Herbs in Medieval Medicine

by Regan Walker

While doing the research for Rogue Knight, my new medieval set in 11^th century England, I learned a lot about the herbs they grew in gardens or were found in the wild. They were, after all, the only medicine they had. So they used herbs and plants, individually or together, in infusions, teas, salves and other forms to treat their various illnesses and maladies.

Long before the Normans came to England, the Anglo-Saxons used herbs and plants of all kinds in remedies for things like headaches, fever, stomach ailments, pain and respiratory illnesses. Winter was especially hard on medieval society, as cold, drafty dwellings led to numerous cases of deadly pneumonia.

The earliest surviving texts that speak of herbal remedies in Old English are from the 9th century, but there is evidence that older texts were not all in Latin. Bald’s Leechbook and Lacnunga are among the most complete texts.

Leechbook

The Leechbook is an Anglo-Saxon medical manual made up of three books (labeled I, II and III), probably compiled in the early tenth century. It contains some of the best Mediterranean medicine from the third to the ninth centuries, so apparently they shared information. While some of the herbs mentioned in the texts were only available around the Mediterranean, some were traded from distant areas, such as frankincense, pepper, silk, ginger and myrrh.

The Lacnunga, a tenth century herbal, praises nine sacred herbs of the Nordic god Woden: mugwort, plantain, watercress, betony, chamomile, nettle, chervil, fennel and crab apple. (Thyme occurs in other lists of the “nine sacred herbs”.)

With the Norman Conquest, many Anglo-Saxon texts were destroyed and replaced with books written in Latin. Greek and Roman writings on medicine were preserved by hand copying of manuscripts in monasteries.

The monasteries thus tended to become local centers of medical knowledge, and their herb gardens provided the raw materials for simple treatment of common disorders. At the same time, folk medicine practiced in the home as well as the village supported numerous wandering and settled herbalists.

Some herbs and their uses:

Lemon Balm: Used in a drink as an aid against melancholy.

Borage: It was associated with courage: "I, Borage, Bring Courage."

Chickweed: Used to treat constipation, upset stomach and to promote digestion, also used to treat asthma and other respiratory problems such as colds. It can be used on wounds as well.

                                             

Horehound: syrups and drinks for chest and head colds and coughs.

Lemon Balm: Used in a drink as an aid against melancholy.

Borage: It was associated with courage: "I, Borage, Bring Courage."

Chickweed: Used to treat constipation, upset stomach and to promote digestion, also used to treat asthma and other respiratory problems such as colds. It can be used on wounds as well.

                                   

Horehound: syrups and drinks for chest and head colds and coughs.

Marjoram: Used in cooking, in spiced wine, in brewing beer and in medicines to treat the stomach. 

Marjoram

Mint: Mint vinegar was used as a mouthwash; mint sauce restored the appetite. Also used for stomach ailments, in treating fevers and wounds.

Mugwort: A charm for travellers and used in foot ointments; also used in treating women's ailments.

Nettles: Eating nettles mixed with the white of an egg cured insomnia. And nettles were used in salves. Bald’s Leechbook contains a recipe for a nettle-based ointment for muscular pain.

Rosemary. The flowers, boiled in tea, were an all-purpose medicine. Putting the leaves under your pillow supposedly guarded against nightmares. The ashes of the wood were used for cleaning teeth. Brides and grooms exchanged rosemary wreaths instead of rings; rosemary was also planted or strewn on graves. Rosemary was burned as an incense to kill or prevent infection, including the plague.

Rue: a sour-smelling perennial called “the herb of grace” because it was used as a holy water sprinkler. Also used to treat venomous bites, and poor eyesight.

Sage: The leaves were used in salads and green sauces and as a spring tonic.

St. John’s Wort: Most effective for curing fever if found by accident, especially on Midsummer's Eve.

Thyme. In addition to its use as a seasoning, it was burned as a fumigate against infection. Supposedly ladies embroidered a thyme sprig in flower, along with a bee, on favors for their favorite knights.

Yarrow: Used to treat headaches and wounds, especially battle wounds, and the bite of mad dogs. The wound treatment caused it to be associated with knights.

