Herbal Moth Repellents

Even in this modern age, moths continue to have an appetite for wool.  Many personas within the SCA wear wool garments.  This got me thinking about the kind of sachets that would be appreciated as largess, aside from just smelling good.  Many of the combinations I have found during my web searches sound like they would smell very nice as well as being irritating to moths.

Lavender, mint, cedar, cloves, thyme, ginseng and rosemary
http://frugalliving.about.com/od/doityourself/tp/Get_Rid_of_Moths.htm

"...wormwood and rosemary were laid away with clothes as moth repellent..."
Sweet Herbs and Sundry Flowers: Medieval Gardens and the Gardens of the Cloisters


Nice recipe (http://www.sunlandherbs.com/recipes/herbal-moth-repellent/)
A pleasantly aromatic mixture of rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), garden sage (Salvia officinalis), and mint (Mentha spp.) leaves said to be proven effective at repelling clothes moths from drawers and closets. This recipe adapted from one appearing in Herbs About the House by Philippa Back (London: Darton, Longman & Todd, 1977; ISBN 0-232-51389-9). An electric blender works well for reducing the dried herbs and lemon peel to a powder.

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup dried rosemary leaves
• 1/2 cup dried leaves of common garden sage
• 1/2 cup dried peppermint or spearmint leaves
• 1/8 cup dried lemon or orange peel, crushed into powder (powdered lemon peel is often available in the bulk herb section of many health food stores)
• pinch powdered cinnamon
• 2 drops each natural essential oil of rosemary, sage, and peppermint (optional)
• fine-weave muslin, made into small bags (readymade muslin bags are often available in the bulk herb section of many health food stores)

PROCEDURE

1. Using a mortar and pestle or an electric blender, reduce the dried herb leaves to a rough powder.
2. In a stainless steel or ceramic bowl, mix the powdered herbs with the powdered citrus peel and the cinnamon. Add the essential oils (if using) and mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon. (The aroma will be very strong.)
3. Place the herb mixture into small muslin bags. Lay the bags in drawers, or hang them in closets. The mixture’s scent will fade with time; when it does, it can be refreshed with the addition of several drops more essential oils.

Lavender: A Love Story

I couldn't think of a spiffier title, so this one will have to do for now.

In preparation for the Tir Righ A&S Competition in September, I am making a lavender cure as written in De Materia Medica:

                                        

                                      1 pound bruised lavender(wrapped in ta thin linen cloth) 

                                      into nine gallons of must (new wine/unfermented juice) 

                                      and also put in small stoned so that the bundle subsides

                                     to the bottom. After 40 days strain is and put it in another jar.

I am using grape juice, without any preservatives, as I was unable to find must in my area.  I have drastically adjusted the amounts as I have neither the room or need for 9 gallons of anything.  

Here are the pictures documenting this process:

Linen, lavender and rocks to weigh it down.

Bundle, juice and jar.

Bundle in the juice (August 19, 2013)

Herbs in juice - some sediment on the bottom of the jar (September 13, 2013)

  At the advice of another member of the Society, I am also fermenting the lavender and juice with wine yeast.  I am hoping to see which one turns out best.

The package of yeast.

The yeast in water according to the package directions.  It worked out to be about an 1/8 of a teaspoon.

Yeast, juice and lavender (August 19, 2013)

Fermentation - lots of little bubbles on the surface of the juice. (August 24, 2013)

Fermentation - no bubbles or material on the top, there is some sediment at the bottom (September 13, 2013)

