A Brief Introduction to Medieval Herbalism (Fields of Gold 2015)

Modern medicine did not exist in a form we would readily recognize until the late 1800's. That which had existed before began prior to many cultures writing information down. This medicine of the past was practiced in both the medieval and Renaissance periods. It is this medicine that we will look at in overview and a little practice.

A Brief Overview of the Basics

Early medicine believed that the human body worked in concert with the natural world and was defined and influenced by it.

1) The humours

- Yellow bile

- Black bile

- Phelgm

- Blood

2) The Galenic degrees

	Hot (Purify)	Cold (Hold the organism together)
First Degree	Opens the pores of the skin and tissues to let fluids flow out	Cools the body, on a hot summer day, refreshes the spirits, and returns the temperature to normal
Second Degree	Thins fluids so that they can flow out through the pores	Abates active inflammations
Third Degree	Increases the innate heat of the body that drives the fluids out through the pores	Thickens and contains substances within the organism, such as sweat and diarrhea, also condensing “vapors” that rise and cause nervousness, restlessness, and madness
Fourth Degree	Burns the skin to remove foreign growths	Causes unconsciousness and pain relief

Measures of humidity

Dry

Hardens to such an extent that it causes a boundary that keeps things within, especially fluids.

~ “strengthening to nature” (acclimatizing, resistance building)

~binding (astringent)

~hardening

~drawing

Damp/Wet

“Moisture spreads unstoppably in all directions until it meets a boundary.”

~loosening or relaxing

~moistening

~softening

~nourishing

Adapted from: Wood, Matthew. The Earthwise Herbal: A Complete Guide to Old World Medicinal Plants. North Atlantic Books: Berkley, 2008. Pages 5 – 7.

3) Temperaments (Personalities)

On each row, circle the best description of the person being tested:

Deep and thoughtful	Enthusiastic and expressive	Strong-willed and decisive	Patient well balanced
Too introspective	Gets angry easily	Impatient	Selfish
Tries to get everything done right	Turns disaster into humor	Establishes Goals	Can take the good with the bad
Needs to finish what he starts	Volunteers for Jobs	Thrives on opposition	Avoids conflicts
Detail oriented	Has energy and enthusiasm	Delegates work	Looks for easiest way to accomplish the job
Unforgiving	Makes excuses	Can't say, "I'm Sorry"	Judges others
Lives through others	Hates to be alone	Knows everything	Resists change
Perfectionist	Life of the Party	Born leader, can run anything	All-purpose person
Likes charts, graphs, figures, lists	Good sense of humor	Will work for group activity	Dry sense of humor
Full of contradictions	Wants to be popular	Can do everything better	Self-righteous
Standards often too high	Needs to be center stage	Has little need for friends	Resents being pushed
Avoids causing attention	Lives in the present	Not easily discouraged	Keeps emotions hidden
Faithful and devoted	Doesn't hold grudges	Excels in emergencies	Good listener
Content to stay in background	Talkative, Storyteller	Is usually right	Quiet but witty
Deep need for approval	Naïve, never grows up	Demanding of others	Would rather sit back and watch than participate
Idealistic	Likes spontaneous activities	Sees the whole picture	Competent and steady

From 4 Temperaments and 4 Humors of the Body: A Medieval Personality Test compiled by Lady Ivegard Sask.

Key to the 4 Temperaments Test:Columns represent one of the 4 humors, while rows across are either strengths or weaknesses of traits of each humor.

Melancholic

Sanguine

Choleric

Phlegmatic

Lines 1,3,5,8,9,12,13,14,16 = Strengths Lines 2,4,6,7,10,11,15 = Weaknesses

A well-balanced person will have attributes of all 4 personalities, but most everyone has a dominant (or two dominant!) personality type.

A Short List of Some Prominent Historical Herbalists

Hippocrates (460 – 370 BCE)

~ Father of Western medicine

~ Developed the Hippocratic oath (which is still taken by physicians)

~ Developed the theory of the humours

Dioscorides (40 - 90 CE)

~Wrote De Materia Medica

~Precursor to all other pharmacoepias

~Circulated in Greek, Latin and Arabic

~Prime historical force about ancient medicine

Galen (129 - 200 CE)

~ Based his knowledge on Hippocrates' humour theory and added the temperaments/degrees and how humoural imbalance contributed to them.

~Refined the descriptions of the degrees

Ibn Sīnā aka Avicenna (980 – 1037 CE)

~Wrote The Book of Healing and The Canon of Medicine

~The Canon described contagious diseases and STI's

~ Believed in the miasma (vapour) theory as the cause of epidemics

~ Wrote about the importance of hygiene

Hildegard of Bingen (1098 – 1179 CE)

~ Wrote Physica

~ Covered the scientific and medicinal properties of plants, stones, fish, reptiles and animals

~ Wrote Causae and Curae

~ Covered the connections of the human body to the natural world and the causes and cures of various diseases.

