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.