preserving the eyesight. Culpeper advised its use for those that are bit with serpents or have

eat...mushrooms.

GARLIC Native to Asia. Grown by Anglo-Saxons. Name derived from Anglo-Saxon words gar,alance, and leac, a leek, referring to the shape of the leaves. In Medieval Britain it was eaten in great

quantities, often raw, causing William Shakespeare to comment unfavorably on its smell.


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MINT Native to all temperate areas. Was named for the nymph Minthe who was pursued by Pluto,God of the Underworld. When Plutos wife, Queen Persephone learned of their trysts, she threw

Minthe to the ground and trampled on her fragile, unfortunate body. Pluto, who wielded great power

in matters pertaining to the afterlife, arranged for her to live on as mint. Culpeper believed that it

stirreth up venery or bodily lust. It was used extensively as a culinary herb by the Greeks, Romans

and early Europeans. It was used also as a strewing herb and with salt for curing dog bites.

MUSTARD Native to the Middle East. Known for thousands of years. Pliny listed 40 remediesbased on mustard. English name from Latin mustum ardens meaning burning must , because the

ground seeds were mixed with grape must. In the Middle Ages it was the one herb available most

commonly to ordinary people. Mentioned in Shakespeare, Mustard-Seed is the name of one of the

fairies in A Midsummer Nights Dream, and in Henry IV Part 2, he refers to Tewkesbury

mustard, Tewkesbury being the center of mustard production for England.

PARSLEY Native to the Eastern Mediterranean area. One of the oldest and longest used herbs.Described in a 3rd Century B.C. Greek herbal. Worn in Greece and Rome as a chaplet to absorb the

fumes of wine and so to delay inebriation. Greeks decorated tombs with it. It was grown in

Charlemagnes garden.

ROSEMARY Native to the Mediterranean Coast. Named from Latin rosandmarismeaning dewof the sea. Has been associated with the mind and improving the memory, witness the famous line

fromHamlet, Theres rosemary, thats for remembrance. It was used at funerals instead of more

expensive incense. Later it was associated with Mary, the mother of Jesus, as it was said that when

she spread her sky-blue cloak over a rosemary bush to dry, the flowers of the bush turned blue to

match her cloak. It was used by hunters to stuff into their prey after removing the entrails, thus

keeping the prey from smelling badly. It was supposed to bring good luck, prevent witchcraft and has

disinfecting powers.

SAGE Native to the northern shores of the Mediterranean. Mentioned by Dioscorides and Pliny.Sage in the garden is said to prolong life. It is said to flourish in gardens where a woman runs the

household. Was traded to the Chinese for tea. Belief that sage strengthened the memory.

THYME Native to Greece. Was mentioned by Theophrastus, Horace, Virgil and Pliny. Ibn Baithartells how thyme kills lice, expels the dead foetus and when drunk with violet oil, clears the head. It

was used in baths, for strewing, in broths and sauces, and to stuff goose and roasted fish. It was

introduced to Briton by the Romans. Mentioned in a 10 Century Anglo-Saxon text. Recommended as

a hangover cure.


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PERIOD HERBALS AND HERBALISTS

In Order of Historical Appearance

Aesculapius. Greek God of Medicine. Legend says he was trained in the healing arts by a centaur

named Cheiron.

Hippocrates. Known as the Father of Medicine. Did much to remove herbalism from the realm ofreligion and place in within the realm of medicine. Born in 460 BC, he used herbs

extensively as purgatives, diuretics, liniments, etc. Wrote of uses of over 400 herbs, which are

still used medicinally today. After his death, his work was continued by his pupils.

Theophrastus. Lived 372-287 BC. Called the Father of Botany. Gathered his botanical material

during Alexander the Greats Indian campaign. His two books, On OdorsandAn Inquiry

into Plants, summarized current knowledge of herbs and spices. He was a pupil of Aristotle.