~ One of only female herbalists known about

Moshe ben Maimon aka Maimonides (1135 – 1204 CE)

~Jewish physician living in Moor occupied Spain

~ Wrote on specific conditions such as asthma

~ Promoted healthy living and the avoidance of overabundance

~Wrote Glossary of Drug Names

Nicholas Culpeper (1606 – 1654 CE)

~ Wrote The English Physician and The Complete Herbal

~ Focused on reason rather than tradition.

 

What were some of the limitations of medieval herbalism?

Naming

The binomial (two name) naming system that we are familiar with, lavandula officinalis for example, did not come about until 1753. This means that lavender was lavender and there was no real way, without an accurate description of the plant itself, to know if the lavender you had was the same as your neighbours.

Location

Some herbs that we now take for granted were not widely available due to where they grew. There was some trading, but large amounts of Mediterranean herbs (rosemary for example) would not have made it to the Scandinavian areas. In other cases, herbs like allspice, vanilla, chocolate and chili peppers belonged to the New World and did not come to be known until the late 15^th/early 16^th centuries. Even once the herb was known, it was not always readily available. Nutmeg, for instance, was under a Dutch monopoly until the 18^th century.

Wars and trade routes

The transport and availability of some herbs was dependent on outside forces. During the Spice Trade before the Crusades, exotic spices would have more widely available than during the era of the Crusades themselves.

Biological Understanding (Of the body and the herbs)

While the early medical practices had a general idea of how the body and herbs worked, they were incredibly rudimentary. The knowledge of the causes of illness, bacteria and the like, were unknown until the Victorian Era. Due to this lack of knowledge, the practice of healing was often more trial and error than firm science.

Social Status

Wealth was an important factor in the availability of some herbs. Saffron, for instance, was a mark of great wealth. Medicine using saffron would not have been readily available to the lower classes and commoners.

Now, for some practical stuff.

We are going to make 5 herbal preparations with 4 different herbs (one will be used twice).

1) Sachets filled with lavender

A sachet is a herb filled cloth bag.

Lavender serves two purposes: sleep aid and moth repellent.

2) Decoction of Chamomile

A decoction is made by boiling the herbs in water for about 10 to 15 minutes.

Chamomile can be used to ease stomach and digestion issues, tension, nightmares and colic.

3) Compress of Chamomile

A compress is a cloth soaked in either a cooled infusion or a decoction and then placed on the body.

Chamomile can be used to ease the sting of burns, in particular sunburns.

4) Infusion of Peppermint

An infusion (or tisane) is made by steeping the herbs in boiled water.

Peppermint can be used for digestive issues (including gas), insomnia, sore mouths and throats, and

morning sickness (in the second trimester – it is dangerous in the first)

5) Poultice of Mustard seed

A poultice is made by the grinding of herbs with a small amount of liquid and then placed on the skin.

Mustard can be used to draw blood to an affected area, such as a bite or burn.

 

Sources used (as well as some of my favourites)

Cosman, Madeleine Pelner and Linda Gale Jones. Handbook to Life in the Medieval World. Infobase Publishing, 2008.

Culpeper, Nicholas. Culpeper's Medicine: A Practice of Western Holistic Medicine.

Dioscorides. De Materia Medica. (This is often my first stop when determining if an herb was period)

Green, Monica H. The Trotula: An English Translation of the Medieval Compendium of Women's Medicine.

University of Pennsylvania Press: Philadelphia, 2002.

Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal http://www.botanical.com (Last accessed June 29, 2015) A fantastic resource for the history of herbs)

Lev, Efrayim and Zohar 'Amar. Practical Materia Medica of the Medieval Eastern Mediterranean According to the Cairo Genizah. Brill, 2008.(A fantastic non-Christian resource)

Pazzini, Adalberto and Emma Pirani. Herbarium: Natural Remedies from a Medieval Manuscript. New York: Rizooli, 1980.

The Good Wife's Guide (Le Ménagier de Paris): A Medieval Household Book. Cornell University Press, 2012

Strehlow, Dr. Wighard and Gottfried Hertzka. M.D. Hildegard of Bingen's Medicine. Santa Fe: Bear and Company Inc., 1998.

Tobyn, Graeme. Culpeper's Medicine: A Practice of Western Holistic Medicine. Shaftesbury: Element, 1997.