Willow bark: Willow bark and slippery elm, boiled, were used as a tea (sometimes with honey to make it more palatable) for fever and aches.

Some of the Flowers:

While not herbs, these flowers were used to treat ills, and the medieval folks also ate flowers.

Calendula, also marygolde or Mary’s Gold: Flower petals were used in broths and tonics, and in treatments to strengthen the heart. And they made nice garden borders and keep away pests.

Chamomile: Used for headaches. Helps to settle the stomach and soothe the nerves, which may be why it was used in fevers.

Lavender. Used in food, and in refreshing washes for headaches. It was also used extensively in soaps and baths, as a personal scent and as a moth repellent.

Linden: In tea, used for insomnia disorders and anxiety. Also used for stomach disorders and diarrhea.

Roses: there were wild roses, of course. Their petals and the distilled water made from them were widely used in food as well as for scent, and added to medical preparations to strengthen the patient generally and to bronchial infections, colds, diarrhea and anxiety.

Do you have a favorite herb you use today to treat some ailment? Comment for a chance to win book 1 in my medieval series, The Red Wolf’s Prize. And don’t forget to check out my newest medieval: Rogue Knight, 

 

York, England 1069… three years after the Norman Conquest

The North of England seethes with discontent under the heavy hand of William the Conqueror, who unleashes his fury on the rebels who dare to defy him. Amid the ensuing devastation, love blooms in the heart of a gallant Norman knight for a Yorkshire widow.

A LOVE NEITHER CAN DENY, A PASSION NEITHER CAN RESIST

Angry at the cruelty she has witnessed at the Normans’ hands, Emma of York is torn between her loyalty to her noble Danish father, a leader of the rebels, and her growing passion for an honorable French knight.

Loyal to King William, Sir Geoffroi de Tournai has no idea Emma hides a secret that could mean death for him and his fellow knights.

WAR DREW THEM TOGETHER, WAR WOULD TEAR THEM APART

War erupts, tearing asunder the tentative love growing between them, leaving each the enemy of the other. Will Sir Geoffroi, convinced Emma has betrayed him, defy his king to save her?

Excerpt… the first meeting of Sir Geoffroi and Emma of York… a bit ominous, perhaps, but remember, it led to love.

Dear God.

She crossed herself and covered her mouth, fighting the urge to spew at the sight of so much blood and so many bodies strewn about the clearing, blood congealed on their clothing, their vacant eyes staring into space. Some of the blood had pooled on the ground to catch the rays of the sun. The metallic scent of it, carried by the wind, rose in her nostrils.

At her side, the hound whimpered.

So many.

Until the Normans had come, Yorkshire had been a place of gentle hills, forests and thatched cottages circling a glistening jewel of a city set between two winding rivers. A place of children’s voices at play, some of those voices now silenced forever, for among the bodies lying on the cold ground were mere boys, their corpses cast aside like broken playthings.

At the sound of heavy footfalls on the snow-crusted ground, she jerked her head around, her heart pounding in her chest.

A figure emerged from the trees, so close she could have touched him.

She cringed. A Norman.

A tall giant of a knight, his blood-splattered mail a dull gray in the weak winter sun, ripped off his silvered helm and expelled an oath as he surveyed the dozens of dead. The sword in his hand still dripped the blood of those he had slain. He was no youth this one, at least thirty. His fair appearance made her think of Lucifer, the fallen angel of light. A seasoned warrior of death who has taken many lives.

Had he killed people she knew? Her heart raced as fear rose in her chest.

Would she be next?

Links for Rogue Knight:

Amazon buy link: http://www.amazon.com/Rogue-Knight-Medieval-Warriors-Book-ebook/dp/B014ZCMWZ4

Regan on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26237656-rogue-knight

Author website: http://www.reganwalkerauthor.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/regan.walker.104

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RegansReview

Regan Walker - Author Bio

Regan Walker is a #1 bestselling, multi-published author of Regency, Georgian and Medieval romance. She has been a featured author on USA TODAY's HEA blog three times and twice nominated for the prestigious RONE award (her novel, The Red Wolf's Prize is a finalist for 2015). Regan Walker writes historically authentic novels with real history and real historic figures. She wants her readers to experience history, adventure and love.

