Getting started on Medieval Herbalism
Ms. Agnes deLanvallei
February 2005, revised September 2005
Herbalism in the Society for Creative Anachronism has 3 main parts:
(1) the plants themselves,
(2) how to read about plants (plant names and plant distributions, modern and Medieval) and
(3) how people looked at plants (and medicine and science generally) in the Middle Ages.
The interplay of these topics is sufficiently arcane that accessible references are few and far between. Here are some suggestions:
1) Brother Cadfael's Herb Garden is an in-print book about the plants in the Brother Cadfael mystery novels.(Rob Talbot and Robin Whiteman. 1997. Little Brown and Company, New York. ISBN 0821223879) While it only covers the herbalism in the books, it gives a good historical survey at the beginning, has useful pictures, and provides summaries of some herbal uses. I recommend it because the herbal uses are put in a Medieval context so it is a readable introduction to the topic.
2) Society for Creative Anachronism publications (Complete Anachronist, Tournaments Illuminated) on herbalism. You might order those from the Stock Clerk of the Society http://sca.org/docs/welcome.html
3)
Medieval Flowers is an in-print
book about plants in the Middle Ages. (Miranda Innes and Clay Perry. 1997 Kyle Cathie Limited, London. ISBN 1856262596) It is lavishly illustrated and gives
good descriptions of Medieval uses of plants and the philosophy behind Medieval herbalism.
Modern books on herbs 1) include plants not known in Europe in the Middle Ages and 2) have a thoroughly modern attitude toward plants. History books tend not to be interested in plants and will often make basic botanical errors.
There are many online herbal discussion groups. In Calontir yahoogroups.com search for CalontirHerbsandPlants. Others are listed on Master Modar's page: http://www2.kumc.edu/itc/staff/rknight/Herbalism.htm
There are 3 critical aspects of SCA herbalism: 1) is it safe?; 2) what did they do in Period?; 3)what is it?
1) Is it safe in a modern sense? We need to have solid modern references if people are to handle it. Some plants are that toxic. After all, if it was used medicinally, it is by definition biologically active and potentially dangerous. So sound modern information is needed.
2)What did they do in Period? That includes descriptions from Medieval herbals, to understanding medical philosophy, to considering the available technology. Chapters on the Middle Ages in history-of-medicine texts are often very useful. Italian, Russian, Arab and Jewish medical traditions were all pretty different, and the time period matters: Anglo-Saxon medicine, England 700 AD, was a lot weirder by modern standards than the same spot in 1550.
General history/culture books are good starts on this. Daily Life in a Medieval Village (Geis and Geis) will have something on health, as will books on Viking culture or living in Byzantium under the Emperor.
Not all Medieval plant use was medical, of course. Cooking herbs, hair dyes and household tools (toothbrushes of ash twigs) represent other uses of plants in the Middle Ages that I would put under the rubric "herbalism". And plants were used in cooking, as furniture and as fiber (linen, cotton, and reeds for flooring)which is herbalism in the broadest sense.
3)What is it? The Middle Ages is before scientific names were developed. There is no system of names in their herbals. The plants are European and not necessarily familiar elsewhere. Modern plant biology is forever revising: names from 1934 and 1994 for the same plant may both be "the right name" at the time, but different. Common names for plants vary with location and language (Americans and the English often differ, my current favorite is that cattails are called reedmace in England). And cultivated plants have been crossed and bred for bright flowers--it can be very hard to get a satisfying name on them.
Some Suggestions:
Buy plants or dried herbs where the seller names them, for example parsley, rose, spearmint.
While sorting out some plants (the mustards and cabbages, the squashes) is no small project, some are really obvious -- garlic, onions, cinnamon -- and were used in a variety of applications in the Middle Ages.They are easy to get, widely recognized and have very interesting the Medieval uses.
Common Beet
Dover Electronic Clip Art
Common Beet