Van Arsdall, Anne. Medieval Herbal Remedies: The Old English Herbarium and Anglo-Saxon Medicine. Routledge: New York, 2002.

Wood, Matthew. The Earthwise Herbal: A Complete Guide to Old World Medicinal Plants. North Atlantic Books: Berkley, 2008. (A new find that uses everyday language to explain some of the more confusing herbal theories and history)

http://www.greekmedicine.net/Principles_of_Treatment/Herbal_Therapeutics_and_Materia_Medica.html

http://scaherbyadventures.blogspot.ca/ (My blog where I post all of my research)

Best description of the Galenic degrees I have found.

	Hot (Purify)	Cold (Hold the organism together)
First Degree	Opens the pores of the skin and tissues to let fluids flow out	Cools the body, on a hot summer day, refreshes the spirits, and returns the temperature to normal
Second Degree	Thins fluids so that they can flow out through the pores	Abates active inflammations
Third Degree	Increases the innate heat of the body that drives the fluids out through the pores	Thickens and contains substances within the organism, such as sweat and diarrhea, also condensing “vapors” that rise and cause nervousness, restlessness, and madness
Fourth Degree	Burns the skin to remove foreign growths	Causes unconsciousness and pain relief

Measures of humidity

Dry

Hardens to such an extent that it causes a boundary that keeps things within, especially fluids.

~ “strengthening to nature” (acclimatizing, resistance building)

~binding (astringent)

~hardening

~drawing

Damp

“Moisture spreads unstoppably in all directions until it meets a boundary.”

~loosening or relaxing

~moistening

~softening

~nourishing

Adapted from: Wood, Matthew. The Earthwise Herbal: A Complete Guide to Old World Medicinal Plants. North Atlantic Books: Berkley, 2008. Pages 5 – 7.

Abandon Project (a brief adventure with tarragon)

When I started the research on tarragon (artemisia dracunculus) I had no idea what awaited me.  While it has been referred to in historical texts, there is little reference to its medicinal uses, only its usage in regional cooking, whihc is not my main focus.  I am not one to let good research to go to waste, so here is what I found.

the names, and thus the origin, of this herb was the first hurdle.  Artemisia is a large family (including plants such as wormwood) and tarragon is often confused with mugwort (artemisia vulgaria), and there are two varieties of it: French (artemisia dracunculus ) and Russian (artemisia dracunculoides).  The commonly accepted theory of the origin of tarragon's name is as follows "The name Tarragon is a corruption of the French Esdragon, derived from the Latin Dracunculus (a little dragon), which also serves as its specific name. It was sometimes called little Dragon Mugwort and in French has also the name Herbe au Dragon."(http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/t/tarrag07.html).  This gives a good reason why there was the belief that tarragon would heal bites from mad dogs and venomous creatures.

---------------------

The original spark for this research was a medieval Spanish recipe from (http://www.medievalspanishchef.com/).  While food recipes can aid in determining a time and place for herbs, this did me little to no good.  Another medieval Spanish recipe book (written in Catalan) mentioned  that it came to Europe in the 16th century but that there is little mention of it in historical texts (Cuina medieval catalana: història, dietètica i cuina by Eliana Thibaut i Comalada).  So there was not a lot of headway on the food front, ok, moving on to herbal sources.   

Nothing in De Materia Medica...odd...but ok.

Botanical.com has an entry, perfect, all is not lost.  Used to cool the heat of other herbs in salads...not really what I was looking for.

No mention of it in Culpeper or Bingen...alright, I can take a hint.

Onto the Medieval Herbalism board on FaceBook.

Gerard's Herbal, sweet a new resource!  Interesting origin story "the seed of flax put into a radish or a sea onion [squill] and set int the ground will bring forth this herb", but otherwise the same information I already had.

So due to the lack of information on tarragon, I have no choice but to abandon the project.  I got a list of new resources to add to my collection, so not all is lost.

Sources

Cuina medieval catalana: història, dietètica i cuina by Eliana Thibaut i Comalada  

The Magic Teaspoon by Victoria Zak

The Meaning of Herbs: Myth, Language and Lore by Gretchen Scoble and Ann Field

Plant Names from the Leechbook of Bald  http://wyrtig.com/EarlyPlants/LeechbookPlants.htm

The herball, or, Generall historie of plantes https://archive.org/stream/herballorgeneral00gera?hc_location=ufi#page/248/mode/2up

New path?

To be honest, I have been struggling with which direction to take my herbalism studies for, well, ever.  The subject covers all time periods, areas and peoples, thus making it hard to find a niche.  I recently received some fantastic advice, focus on what makes me excited about herbalism.  At first, I had no idea what this was.  Now, having had some time to think about it, I think I know where I will try next.  I love the folk knowledge of herbs, the old wives tales, the societal memory, the "we've done this forever and we don't know why, but it works".  I am hoping that this will enable me to more easily focus on a place and period.

