My fascination with herbs and herbal lore is largely prompted by my
absorption with all things historic and the thrill of seeing, touching,
tasting, and above all smelling the same plants known by the ancients.
Herbs have changed little, if at all, over the centuries and offer us a
connection with the past that precious little does in these modern
days. It’s pure intoxication to rub fragrant leaves between my fingers
and savor the scent while pondering the wealth of lore behind these
plants. I hope my enthusiasm enriches your life with a deeper awareness
of those people who dwelt on this earth long before us. With such a
vast trove of plants to delve into, I’ve only done posts on a handful of
herbs, but am working along on adding more.
Regarding my resources, my favorite herbal ever, a massive two-part volume, is A Modern Herbal
by Mrs. M. Grieve first published in 1931. It’s not actually all that
modern, but is in comparison to those of the ancient Greek and Roman
naturalists, Pliny the Elder (Roman, 23 AD–August
25, 79 AD) Dioscorides (Greek, circa 40—90 AD) and Galen (Roman of
Greek ethnicity AD 129-199/217 AD), or British herbalists John Gerard (1545–1612) and Nicholas Culpepper (1616-1654).
Interesting here to note that Pliny the Elder, whose 37 volume Natural History
served as the basis of scientific knowledge for centuries, died on
August 25, 79 A.D. while attempting the rescue by ship of a friend and
his family from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius that destroyed the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum.
The prevailing wind wouldn’t allow his ship to leave the shore. His
subsequent collapse and death were attributed to toxic fumes. Go
figure. His nephew, Pliny the younger, writer, historian, and Roman senator is also an important figure because of all the letters he left behind detailing events and persons.
Back to Maude Grieve and A Modern Herbal,
apparently in the early twentieth century it wasn’t illegal to include
instructions for growing and distilling opiates, but it is now so I
won’t. However, despite her quaintness or perhaps because of it,
there’s a wealth of information in her herbal.
I’m also quite fond of Rodale’s Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs, by Rodale Press.
I misplaced my original volume or foolishly lent it to someone, or
perhaps it wasn’t mine to begin with and I returned it. All I know is
it could not be found and so I bought another. Engrossing.
A little known volume I’ve found vastly useful regarding Native American plants and their historic uses is entitled Field Guide to Medicinal Wild Plants by Bradford Angier,
published in 1978. This invaluable book was given to me by my dear
late grandmother. My collection is a rather random acquisition and I'm adding all the time, but
I’ve learned a lot. OK, so those are my three faves out of all the
herbals I’ve read, available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble. I’ve
also come across innumerable online sites that I refer and link to as
they arise.
In preparation for writing my light paranormal romance, Somewhere My Lass, I
did a lot of research on medieval hospitals and came across some
fascinating sites. For medicinal info on ancient British/Scottish
practices found at the monastic hospital of Soutra outside of Edinburgh visit: A Day In The Life Of A Medieval Hospital.
For more on medieval hospitals in general visit: http://dodd.cmcvellore.ac.in/hom/10%20-%20Medieval%20Hospital.html
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