West Virginia University Libraries I II ill I III llll I I I u 3 0802 100803667 3 RECEIVED MAY 1 C !96§ W&t VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY^ .MEDICAL CENTER LIBRARY rf* OLD BOOK T PIPPIN ATr JY2 74 — " The Lely is an herbe wyth a whyte floure. And though the levys of the floure be whyte : yet wythin shyneth the Iyke- nesse of golde." Bartholom.'eus Anglicus [circ. 1260). Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012 with funding from LYRASIS Members and Sloan Foundation http://www.archive.org/details/oldenglishherbohd HERBS BEING DUG UP AND MADE INTO MEDICINES UNDER THE DIRECTION OF A SAGE From a 12th century copy of the Herbarium of Apuleius, aow ia the Library of Eton College ?aa.4H i i a a oo viuJnso iiin & moi'f ALTH SCIENCES THE OLD 111 ENGLISH HERBALS by ELEANOUR SINCLAIR ROHDE AUTHOR OF "A HARDEN OF HERBS ,. ^V/V Illustration of the "lilie" from the Saxon translation of the Herbarium of' Apukius WITH COLOURED FRONTISPIECE AND 17 ILLUSTRATIONS LONGMANS, GREEN AND CO. 39 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON, E.C. 4. NEW YORK, TORONTO BOMBAY, CALCUTTA AND MADRAS I Q 2 2 Made in Great Britain TO MY BROTHER — PREFACE The writing of this book on that fascinating and somewhat neglected * branch of garden literature—the old English Herbals has been a labour of love, but it could not have been done without all the kind help I have had. My grateful thanks are due to the authorities at the British Museum, to Professor Burkitt of Cambridge, and very specially to Mr. J. B. Capper for invaluable help. I am indebted to Dr. James, the Provost of Eton, for his kind permission to reproduce an illustration from a twelfth-century MS. in the Library of Eton College for the frontispiece. I find it difficult to express either my indebted- ness or my gratitude to Dr. and Mrs. Charles Singer, the former for all his help and the latter for her generous permission to make use of her valuable bibliography of early scientific manu- scripts. I am further indebted to Dr. Charles Singer for reading the chapter on the Anglo-Saxon herbals in proof. For their kind courtesy in answering my inquiries concerning the MS. herbals in the libraries of their respective cathedrals, I offer my grateful thanks to the Deans of Lincoln and Gloucester Cathedrals, and to the Rev. J. N. Needham for information concerning the herbals in the library of Durham Cathedral ; to the librarians of the following colleges—All Souls' College, Oxford; Balliol College, Oxford; Corpus Christi College, Oxford; Corpus Christi College, Cambridge; Emmanuel College, Cambridge; Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge; Magdalene College, Cambridge; Peterhouse, Cambridge; Jesus College, Cambridge; St. John's College, Oxford, and Trinity College, Cambridge; 1 It is a remarkable fact that even the eleventh edition of the omniscient Encyclopedia Britannica has no article on Herbals. ; viii PREFACE to the librarians of Durham University, Trinity College, Dublin, the Royal Irish Academy, and the National Library of Wales to the Honble. Lady Cecil for information respecting MSS. in the library of the late Lord Amherst of Hackney ; and to the following owners of private libraries — the Marquis of Bath, Lord Leconfield, Lord Clifden, Mr. T. Fitzrov Fenwick of Cheltenham, and Mr. Wynne of Peniarth, Merioneth. For in- formation respecting incunabula herbals in American libraries I am indebted to Dr. Arnold Klebs and to Mr. Green of the Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis. No pains have been spared to make the bibliographies as complete as possible, but I should be glad to be told of any errors or omissions. There are certain editions of Banckes's Herbal and The Grete Herball mentioned by authorities such as Ames, Hazlitt, etc., of which no copies can now be found in the chief British libraries (see p. 204 et seq.) . If any copies of these editions are in private libraries I should be grateful to hear of them. The rarest printed herbal is " Arbolayre contendt la qualitey et vertus proprietiez des herbes gomes et simeces extraite de plusiers trailers de medicine content davicene de rasis de con- statin de ysaac et plateaire selon le conu usaige bien correct." (Supposed to have been printed by M. Husz at Lyons.) It is believed that there are only two copies of this book now extant. One is in the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris; the other was sold in London, March 23, 1S9S, but I have been unable to discover who is the present owner. For this or any other information I should be most grateful. Eleaxour Sinclair Rohde. — — ——— CONTENTS CHAPTER I PAGE The Anglo-Saxon Herbals i Evidence of the existence of books on herbs in the eighth century Tenth-century manuscripts—Their importance as the first records of Anglo-Saxon plant lore and of folk medicine of a