Medicine. Culture factsheet

Transcription

1 Culture factsheet Medicine The use of wild plants for medicine is a very ancient and widespread tradition that continues with the discovery of many new drugs from plant extracts. This is a vast subject that cannot be covered in detail within this factsheet. This is a summary of some the main cultural aspects of medicinal plants in Britain and Ireland including the healing baths of Celtic mythology, the Roman army herbal of Dioscorides, the art of healing of the Anglo-Saxons, the rise of the printed herbals, the Doctrine of Signatures and the role of wild plants in modern medicine. Celtic Mythology: Cúchulainn the warrior, suffered from such terrible rages that he was bathed in a meadowsweet bath to calm him. Cúchulainn s belt is the Scottish and Irish Gaelic name for meadowsweet. The battle between the Cúchulainn and Ferdia lasted several days and at the end of each day the warriors shared their healing herbs. Healing baths of herbs seem to have been a central feature of early Scottish and Irish medicine. Mac Coitir (2006) retells the legend of Dian Cecht, the Irish god of healing, who grew so jealous of his son s skill that he killed him. Out of Miach s grave 365 herbs grew, one for each of his joints and sinews. His sister Airmed laid them on her cloak to classify them but they were mixed up again by Dian Cecht. Romans: the Romans recorded that the druids used mistletoe as a healing herb. Three other healing herbs associated with the druids are vervain, meadowsweet and watermint. The herbal handbook of Dioscorides (De Materia Medica), a surgeon in the Roman army of the first century AD, was used throughout Europe until at least the 15 th century.

2 Anglo-Saxons: the medicine of Anglo-Saxon England was a combination of herbal knowledge and magical power. There were both natural and supernatural causes of and treatments for illness and ailments. Some of the surviving medical books of are the 9 th century Bald s Leechbook and the 10/11 th century Lacnunga, which include herbal recipes, prayers and charms. One of the more famous is the Nine Herbs Charm which involved combining nine herbs and repeating the following charm three times A snake came crawling, it bit a man. The Woden took nine glory twigs. He smote the serpent so that it flew into nine parts. There apple brought this pass against poison, so that she nevermore would enter her house. The identifications of some of the nine herbs (mucgwyrt, attorlaþe, stune, wegbrade, mægþe, stiþe, wergulu, fille, finule) are more certain than others. Consounds & wound herbs: certain herbs acquired a reputation as particularly useful for healing wounds caused in battle or through work such as carpentry. They are sometimes called consounds and include comfrey, bugle, daisy, woundwort, self-heal and betony. Printed Herbals: the rise of printed herbals in the 15 th century allowed widespread sharing of medical knowledge across Europe which before had been more limited with herbal manuscripts. There was both widespread borrowing of text and pictures across time and place with small regard for accuracy, as well as the rise of genuine primary research and realistic depictions of plants. Herbals from Germany, Holland, Spain and Italy were widely used and copied in Britain, as well as those of the most famous of the British herbalists including Turner, Gerard, Parkinson and Culpepper. Culpepper in particular popularised the associations between specific plants and signs of the zodiac which is still in use today. Doctrine of Signatures: Paracelsus, the 16 th century Swiss- German physician was a major proponent of the Doctrine of Signatures, the idea that God would leave a mark on particular plants to inform humans of their uses. One example would be lungwort whose leaves resemble the shape of a human lung and could be used to cure lung problems. This idea was widely accepted within European Christianity and accepted into a system of herbal medicine that had long used Christian prayer in the collection and use of medicines.