Wish me luck!

Preparing for Spring: Just a cup of tea? (Lionsdale Winter Tourney 2015)

Spring is often considered to be the season of growth and new life. This would also be the view held by my persona in the northern coastal city of Coruña in the northwestern state of Galicia, Spain. The climate of this area is considered temperate, making it ideal for the cultivation and natural growing of mint (Mentha). As the plant shrivels in the winter, any remedies throughout the season would need to be made with dried mint. As my persona would prepare for the new mint plants spring would bring, she would seek to make room in her stores by using the last of her preserved herb. One of the best ways to use this herb was to make a decoction, a strong tea, but is there more than meets the eye with this simple preparation?

The process of making a decoction consists of bringing fresh water to a boil then adding herbs, either fresh or dried to it. Simmering the herbs and water for 10 to 15 minutes and then straining the herbs from the water. This preparation is stronger then merely steeping the herbs in boiling water, thus making an infusion. Throughout my studies, I have yet to find an herb that could not be used a decoction. I have made decoctions of lavender (for respiratory issues), dill, fennel and horehound (for a cold/cough remedy).

Such an decoction was used to assist in the treatment of: a bleeding nose, fortifying the stomach, curing the hiccoughs, enhancing sexual desires, combating bad breath, and skin eruptions (especially on the head) inducing menstruation or causing a miscarriage. It could rouse one who had fainted and when taken with honey, according to Culpeper, could ease pains of the ear and roughness of the tongue¹. Hildegard of Bingen suggests “[eating] watermint [bachmyntza], either raw or cooked with meats, or in a broth, or can be cooked as a puree”² when the stomach was stuffed. Mint, or its decoction, could also be added to pomegranate wine for the same result. Adding the mint to milk, it is unclear if it was boiled within it or not, would stop a bleeding nose from coagulating³. This use could have been used if the patient was being bled to equalize the humours.

The Mint family, Lamiaceae, is extensive and is used to identify a large variety of plants, not limited to: basil, savory, lavender, sage and rosemary. Its earliest documentation comes from Pliny⁴. It was well-known throughout the medieval era, as it had been carried throughout the Roman Empire. When searching for the medicinal uses of mint, the specific kind is not always identified, it is merely called “mint”. Hildegard of Bingen clearly mentioned curled, field and water mints, but the majority of other herbal writers make no distinction between the various species. In my stores, I had peppermint (Mentha piperita) specifically, which for the duration of this presentation will take the place of unspecified mint.

In order to understand how mint worked, it becomes necessary to look at the beliefs held by those of the era. Middle Ages beliefs about the body, its ailments and how to cure them were centered around the four humours: black bile, yellow bile, blood and phlegm. Balance of these within the body meant good health, while an imbalance lead to sickness. The hot/cold/dry/wet qualities of the humours gave healers clues how to best return the body's equilibrium. Galen, a Greek in the early part of the first century, further defined the aspects of plants and gave them degrees; one being the weakest and four being the strongest. Mint is said to be both hot and dry in the second degree, which means that it is of middling potency.

'Hot' herbs were generally used to stave off chills and stimulate metabolism. Many of the herbs that fall into this category are strong in both aroma and taste. 'Dry' herbs were best used to purge the body of moisture, such as phlegm. All of the cures were determined by opposites. If you had an ailment that was cold and wet, an example being an upset or cold stomach, mint with its hot and dry properties would encourage the production of yellow bile to correct an excess of black bile. An overabundance of black bile was thought to because of sadness, melancholia.

1 Nicholas Culpeper. Culpeper's Medicine: A Practice of Western Holistic Medicine.Page 244.

2 Dr. Wighard Strehlow and Gottfried Hertzka. M.D. Hildegard of Bingen's Medicine.Page 107.

3 Ibn Buṭlān. The four seasons of the House of Cerruti.

4 Lev Efrayim and Zohar 'Amar. Practical Materia Medica of the Medieval Eastern Mediterranean According to the Cairo Genizah. Page 449.

Works Cited

Buṭlān, Ibn. The four seasons of the House of Cerruti.

Cosman, Madeleine Pelner and Linda Gale Jones. Handbook to Life in the Medieval World. Infobase Publishing, 2008.

Culpeper, Nicholas. Culpeper's Medicine: A Practice of Western Holistic Medicine.

Daisley, Gilda. Herbs International & Illustrated. Chevprime Ltd, 1989.