still earlier age—Pre- liminary survey of the more important manuscripts Leech Book of Bald—Authorship and origin—Oldest Leech Book written in the vernacular in Europe—Saxon translation of the Herbarium Apuleii Platonici—Illustrations—Saxon translation of the riepl AiSafcW—The Lacnunga—Importance of these manuscripts to the student of folk lore "— Folk lore of the origin of disease—Doctrine of the " elf -shot " Flying " venom —Doctrine of the worm as the ultimate source of disease Demoniac possession—Herbal remedies—Picturesqueness of Saxon methods of treating diseases—Smoking patient with fumes of herbs Cattle similarly treated—Use of herbs as amulets—Binding on with red wool—Specially sacred herbs—Charms and incantations to be used in picking and administering herbs—Transference of disease—Predomi- nance of the number nine—Ceremonies to be observed in the picking of herbs—Nature-worship in these ceremonies—Eostra—Prayer to Earth. CHAPTER II Later Manuscript Herbals and the Early Printed Herbals . 42 Later manuscript herbals—Copies of Macer's herbal—Treatise on the virtues of rosemary sent by the Countess of Hainault to Queen Philippa of England—Bartholomams Anglicus, De ProprietaHbus rerum—Popu- larity of his writings—Characteristics of De herbis—Trevisa's translation —Bartholomaeus on the rose, the violet, etc.—Fleeting pictures of medieval life in De herbis—Feeding swine, making bread, building houses, making linen, life in the vineyards, woods, etc.—Wynken de Worde's poem at the end of his edition of De Proprietatibus rerum— Banckes's Herbal—Possible sources—Later editions—Rose recipes Mediaeval belief in wholesomeness of fragrant herbs—Descriptions of herbs in Banckes's Herbal—" The boke of secretes of Albartus Magnus " Herb lore and magic—The Crete Herball— Its origin—Peter Treveris Characteristics of this herbal The vertuose book of the Dystillacion of the Waters of all maner of Herbes. — — — — —— x CONTENTS CHAPTER III Turner's Herbal and the Influence of the Foreign Herbalists . 75 William Turner—Cambridge with Nicholas Ridley—Travels abroad Bologna—Luca Ghini—Conrad Gesner—Cologne—Appointed chaplain and physician to the Duke of Somerset—His early writings on herbs Turner's Herbal—Illustrations—Characteristics of the book—Descrip- tions of herbs—North-country lore—Old country customs—Influence of the foreign herbalists on the later English herbals—Leonhard Fuchs Rembert Dodoens—Charles de l'Escluse—Matthias de 1'Obel—Lyte's translation of Dodoens' Cruidiboeck—Illustrations Ram's little Dodoen. CHAPTER IV Gerard's Herbal .98 Popularity of Gerard's Herbal—Its charm—Gerard's boyhood—Later life—His garden in Holborn—Friendship with Jean Robin, keeper of the royal gardens in Paris—Origin of Gerard's Herbal—Illustrations—Old beliefs in the effects of herbs on the heart and mind—Use of herbs as amulets—Other folk lore—Myth of the barnacle geese—Origin and history of the myth—Old English names of plants—Wild flower life of London in Elizabeth's day—" Master Tuggie's " garden in West- minster—Shakespeare and Gerard. CHAPTER V Herbals of the New World ....... 120 Herbals written in connection with the colonisation of America by the Spaniards and English—Early records of the plant lore of the Red Indians—English weeds introduced into America and first gardens in New England Joyfull Newes from out of the neive fouiide worlde— " Gums used by the Red Indians—" Mechoacan "—" The hearbe tabaco —First account and illustration of this plant—Its uses bjr the Red Indians in their religious ceremonies and as a wound-herb—Origin of the name " Nicotiana "—Sassafras—Use by the Spanish soldiers—Root used as a pomander in Europe in time of plague New England's Rarities discovered — Weeds introduced into America with the first Colonists—First list of English plants grown in New England gardens The American Physitian — The " Maucaw " tree — Use of the seed by the Red Indians—Cacao and the making of chocolate—Cacao kernels used as tokens—-James Petiver- The South-Sea Herbal. CHAPTER VI John Parkinson, the Last of the Great English Herbalists . 142 John Parkinson—The Paradisus—Myth of the vegetable lamb Origin of the myth — Characteristics of the book —An Elizabethan flower-garden — Lilies, anemones, gilliflowers, cucko-flowers, etc. —— — CONTENTS xi PACK Sweet herbs : rosemary, lavender, basil, thyme, hyssop—The kitchen garden—The orchard — Theatrum Botanicum — Its importance — Old belief in the power of herbs against evil spirits—Folk lore in this Herbal-—Bee lore—Beauty recipes—Country customs and beliefs. CHAPTER VII Later Seventeenth-century Herbals and Sixteenth- and Seven- teenth-century Still-room Books ...... 163 Later seventeenth-century Herbals—Revival of belief in astrological lore—Nicholas Culpeper—His character—Popularity in the East End of London—His Herbal—Coles's Art of Simpling—Doctrine