Dioscorides. A physician in Neros army, his writings resulted from his acute observations as he

followed the wars. His book,De Materia Medica,identified and described the uses of some

600 medicinal plants. It remained a standard reference for about 1500 years and was

frequently quoted by later writers.

Pliny the Elder. Born Caius Plinius Secundus in 23 AD. A traveler, soldier, administrator and

courtier in Spain set out to acquire the entire sum of human knowledge of his day. Much of

his work was a compilation from his readings, but also included his own observations. He

wroteNatural History,a book of plants and their use. Originated the Doctrine of

Signatures.

Galen, Claudius. Born in Asia Minor in 131 AD. He studied medicine in Alexandria. Was

physician to Marcus Aurelius and surgeon to a school of gladiators. He mainly used herbal

remedies, although he also resorted to charms and talismans. Wrote many books, including

De Simplicicus, which were recopied through out the Middle Ages. His books, which

codified and propounded the theory of humors, were standard medical texts in Europe and the

Arabic world until the Renaissance. Invented cold cream.

Charlemagne. In 800 AD issued order for his people to grow certain herbs and vegetables in their

gardens. We desire that they have in the garden all the herbes namely, the lily, roses,

fenugreek, costmary, sage, rue, southernwood, cucumbers, pole beans, cumin, rosemary,

caraway, chick pea, squill, iris, arum, anise, coloquinth, chicory, animi, laserwort, lettuce,

black cumin, garden rocket, nasturtium, burdock, pennyroyal, alexander, parsley, celery,

lovage, sabine tree, dill, fennel, endive, dittany, black mustard, savory, curly mint, water

mint, horse mint, tansy, catnip, feverfew, poppy, beet sugar, marshmallows, high mallows, carrots,

parsnips, oraches, amaranths, kholrabis, cabbages, onions, chives, leeks, radishes, shallots,

garlics, madder, artichokes, or fulling thistles, big beans, field peas, coriander, chervil, capper

spruge, clary.

Leech Book of Bald. An ancient herbal from the Saxon period (10thCentury) of Briton. It combinedthe ancient herb lore of Briton with prescriptions sent to Alfred the Great by the Patriarch of

Jerusalem. The author is unknown. The Saxons had names for about 500 herbs whose

medicinal uses were combined with earlier pagan rites. Disease in humans was often linked

to malicious elves, while cattle were thought to be infected with flying venom or elf-shot.

Avicenna. Arab physician (980-1037AD) whose book, Canon of Medicine,


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based on Galen, written in Arabic then translated into Latin, was a standard textbook in

European medical schools until the 17th century.

Albertus Magnus. A thirteenth century AD herbalist who wrote, Gather marigold while the sun is in

the sign of Leo in August; wrap it in a bay leaf with a wolfs tooth, and no man will be able

to speak any but works of peace to you as you wear it. Shows how astrology was used along

with herb lore.

Bartolomaeus Anglicus. Circa 1250. Wrote nineteen volumes of Natural History,De Proprietatibus

Rerum, the seventeenth constituting the only original herbal written in England during the

Middle Ages.

Ibn Baithar. A 13th Century AD Physician and Botanist who lived in Arabic Spain. He quotes from

Galen and Dioscorides, but he also quotes from Arabic, Persian, Syrian and Indian sources.

Banckes Herbal. The first printed English herbal, an anonymous compilation of earlier herbals,

including the tenth century Aemilius Macers herbal,De Virtutibus Herbarum, and the

famous discourse on rosemary, sent by the French Countess of Hainault to her daughter,

Philippa, Edward Is Queen.

Turner, William. First major English herbalist, born in 1510. Studied medicine in Bologna. Was

chaplain and physician to the Duke of Sumerset. Wrote a three-volume herbal,A New

Herbal, printed in 1568, the first to be written in English. His usages of herbs were quite

varied. He recommended putting parsley in ponds to cure ailing fish and said the best use of

birch was for betinge stubborn boys who either lie or will not learn.