Her work as a lawyer in private practice and then serving at high levels of government have given her a love of international travel and a feel for the demands of the “Crown”. Hence her romance novels often involve a demanding sovereign who taps his subjects for “special assignments.”

Regan lives in San Diego with her golden retriever, Link, who she says inspires her every day to relax and smell the roses.

www.reganwalkerauthor.com

A Knight’s horses...and a book giveaway

by guest blogger Regan Walker

When I was doing the research for my new medieval, THE RED WOLF’S PRIZE, set in England two years after the Norman Conquest, I learned a lot of surprising things about the horses the Norman knights rode. For example, horses were not so much distinguished by breed as by use. There were highly trained warhorses like destriers, strong coursers, smooth-gaited palfreys for lords and ladies, and general purpose rounceys. Knights did not, for the most part, ride their warhorses around the countryside, at least not very often. They rode palfreys, high-status riding horses.

Warhorses—the destrier and coursers—were reserved for battle. The courser was preferred over the destrier as it was light, fast, steady and strong—and less expensive. You can get a rough idea of the warhorses from illustrations of the period, such as the Bayeux Tapestry, which is actually an embroidery sewn in the 11^th century and meant to depict the events that surrounded the Conquest.

 Destriers and coursers were stallions trained for charging and putting up with the shock of impacts. They had to be maneuverable, too, but with the strength to bear a knight’s weight in battle. (Though the chain mail was much lighter in the 11^th century than the mail and plate armor that would come later.) 

While the origin of the medieval warhorse is not clear, it is thought they had some Barb and Arabian blood through the Spanish Jennet, a forerunner to the modern Friesian and Andalusian horse. Today, breeds that have similar bloodlines include the Welsh Cob, the Friesian, the American Quarter Horse, a stocky Morgan and the Andalusian.

The Spanish-Norman horse, like both the Percheron and the Andalusian, is predominantly gray in color, and is the horse Sir Renaud (“the Red Wolf”) rides in THE RED WOLF’S PRIZE. It is known that William the Conqueror was gifted a Spanish stallion at one point and so it occurred to me that a favored knight might also receive one as a gift from his lord.

In addition to palfreys, nobles rode the general purpose rounceys, but not typically knights, although knights might use them in a pinch. There were also horses for the hunt and the race that were fast and had stamina. And there were workhorses (common plough horses), and carthorses bread for hauling things.

Interestingly, William the Conqueror shipped horses across the English Channel when he invaded England in 1066—as many as thousand or more. Unlike the English, who rode their horses to battle and then dismounted to fight on foot, the Normans fought on horseback. It is also why they fought using longer swords than the English. The outcome of the Battle of Hastings has been described as “the inevitable victory of stirrupped cavalry over helpless infantry.”

When the battle was over, the knight would leave his warhorse and his helm with his squire and ride off on a palfrey, a much more manageable horse than his often mean-spirited warhorse, and one that had a smoother gait making for a better ride. Hence, the Red Wolf rides his Spanish horse when going to the Siege of Exeter and the Battle of York, while his squire leads his destrier.

Ladies rode the smooth-gaited palfrey, too, often riding either astride or pillion (sitting sideways and having their horse led by a groom). In THE RED WOLF’S PRIZE, Lady Serena rides a white palfrey her father had given her.

Here's the blurb for Regan's new historical romance, THE RED WOLF’S PRIZE:

HE WOULD NOT BE DENIED HIS PRIZE

Sir Renaud de Pierrepont, the Norman knight known as the Red Wolf for the beast he slayed with his bare hands, hoped to gain lands with his sword. A year after the Conquest, King William rewards his favored knight with Talisand, the lands of an English thegn slain at Hastings, and orders him to wed Lady Serena, the heiress that goes with them.

SHE WOULD LOVE HIM AGAINST HER WILL

Serena wants nothing to do with the fierce warrior to whom she has been unwillingly given, the knight who may have killed her father. When she learns the Red Wolf is coming to claim her, she dyes her flaxen hair brown and flees, disguised as a servant, determined to one day regain her lands. But her escape goes awry and she is brought back to live among her people, though not unnoticed by the new Norman lord.