Herbs I have used in sachets

Marigold (protection/legal matters), horehound (protection/mental powers), mint (travel) and yarrow (courage).
Chamomile - calming.
Lavender, peppermint and allspice - calming and spicy. 
Peppermint - calming.
Cardamom, allspice and cloves - 'autumn'.
Pepper, ginger, cinnamon and cardamom - chai.
Star anise, mullein leaf and rosemary - nightmare repellent.
Lavender- peppermint and chamomile - soothing and calming.
Cinnamon (protection), Thyme (courage) and Bay (strength) - 'warrior' mix.
Mullein and rosemary - nightmare repellent.
Rose, cinnamon and lavender - by request
Aniseed - all heal.
Vervain (protection, ♀, Earth), Marjoram (wealth, ♂, Air), Juniper (health, ♂, Fire), Catnip (happiness, ♀, Water) - Merry meet, merry part and merry meet again.
Orange peel and cinnamon - energizing.
Rose petals, cardamom and peppermint - 'Lily's Mix' 
Fennel - protection 
Dill - calming
Cinnamon sticks, whole cloves and nutmeg - 'Autumn in Avacal'
Peppercorns, Cardamom, Nutmeg, Cloves, Cinnamon - 'Dana's Delicious Mix' 

Future Endeavours (prone to change)

~Norse herbs (referencing http://www.cs.vassar.edu/~capriest/vikfood.html)

~Anatomy of mulled beverages

~Herbs of the Crusades

Why Lavender Sachets?

     When I first started making sachets, mainly for largesse, I used lavender as it was easy to obtain and few were adverse to its scent.  Upon further research for other uses for lavender, I have stumbled upon some beneficial reasons to the sachets.
      Medieval and Renaissance women used to place lavender in the layers of cloth or lay freshly washed clothes on lavender to dry, thus infusing the fabric with the flowers scent.  This is attributed to why these women were called "lavenders".  The scent of lavender is a marvelous moth repellent and can also be used as a mosquito repellent. Canadian Tire is selling various lavender plants with a sign saying they will keep mosquitoes away.
      Lavender is also used to both lift and relax the spirit.  Whenever I make a sachet for a child or to ease nightmares I include lavender.  I find it relaxing and soothing, but the scent is very familiar so it can also lift my spirits.  According to Scott Cunningham "the plant is so powerful that if when depressed, one gazes upon the plant all sorrow will depart and a joyous feeling will settle upon the observer."  Hildegard of Bingen stated "It curbs very many evil thins and, because of it, malign spirits are terrified."  Not too shabby for a little purple flowered shrub.
     I gain more respect for this fragrant flower the more research I do and I happy that I can share it with others, even if they just think it smells good.

Sources:
The Lavender Garden: Beautiful Varieties to Grow and Gather by Robert Kourik 
The Completed English Translation of the Classic Work on Health and Healing translated by Priscilla Troop

Rosemary Sachet

“Rosemarie is for remembrance/betweene vs daie and night” – Clement Robinson¹

Since time in memoriam, rosemary (Rosemarinus Officinalis) has been used as an aid for the memory. Ancients concluded that because rosemary was able to halt the decay of meat, it must have some preservative powers². The Welsh place rosemary in casks of beer to ensure that the brew does not sour³. Throughout many of the areas of Europe, rosemary is used during funerals to aid in the remembrance of the departed⁴. Greek students wore wreaths of rosemary about their brows to assist in their recall⁵. Rosemary was also reckoned to stimulate the memory and was prized as such⁶. It was used in Shakespeare’s play Hamlet “…rosemary that’s for remembrance..”.⁷

Rosemary originated in the Mediterranean areas of Spain and France and was brought to the British Isles in 1440. As the herb has been mentioned in various period recipes (Hungary Water) it can be concluded that the herb was somewhat common throughout much of the period known as the Middle Ages.

Why I chose rosemary can be best explained by Sir Thomas More “…as for Rosemarie…tis the herb sacred to remembrance and therefor to friendship…”⁸ Upon the sachet I placed three sprigs of rosemary which represent the three (A.S) years that Her Excellency served Lions Gate as their Baroness. Within the sachet is rosemary, so she may remember fondly her time as Baroness and the friends that she made.

I made a sachet so she may place it on her festoon, on a belt or within a bag.