Discorides. De Materia Medica.

Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal http://www.botanical.com (Last accessed November 10, 2014)

Lev, Efrayim and Zohar 'Amar. Practical Materia Medica of the Medieval Eastern Mediterranean According to the Cairo Genizah. Brill, 2008.

Pazzini, Adalberto and Emma Pirani. Herbarium: Natural Remedies from a Medieval Manuscript. New York: Rizooli, 1980.

Van Arsdall, Anne. Medieval Herbal Remedies: The Old English Herbarium and Anglo-Saxon Medicine. Routledge: New York, 2002.

The Good Wife's Guide (Le Ménagier de Paris): A Medieval Household Book. Cornell University Press, 2012

Strehlow, Dr. Wighard and Gottfried Hertzka. M.D. Hildegard of Bingen's Medicine. Santa Fe: Bear and Company Inc., 1998. 

http://www.greekmedicine.net/Principles_of_Treatment/Herbal_Therapeutics_and_Materia_Medica.html

Horehound Tonic Process

The wine

(It was recommended that red wine would be the most period)

The dry herbs 

Herbs in the wine on the stove

Linen cloth ready to strain

Straining the herbs through the linen cloth so just the wine is left.

The strained herbs

I had trouble getting a good picture of the tonic, the colour of the wine appeared only a little darker.

The flavour is of the tonic is dominated by the horehound, the other two herbs are barely detectable.

Horehound Tonic

"Those who cough should take fennel and dill in equal parts,add one third of a part of horehound and boil the herbs in wine, strain through a linen cloth,drink and the cough will disappear."

Hildegard of Bingen's Medicine by Dr. Wighard Strehlow and Gottfried Hertza, M.D.

Medieval Medicine

Medieval beliefs about the body, its ailments and how to cure them were centered around the four

humours: black bile, yellow bile, blood and phlegm. Balance of these within the body meant good 

health,while an imbalance lead to sickness. The hot or cold, dry or wet qualities of the humours gave 

healers clues how to best return the body's equilibrium. Galen, a Greek in the early part of the first 

century, further defined the aspects of plants and gave them degrees; one being the weakest and four 

being the  strongest.

'Hot' herbs were generally used to stave off chills and stimulate metabolism. Many of the herbs that fall into this category are strong in both aroma and taste. 'Dry' herbs were best used to purge the body of moisture, such as phelgm. All of the cures were determined by opposites. If you had an ailment that was cold and wet, an example being a bronchial cough, this tonic with its hot and dry properties would be ideal in easing the patients suffering and place on the road to well-being.

Hildegard of Bingen

A German Abbess in the 12^th century, who wrote about many herbs, treatments and beliefs about the human body. She is the only female herbalist currently known.

White Horehound (Marrubium vulgare)

Part used: Leaves

Qualities: hot 2 dry 3

Historical Tidbits: Indigenous to Britain.

Esteemed by the Romans and refered to as "seed of Horus", "Bull's Blood" and "Eye of the Star" by the ancient Egyptians.

Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare)

Part used: Seeds

Qualities: hot 2 dry 2

Historical Tidbits: Indigenous to the Mediterranean.

Cultivated by the Romans.

Mentioned in pre-Norman conquest Anglo-Saxon cookery and Spanish agriculture records from AD 961.

Dill (Anethum graveleons)

Part used: Leaves

Qualities: hot 2 dry 1

Historical Tidbits: Indigenous to the Mediterranean and southern Russia.

Called the "Anethon of Dioscorides" and known by Pliny and Middle Age writers.

Found in Norse burial sites.

Why is called "Horehound Tonic"?

While there is no documentable reason for this name, I feel that it is named for horehound, rather than fennel or dill, as it is the most potent of the herbs used. When drunk, all one can taste is the horehound.

Why wine?

Wine is believed to have its own restorative properties and is well known for its ability to absorb the medicinal properties of herbs placed within it.

Works Used

http://www.greekmedicine.net/Principles_of_Treatment/Herbal_Therapeutics_and_Materia_Medica.html (Last accessed November 10, 2014)

Culpeper, Nicholas. Culpeper's Complete Herbal: Over 400 herbs and their uses. London: Arcturus, 2009.

Daisley, Gilda. Herbs International & Illustrated. Chevprime Ltd, 1989.

Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal http://www.botanical.com (Last accessed November 10, 2014)

Pazzini, Adalberto and Emma Pirani. Herbarium: Natural Remedies from a Medieval Manuscript. New York: Rizooli, 1980.

Tobyn, Graeme. Culpeper's Medicine: A Practice of Western Holistic Medicine. Shaftesbury: Element, 1997.