Deprived of his promised bride, the Red Wolf turns his attention to the comely servant girl hoping to woo her to his bed. But the wench resists, claiming she hates all Normans.

As the passion between them rises, Serena wonders, can she deny the Norman her body? Or her heart?

To celebrate the release of her new book, Regan is giving away the eBook of The Red Wolf's Prize to one winner.  To enter the random drawing, simply enter in the rafflecopter below. It's super easy! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Regan Walker - Author Bio:

Bestselling author Regan Walker loved to write stories as a child, particularly those about adventure-loving girls, but by the time she got to college more serious pursuits took priority. One of her professors encouraged her to pursue the profession of law, which she did. Years of serving clients in private practice and several stints in high levels of government gave her a love of international travel and a feel for the demands of the “Crown” on its subjects. Hence her romance novels often involve a demanding sovereign who taps his subjects for “special assignments.” And in each of her novels, there is always real history and real historic figures.

Regan lives in San Diego with her golden retriever, Link, whom she says inspires her every day to relax and smell the roses. 

www.reganwalkerauthor.com

Buy The Red Wolf’s Prize on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Wolfs-Prize-Medieval-Warriors-Book-ebook/dp/B00MRF8WVA

Regan’s blog: http://reganromancereview.blogspot.com/

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6450403.Regan_Walker

The Red Wolf’s Prize on Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/reganwalker123/the-red-wolfs-prize-by-regan-walker/

Guest Elizabeth Chadwick: The Body Beautiful

Linda Banche here. Today I welcome acclaimed author Elizabeth Chadwick, whose latest book is the historical novel, For the King's Favor, set in the time of Henry II. Here Elizabeth gives us a fascinating peek into the world of a medieval makeup.

Leave a comment for a chance to win one of the two copies of For the King's Favor which Sourcebooks has generously provided. Elizabeth will select the winners. Check the comments to see who won, and how to contact me to claim your book. If I cannot contact the winners within a week of their selection, I will award the books to alternates. Note, Sourcebooks can mail to USA and Canada addresses only.

The winners Elizabeth selected are StephB and catslady. OK, you two, I know who you are (*g*) and I have your addresses. Congratulations.

Welcome, Elizabeth!

Many thanks to Historical Hussies for inviting me to talk on their blog.

“Under Hodierna’s supervision, Ida crushed the ingredients for a hair fragrance in a mortar. There were dried rose petals and watercress, scrapings of nutmeg and powdered root of galangal. A wonderful aroma arose from the blended elements, fresh and clean, but with an underlying sultry, spicy warmth. “Now add the rosewater,” Hodierna instructed “but carefully, no more than a spoonful at a time.”

This excerpt from For the King’s Favor comes from a scene where Ida de Tosney, the heroine, is pondering her future while another woman skilled in cosmetic lore is showing her how to make a perfumed lotion to comb through her hair.

It is an actual medieval recipe and is taken from a translation of The Trotula, a compendium of women’s medicine (including beauty tips) written in the late 11th or early 12th century and widely disseminated from its origins in Salerno. Want to brighten your mousey hair to gold? Then ‘cook down dregs of white wine with honey to the consistency of a cerotum (wax based ointment) and anoint the hair.’ And ‘If you wish to have hair soft and smooth and fine, wash it often with hot water in which there is powder of natron and vetch.’ Natron is sodium carbonate and was used to soften water and remove oil and grease.

The Trotula also says ‘Noblewomen should wear musk in their hair, or clove, or both, but take care that it is not seen by anyone. Also the veil with which the hair is tied should be put on with cloves and musk, nutmeg and other sweet smelling substances.’

We often tend to think of dirt and disgusting smells when we think about the middle ages, and while it is true they did not bathe themselves to death, a life of stench and grime is not the entire story. Just like today, there were different views on the matter of the body beautiful. Cleanliness and smelling sweet were indications of godliness. Cosmetics were often seen as vanity by the church, but that did not stop women who had the resources from using them. Numerous recipes for beautifying agents, perfumes and mouthwashes, existed in the Middle Ages, including a minty one!