Materials used:

Linen            Cotton Thread               Dried Rosemary

Rose Bead Paternoster - Lionsdale Winter Tourney AS XLIV

“The ordinary arts we practice everyday at homes are of more importance to the soul than their simplicity might suggest.” ~Sir Thomas More

The ordinary arts we practice everyday at home…

Herbalism is an ‘art’ that would have been practiced by most women, rather than men, especially midwives. The knowledge would have been passed from mother to daughter. Gardening would also have been an art that noble women would have practiced on a regular basis. Roses were readily available within surrounding gardens and were used for poultices, tinctures and perfumes.

…are of more importance to the soul…

For the majority of Catholics within the 15^th century, the praying of the rosary/pater noster was part of their daily routine. According to Miller, such tradition may have begun in the 12^th century with Peter the Hermit, though the more commonly held belief is that the rosary was given to St. Dominic by the Virgin Mary herself in 1214, but there is no documented origin. The praying of the rosary would have been of great importance within the era of my persona as the Reconquista ,the reclamation of the area we know as Spain from the Moors, would have just been victorious and this was the era just prior to the Spanish Inquisition, which sought to punish all those who were not ‘true’ Christians. My persona comes from within the state that is home to one of the holiest pilgrimage sites within Europe (Santiago de Compostela) at the time.

Praying the rosary was a way for people to focus their minds on prayer, the beads used as a means of keeping track of the number of prayers. Their length has varied over the centuries from 2 to 200 beads, many being 150 to represent the Psalms. The variation I have made is seen within the Jan Van Eyck painting The Arnolfini Marriage as it is a clear representation of paternosters of the time (see copy at the end).

…than their simplicity might suggest.

A strand of beads made from ground up rose petals, flour and water, very simple and easy to create. They do not need to be baked, only left to ‘cure’. This method eliminates the need for any specialized training or access to a bake oven, neither of which my persona would not have had.

What is the difference between a paternoster and a rosary?

The paternoster is an earlier version of what we now know as the rosary. The Pasternoster was named for the ‘Our Father’ prayer (the Pater Noster). The Ave Maria prayer was added in the late 12^th century. It is unclear when the names became interchangeable.

Why roses?

While there is no evidence to support that roses were indeed used to make beads due to the fact that they were not baked and would have been very fragile, there is much to be said about the symbolism of the rose in relation to the rosary.

~“The name ‘rosary’ (referring to a rose garden or a wreath) comes from legend. In this legend, a band of robbers observed how a monk was telling his beads by the roadside. Each prayer fell from his lips as a rose, and the Virgin Mary herself gathered up the roses and formed them into a garland for her head.” The Medieval Rosary by Aelflaed of the Weald

~Mary is the ‘rose of roses’. “Cantiga X” from the Cantigas de Santa Maria

~ In the Middle Ages, the symbol of joy was the rose. To crown one's head with a garland of roses (a chaplet) was a sign of joy. The Virgin Mary was even called "a garden of roses." In medieval Latin, a garden of roses is rosarium. The salutations were conceived of as so many spiritual roses presented to the Virgin Mary by fashioning for her a crown, a chaplet. In return, our Lady would place upon the heads of her children an invincible diadem of roses, of spiritual graces. http://olrl.org/sacramental/rosary.shtml

~St. Gregory, at the end of the fourth century, spoke of such a method of devotion in veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This pious bishop thought a wreath of spiritual r6ses would be more pleasing to the blessed Virgin than the natural roses with which the faithful adorned her altar. He selected, therefore, a number of prayers, in praise of the blessed Virgin, and united them into a wreath. And this was the origin of the Rosary, woven by pious hands for the veneration of Mary, the mystical rose. http://philomena.org/origins.asp

Materials used

5 parts Dried full-bloom rose petals

2 parts Boiled water

1 part Flour

~Boil the 2 parts water then pour over 2 parts of dried rose petals and let steep for 15 minutes, strain and cool.

~Take the other 3 parts of the petals and rub over a fine metal screen. Do not worry if there are some small chunks left, they add texture.