3 Conversely there was also a long tradition that useful plants collected in the name of the devil or by witches could be used for harm. In Ireland there were seven herbs (St John s wort, vervain, speedwell, eyebright, mallow, yarrow and self-heal) that were considered to protect from any natural or supernatural ailments, although if collected in the name of the devil they could be used for great evil. The Devil s Bit Scabious gets its name from the tradition that the devil bit off the root, jealous of its healing properties. Modern medicines: many of our modern medicines derive from wild plants, some of which also grow wild here in Britain. Examples include the heart drug Digitalin from foxglove, the cancer drug Taxol from yew, and aspirin derived from salicylic acids found in plants such as willow and meadowsweet. The use of plants for medicine is a highly skilled occupation and we are not recommending the use of any of these remedies. References: Anglo-Saxon Plant Names Survey ( STELLA/ihsl/projects/plants.htm_) Arber, A., 1912, Herbals, their origin and evolution Beith, M., 2004, Healing Threads: traditional medicines of the Highlands and Islands Cockayne, O , Leechdoms, worcunning and starcraft of early England (available at Eland, S. Plant Lives Database ( Mabey R. 1996, Flora Britannica Mac Coitir N. & Langrishe G., 2006, Irish Wild Plants Myths, Legends and Folklore Mac Coitir N. & Langrishe G. 2003, Irish Trees Myths, Legends and Folklore Milliken W. & Bridgewater S., 2004, Flora Celtica Seymour, M. 2002, A Brief History of Thyme

4 A short list of some of the major species associated with medicine AttorlaÞe (Betony?) (Stachys officinale) - One of the nine Anglo-Saxon herbs has been potentially identified as wood betony. Wood betony was also one of the consounds or wound herbs. It is also sometimes called woundwort Autumn crocus (Colchium autumnale) - The plant is being investigated as a cancer drug Bugle (Ajuga reptans) - One of the wound herbs or consounds Comfrey (Symphytum officinale) - One of the wound herbs or consounds Daisy (Bellis perennis) - One of the wound herbs or consounds Eyebright (Euphrasia species) - One of the seven powerful Irish herbs. Formerly used as a cure for eye problems Fille (Thyme) (Thymus species) - One of the nine Anglo-Saxon herbs Finule (Fennel) (Foeniculum vulgarus) - One of the nine Anglo-Saxon herbs Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) - Used to make the heart drug Digitalin Lungwort (Pulmonaria officinalis) - One of the plants named for the Doctrine of Signatures MægÞe (Chamomile or Mayweed) (Anthemis spp or Matricaria spp) - Chamomile or mayweed is one possible identification of this one of the Anglo-Saxon herbs Mallow (Malva sylvestris) - One of the seven powerful Irish herbs Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria) - One of the healing and calming herbs of Irish and Scottish mythology. One of the sources of salicylic acid used in aspirin. Commonly believed to be one of the three most sacred herbs of the druids (along with vervain and watermint). Mistletoe (Viscum album) - Reported by the Romans to be used as an all-powerful healing herb by the druids Mucgwyrt (Mugwort) (Artemisia vulgaris) - One of the nine Anglo-Saxon herbs that has been identified as mugwort. Mugwort has a long history of healing and also supernatural protection. Its scientific name comes from the goddess Artemis who was supposedly told of its medicinal qualities by Chiron the centaur.

5 Self-heal (Prunella vulgaris) - One of the seven powerful Irish herbs. One of the wound herbs or consounds Speedwell (Veronica species) - One of the seven powerful Irish herbs StiÞe (Nettle) (Urtica dioica) - Nettle is one identification of stiþe, one of the nine Anglo-Saxon herbs St John s Wort (Hypericum perforatum) - One of the seven powerful Irish herbs. It has a long tradition as a healing and protective herb throughout Europe. Stune (Hairy Bittercress) (Cardamine hirsute) - Hairy bittercress is one potential identification of stune of the nine Anglo-Saxon herbs, others include watercress. Vervain (Verbena officinalis) - Commonly believed to be one of the three most sacred herbs of the Druids (along with meadowsweet and watermint). Also associated with protection from evil forces. One of the seven powerful Irish herbs. Watermint (Mentha aquatica) - Commonly believed to be one of the three most sacred herbs of the Druids (along with vervain and meadowsweet) WegbraÞe (Plantain) (Plantago major or P. lanceolata) - One of the nine Anglo-Saxon herbs Wergulu (Crab apple or Nettle) (Malus sylvestris or Urtica dioica ) - One of the nine Anglo-Saxon herbs Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) - One of the seven powerful Irish herbs. Long used as a wound herb and in other herbal treatments, its scientific name comes from the tradition that Achilles used it to cure his soldiers Yew (Taxus baccata) - Used in the modern cancer drug Taxol Image of St Johns Wort Anne Burgess under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license This project is supported by the Culture Programme of the European Union