Not all of the recipes are as delightful as Ida’s hair tonic it has to be said.

‘For whitening the face and clarifying it. Take the juice of pignut (a root from a tall growing plant) and mix steer or cow marrow with it, and let them be ground. And in these ground things add powder of aloe, cuttlefish bone, white natrol, and dove dung. Let all these be ground and let there be made an ointment. With this ointment, the woman should anoint her face.’ That’s one concoction I would rather not try! But then again, the range of chemicals that go into our own beauty products are probably a tad worrisome if you actually study the ingredients list.

A male historian called Gilbertus Anglicanus wrote the Compendium Medicinae in around 1240. He says that chips of brazilwood soaked in rosewater will redden the cheeks. Brazilwood came from a tree grown in Asia in the Middle Ages, (not South America which had yet to be discovered).

Gilbert also suggests the use of cyclamen root to whiten the face. There is another recipe from a text called L’ornement Des Dames, that suggested putting wheat in water for a fortnight, then grinding it up and blending with water, straining it through a cloth and letting it evaporate to produce a white powder that could then be mixed with rosewater and applied- to the face.

Many of these recipes and concoctions were for aristocratic and well-to-do women only, but even village women and those of more modest, although not impoverished means, could obtain products to beautify the body. Women in villages remote from the ports and cities where the more exotic ingredients could be obtained, were nevertheless able to purchase sundry products from travelling pedlars. There is a 13th century French song that refers to the contents of a pedlar’s pack and it includes ‘razors, tweezers, looking glasses, toothbrushes, toothpicks, bandeaus and curling irons, ribbons, combs, rosewater… cotton with which they rouge, and whitening with which they whiten themselves.’ For a pedlar to have such items in his pack, he must have had willing buyers, and many of the ingredients for beauty products could be picked and prepared from the hedgerow (although I am not sure I would want to use hand cream made from wild garlic and eggs myself!).

The more I study the medieval period and all its intricate little corners, the more I realise that one size certainly does not fit all, and that while very different from us in many ways, our medieval ancestors are similar too.

There were contradictory schools of thought on many subjects and opposite opinions, just as there are now. I have a close friend who believes that wearing any form of makeup is a pointless fluff, and another who thinks that applying one’s face for the day is essential. I have no doubt that such differences of opinion abounded in the 12th century. I also have no doubt that given the survival of the human race, the same opinions will be around 500 years from now and we’ll still be using cosmetics extensively.

Bibliography.
The Trotula – An English translation of the Medieval Compendium of Women’s Medicine by Monica H. Green
The Artifice of Beauty: A History and Practical Guide to Perfumes and Cosmetics by Sally Pointer.
The Senses in Late Medieval England by C.M. Woolgar.


FOR THE KING’S FAVOR BY ELIZABETH CHADWICK—IN STORES SEPTEMBER 2010
A bittersweet tale of love, loss, and the power of royalty…

A captivating story of a mother’s love stretched to breaking and a knight determined to rebuild his life with the royal mistress, For the King’s Favor is Elizabeth Chadwick at her best. Based on a true story never before told and impeccably researched, this is a testament to the power of sacrifice and the strength of love. When Roger Bigod, heir to the powerful earldom of Norfolk, arrives at court to settle an inheritance, he meets Ida de Tosney, young mistress to King Henry II. In Roger, Ida sees a chance for lasting love, but their decision to marry carries an agonizing price. It’s a breathtaking novel of making choices, not giving up, and coping with the terrible shifting whims of the king.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Elizabeth Chadwick lives near Nottingham with her husband and two sons. She is the author of 18 historical novels, including The Greatest Knight, The Scarlet Lion, A Place Beyond Courage, Lords of the White Castle, Shadows and Strongholds, the Winter Mantle, and the Falcons of Montabard, four of which have been shortlisted for the Romantic Novelists’ Awards. Much of her research is carried out as a member of Regia Anglorum, an early medieval re-enactment society with the emphasis on accurately re-creating the past. She won a Betty Trask Award for The Wild Hunt, her first novel. For more information, please visit http://www.elizabethchadwick.com/.