~Mix together the ground up petals and one part flour. Slowly add the rose tea until you have a cohesive, not runny, paste. Form into small beads, making sure to pierce a hole.

~Leave in a cool, dark place to cure for a minimum of three days.

Sources

Miller, John D. Beads and Prayers: The Rosary in History and Devotion. Burns and Oates: London, 2002.

Winston-Allen, Anne. Stories of the rose: the making of the rosary in the Middle Ages. Pennsylvania University Press: University Park, 1997.

The Medieval Rosary by Aelflaed of the Weald

Universal Living Rosary Association http://philomena.org/rosary.asp

Our Lady of the Rosary Library http://olrl.org/sacramental/rosary.shtml

Hungary Water - Tir Righ Arts and Sciences Competition AS 45

Hungary water, named for Queen Elizabeth of Hungary, is most often distilled alcohol infused with rosemary. It was first documented in the 14^th century and primarily used as a healing and rejuvenation draught. Even with the apparent original recipe, a variety of recipes can be found claiming to be authentic. My goal is to show and compare the various recipes for this elixir and compare them to the original, as well, the virtues of rosemary, the main herbal component.

 

The creation or discovery of Hungary water has been cited as 1370, during the reign of Elizabeth of Hungary. She wrote the following in “letters of gold”

I, Elizabeth, Queen of Hungary, being in the 72d year of my age, and both very infirm and gouty, used for one year this receipt, which was given to me by a certain ancient hermit whom I never saw neither before nor since, and was quickly cured and restored to strength, and appeared to all in a manner so extraordinary beautiful, that the King of Poland sought me in marriage, we being then both in a state of widowhood. But 1 refused, for the love of my Lord Jesus Christ, from whose angel I believe that I received this medicine. This is the receipt:—

R. Aqua; vitse four times distilled part 3. The tops and flowers of Rosemary, part 2. To be put together in a close stopped vessel.and allowed to stand in a warm place during fifty hours, then to be distilled in an alembic, and of this once every week one drachm to be taken in the morning, either in the food or drink, and every morning the face and the diseased limb to be washed with it.

(Beckmann, 307)

The “Eau de la Reine d’Uongrie” created by this recipe uses only aqua vitae (alcohol) and rosemary, an example followed by Heinermann, Scoble and Field, and Mackenzie. The fact that this recipe has been repeated various times by various people and is the starting point for all other recipes speaks to its apparent authenticity.

 

While each of the recipes found start with the same ingredients as the aforementioned recipe, there are a large number of variations to be found. Rosemary was grown throughout most of Europe and it could be argued that any class would be able to make Hungary water, but this was for a queen, who would have a great number of other ingredients at her disposal. Lavender, sage, ginger, marjoram, essential oil of rosemary and pennyroyal are the most commonly found additions within these recipes. The majority of these herbs would not have been as widely available to the common person as they would be to a queen. Common use of these variations would have not been widely used in period.

 

Some of the virtues of rosemary lend themselves to the claim of Her Majesty in curing her joint stiffness and preserving her youth. The anti-inflammatory properties of this fragrant plant would have been effective when used both internally, as a draught, and externally, as a lotion. Along with this, rosemary has been claimed to improve circulation, promote the healing of wounds and “comforteth the braine, the memorie, the inward senses”. There is, however, no claim that I have found that speaks to its rejuvenating properties.

 

As I was unable to find an alembic with which to distill period accurate Hungary water, I chose to use the follow recipe to provide an example of the appearance of un-distilled Hungary Water and the aroma that it would carry. I have no current knowledge of period bottling and preserving methods, I hope to rectify this soon.

Place herbs (dried) in a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid and cover with wine. Once sealed the jar should be left of at least two weeks to steep. The liquid should be filtered and the liquid rebottled and stored for use as required.

Ingredients

Red wine 

Dried Rosemary

Works Cited

Hungary Water

Beckmann, Johann. A Concise History of Ancient Institutions, Inventions, and Discoveries in Science and Mechanic Art. Translated from German. London, 1823.

