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)