Paracelsus. (1493-1541) A Swiss Alchemist, he believed that alchemy should be used to prepare

medicines for healing. He was first to use the plant-derived tincture of opium called

laudanum. His contribution to herbalism was the theory that healing herbs were signposted

by God to guide man in his use of them, showing by a physical quality of the plant what

disease or part of the body a plant could be used for. For example; a plant with yellow

flowers could be used to treat jaundice. This theory persisted for several centuries.

Gerard, John. (1545-1612) The Herbal; or General Historie of Plantes London, 1597. One of

many herbals to appear from the last quarter of the fifteenth century until the end of the

seventeenth. Gerard was an eminent Elizabethan herbalist and gardener. His herbal was

based almost entirely on that of a Dutchman named Rembert Dodoens, Cruydboeck, written

in 1554.

Shakespeare, William. Many mentions of flowers and herbs in plays. For example---Perdita in A

Winters Tale... Heres Flowers for you; Hot lavender, mints, savory, marjorm; The

marigold, that goes to bed wi the sun, and with him rises weeping: these are flowers of

middle Summer, and I think they are given to men of middle age. And from A Midsummer

Nights Dream...I know a bank where the wild thyme blows, Where oxlips and the nodding

violet grows, Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine, With sweet musk-roses and witheglantine....


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Parkinson, John. Physician, herbalist and gardener of 16th century London. Wrote a gardening

book, Paradisi in Sole Paradisus Terrestris,published in1629. A second book, Theatrum

Botanicumwas published in 1640. It discussed 3800 plants. He leaned heavily on the work

of Dioscorides, Theophrastus, Galen and others and on the French botanists LObel and

Bauhin, whose help he acknowledged on the first page. He wrote the herbal not to teach

Doctors but to helpe their memories and withal to shew them my judgement, that they

mistake not one thing for anot or one mans plant for another.

Culpeper, Nicholas. Wrote The English Physician; or An Astrologo-Physical Discourse of the

Vulgar Herbs of This Nation in 1652. He was born in London in 1616. In 1640 he started a

practice as a physician and astrologer. He combined medieval alchemy, astrology and

herbalism to classify each herb.

William Coles. The Art of Simpling was an introduction to the knowledge and gathering of plants,

including the first accounts of using herbs for treating animals. (1656)


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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Asimov, Isaac.Asmoivs Biographical Encyclopedia of Science and Technology. New York.

Doubleday and Company, Inc. 1972.

Bayard, Tania. Sweet herbs and Sundry Flowers.New York. Metropolitan Museum of Art. 1985.

Boland, Maureen & Bridget. Old Wives Lore for Gardeners. New York. Farrar, Straus & Girous.

1976.

Bonar, Ann. The Macmillan Treasury of Herbs. New York. Macmillan Publishing Company. 1985.

Bown, Deni. The Herb Society of America Encyclopedia of Herbs and Their Uses. New York. DK

Publishing. 1995.

Culpeper, Nicholas. Culpepers Complete Herbal. London. Bloomsbury Books.

Forme of Cury. Online version: http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/foc/

Culpeper, Nicholas. The English Physician. 1657. Available on the web by the Yale Medical School:

http://www.med.yale.edu/library/historical/culpeper/culpeper.htm This includes the herbal as

well as recipes from the Royal College of Physicians.

Forsell, Mary.Heirloom Herbs. New York. Villard Books. 1990.

Fox, Helen Morgenthau. Gardening with Herbs for Flavor and Fragrance. New York. Macmillan

Publishing Company. 1933. (Dover Reprint, 1970).

McNair, James K. All About Herbs. San Ramon, Calif. Ortho Books. Chevon Chemical Company.

1990.

Michalak, Patricia S. Rodales Successful Organic Gardening: Herbs. Emmaus, Penn. Rodale Press.

1993.

Ortiz, Elisabeth Lambert. The Encyclopedia of Herb, Spices and Flavorings.New York. DK

Publishing. 1994.