Byrn, M. L. The Complete Practical Distiller. Bedford: Applewood Books, 1880.

Buc'hoz, Pierre-Joseph. The toilet of Flora; or, A collection of the most simple and approved methods of preparing baths, essences, pomatums, etc. Translated from French. 1772.

Fletcher, Ella Adelia. Woman Beautiful. Kessinger Publishing, 1998.

Groom, Nigel. The New Perfume Handbook. St. Edmundsbury Press: Suffolk, 1997.

Lille, Charles. The British Perfumer: Being a Collection of Choice Receipts and Observations. London, 1822.

Lindsly, Harvey, Reuben Dimond Mussey, Pennslyvania State Temperance Society. Temperance Prize Essays. Duff Green Publishing: Washington, 1835.

Mackenzie, Colin. Mackenzie’s Ten Thousand Receipts. T. Ellwood Zell and Company: Philadelphia, 1867.

One Thousand Experiments in Chemistry: with Illustrations of Natural Phenomena and Practical Observations on the Manufacturing and Chemical Processes at Present Pursued in the Successful Cultivation of Useful Arts. Printed for Sir R. Phillips and Co.: 1822.

Murray, John. Family Receipt-Book, Containing Eight Hundred Truly Valuable Receipts in Various Branches of Domestic Economy. London: 1811.

Pereira, Jonathon. The Elements Materia Medica Therapeutics. Ongman, Brown, Green, Longmans, and Roberts: London, 1857.

Rich, Vivian A. Cursing the Basil: and Other Folklore of the Garden. Horsdal and Schubart Pulishers Ltd. : Victoria, 1998.

Rohde, Eleanour. Garden of Herbs. Bedford: Applewood Books, 1922.

Rose, Jeanne. Herbs & Things: Jeanne Rose's Herbal. Last Gasp: San Francisco, 2005.

Chambers’ Encyclopedia: A Dictionary of Universal Knowledge for the People. London, 1874.

http://www.mostly-medieval.com/explore/plants4.htm#rosemary

“Queen of Hungary Water: some experiments in perfumery” http://www.gallowglass.org/jadwiga/herbs/hungarywater.html

“The Household Cyclopedia” http://mspong.org/cyclopedia/contents.html

Rosemary

Britton, Jade and Tamara Kircher. The Complete Book of Home Herbal Remedies: A Holistic Guide to Understanding and Treating Common Ailments with Herbs. Firefly Books, 1998.

Castleman, Michael. The Healing Herbs. Emmaus: Rodale Press, 1991.

Fischer-Rizzi, Susanne. Medicine of the Earth: Legends, Recipes, Remedies and Cultivation of Healing Plants. Portland: Rudra Press, 1996.

Ody, Penelope. 100 Great Natural Remedies. London: Kyle Cathie Limited, 1997.

Preus, Mary. The Northwest Herb Lover’s Handbook. Seattle: Sasquatch Books, 2000.

Scoble, Gretchen and Ann Field. The Meaning of Herbs: Myth, Language & Lore. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2001.

Honeyed Cures - Lionsdale Winters’ Tourney AS XLV

Honey has been a part of human history from ancient times. Honey was available to the common folk throughout most of Europe. Not only could the bees that made the honey be kept by commoners, it was often less expensive than sugar. Honey has anti-inflammatory and soothing qualities on its own and can be used to make medicines more palatable as many of the herbs tend to be bitter.

Horehound (Marrubium vulgare) a perennial herbaceous plant, found all over Europe and indigenous to Britain.

Culpeper: A decoction of the dried herb, with the seed, or the juice of the green herb taken with honey, is a remedy for those that are short-winded, have a cough, or are fallen into consumption, either through long sickness, or thin distillations of rheum upon the lungs.

Discorides: The dried leaves (with the seed) boiled with water (or juiced while green) are given with honey for tuberculosis of the lungs, asthma, and coughs.