Sanecki, Kay N.History of the English Herb Garden. London. Ward Lock. 1992.

Swahn, J.O. The Lore of Spices. New York. Crescent Books. 1991.


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HOW TO GROW THE HERBS

ANISE: Annual, full sun, can grow to 2 feet tall, white flowers that resemble Queen Annes Lace. To

harvest seeds: dry seed heads on paper or in paper bags to catch all the seeds. Use the leaves too,

they also have anise flavor. * Tips* Use anise to bait mouse traps. Plant near coriander (it

enhances its growth). Sow seeds outside as it transplants poorly. Uses: culinary, medicinal.

BASIL: Annual, full sun, tropical, tender, has white flowers, grows 1-2 feet tall, 18 inches wide. Grows

quickly from seed, transplant after last frost. Harden off before transplanting. Harvest leaves

every week, pinch terminal buds to encourage branching. *Tip* Plant near tomatoes and pepper

to enhance their growth. Uses: culinary, medicinal, domestic, fragrance.

BALM, LEMON: Hardy perennial, full sun to partial shade, 1-2 feet tall with greenish or white

blossoms. Sow seeds shallowly in spring, thinning to 18-24 apart. Readily self-sows. To

harvest, cut entire plant and dry quickly to prevent leaves from turning black. Uses: culinary,

medicinal, cosmetic, fragrance.

DILL: Hardy re-seeding annual, full sun, yellow-green to white flowers, grows up to 3 feet tall. Sow

seeds outdoors in early Spring and keep moist. Do not plant near fennel: they cross, collect

seeds as with anise. Uses: culinary, medicinal, cosmetic, fragrance.

FENNEL: Semi-hardy perennial , full sun, grows up to 4 feet tall. Has small yellow flowers. Usually

grown as an annual as the bulb is a wonderful vegetable! Sow seed outside in spring as it

transplants poorly, collect seeds as with anise. Uses: culinary, medicinal, cosmetic, fragrance.

GARLIC: Hardy biennial or perennial, full sun, grows up to 2 feet tall, resembles and onion, iris or tulips

(depends on variety), white to pink blooms atop a central stalk. Plant cloves just below surface

3-4 inches apart. Dig bulbs and allow to dry on ground for a week or two, in a shaded spot

Uses: culinary, medicinal, cosmetic, domestic.

MINT: Hardy perennial, full sun to moderate shade, grows 30 inches tall, with tiny pink or purple

blossoms. Buy plants to get the best flavor as mints do not come up true from seeds.

Rampant spreader, plant in sunken bottomless container to control. Uses: culinary,medicinal, cosmetic, fragrance.

MUSTARD: Very hardy annual or biennial, full sun, grows 4-6 feet tall. Attracts same pests as cabbage.

Collect and dry seeds when ripe. Uses: culinary, medicinal.

PARSLEY: Biennial grown as annual, full sun to partial shade, grows 8-12 inches tall, tiny yellow

flowers. Grow from plants--seeds take to long to germinate. To harvest: cut entire plant 2 inches

the ground and it will re-grow. May be grown indoors in pots. Uses: culinary, medicinal,

cosmetic.

ROSEMARY: Semi-hardy, evergreen perennial, full sun, grows 2-6 feet tall, small pale blue to pink

clusters of flowers , grows best in well drained soil. Start from plants, not seeds. Uses: culinary,

medicinal, cosmetic, fragrance.

SAGE: semi-hardy to hardy perennial, full sun, grows 1-2 feet tall, grows easily from seeds. Sow indoors

8-10 weeks before frost free date. But plants are easier. Uses: culinary, medicinal, cosmetic,

domestic.

THYME: Hardy perennial, full sun, grows 6-15 inches, lilac to pink blossoms, starts easily from seed.

*Tip* Plant near eggplant, cabbage, tomatoes and mustard to repel cabbage worms and white

flies. Uses: culinary, medicinal, cosmetic, domestic, fragrance.


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12 Common Historic Herbs