Stinging Nettles (Urtica urens): distributed throughout the temperate regions of Europe and Asia.

Culpeper: The roots and leaves boiled, or the juice of either of them, or both made electuary with honey and sugar, is a safe and sure medicine to open the pipes and passages of the lungs, which is the cause of wheezing and shortness of breath, and helps to expectorate tough phlegm, as also to raise the imposthumed pleurisy; and spend it there by spitting; the same helps with the swelling of the almonds of the throat, the mouth and throat being gargled therewith.

Discorides: Licked in with honey it helps asthma, pleurisy and pneumonia, and fetches up stuff out of the chest.

Fenugreek (Foenum-graecum): Indigenous to the countries on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean.

Culpeper: It is of a softening and dissolving nature, therefore the meal thereof being boiled in mead or honey-water, does consume, soften and dissolve, hard swellings of the imposthumes…applied with honey, it cleanses the face and other parts of pimples, pushes, weals, and other blemishes; it heals itch, and prevents the disagreeable smell which oftentimes proceeds from perspiration.

Discorides: Pounded into small pieces with boiled honey and water and applied as a poultice, it

is good for both inner and outer inflammation.

Terms

“Almonds of the throat”: tonsils

Electuary: a pasty mass composed of a medicine, usually in powder form, mixed in a palatable medium, as syrup, honey, or other sweet substanceExpectorate: to eject or expel matter.

Imposthume: an abscess; a localized collection of pus in the tissues of the body, often accompanied by swelling and inflammation and frequently caused by bacteria.

Pleurisy: inflammation of the pleura (the thin transparent serous membrane enveloping the lungs and lining the walls of the thoracic cavity), with or without a liquid effusion in the pleural cavity, characterized by a dry cough and pain in the affected side.

Rheum: a thin discharge of the mucous membranes.

Weals: raised mark on skin.

Sources

The Honey Prescription: The Amazing Power of Honey As Medicine

 By Nathaniel Altman

Herbal Medicine Past and Present: A reference guide to medicinal plants By J. K. Crellin, Jane Philpott, A. L. Tommie Bass

De Materia Medica By Discorides the Greek

Culpeper’s Complete Herbal By Nicholas Culpeper

All Things Medieval: An Encyclopedia of the Medieval World By Ruth A. Johnston

A short history of the honey bee: humans, flowers, and bees in the eternal chase for honey By Ilona, Ed Readicker-Henderson, Ilona McCarty

A Modern Herbal By Mrs. M Grieve http://www.botanical.com

Making Herbal Preparations By Jadwiga Zajaczkowa http://gallowglass.org/jadwiga/herbs/preparations.html

How Sweet it Was: Cane Sugar from the Ancient World to the Elizabethian Period http://maggierose.20megsfree.com/sugar.html

http://www.honey-health.com/honey-15.shtml

Current obsession: Lavender

I have a large amount of lavender in my herb kit, so I thought I would look into the various ways that it was used in the medieval world, specifically in Spain.  So far I have been delighted, not so much, to find that the many different kinds of lavender have not always been used properly throughout history.  For example, English lavender to one person many be referred to as French lavender by another.  Needless to say, this has made research a little confusing, as it is never clear, even with the Latin names, which also got switched around, which lavender was used.  Aside for that, I am learning that lavender had a bunch of uses outside of culinary, which was all I knew going into this.

More notes to follow.

Welcome!

Welcome to my herby corner of the internet!
I am known in the SCA as Orraca da Coruña, a 16th century Galician Spanish lady; Hafridis Erlandsdottir when in the company of Reik Felag and various apothecaries/pharmacists at a local museum.
I have a fondness for herbalism, both medieval and modern.  Sadly, the majority of my knowledge comes from books.  As I do not wish to pursue a career as a naturopath, this appears to be the best option.
I don't have a clear focus on a specific aspect or time period of herbalism currently, so I dabble a fair bit.