HARD Wl CKE 'S S CIENCE ■ G O SSI P. 



49 



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AN ANGLO-SAXON HERBAL. 



By F. K ITT on, Hon. F.R.M.S. 



WENTY years ago the 

 Master of the Rolls 

 suggested the desira- 

 bility of publishing the 

 texts of various valuable 

 MSS., the property of 

 the Government ; and 

 that eveiy effort should 

 be made to obtain as per- 

 fect a text as possible. 

 Various MSS. were col- 

 lated, and the deficiencies of one MS. were made good 

 by another. Among the numerous volumes pub- 

 lished, probably the most interesting to the readers of 

 Science-Gossip would be the following : " Leech- 

 doms, Wordcunning, and Starcraft of Early Eng- 

 land," and from which we now propose to give some 

 specimens. 



The learned editor (Rev. O. Cockayne, M.A., 

 Cantab.) gives the probable date of the MS. of the 

 Herbarium as not earlier than A.D. looo, nor later 

 than A.D. 1066; of the writer or compiler nothing 

 is known : it must have been a most expensive work, 

 as it has coloured illustrations of the plants described 

 therein. 



The author (or more correctly, the translator, the 

 Herbal being a translation from the Herbarium 

 of Apuleius) does not appear to have adopted any 

 arrangement, not even an alphabetical one, neither 

 does he invariably give the Anglo-Saxon equivalent 

 for the Latin name. 



The plant whose properties he first describes is 

 Betonka officinalis. " The wort that one names 

 betonicam is produced in meadows and on clean 

 downlands, and in shady places ; it is good for man's 

 soul and for his body ; it shields him against mon- 

 strous nocturnal visitors, and against horrible visions 

 and dreams." The medical qualities of this plant 

 seem to have been numerous and diverse ; it would 

 cure broken heads, sore eyes and ears, prevent 

 drunkenness (that is, if a man were so minded), weari- 

 ness from riding or walking, snake-bites, and the 

 No. 147. 



bite of a mad dog. The various methods of pre- 

 paration occupy five royal 8vo. pages. 



Plantago major, Way bread, properly Waybroad. — 

 This herb had, or was imagined to have, numerous 

 virtues, but it did not equal the preceding in the 

 number of ailments it could cure ; its various prepara- 

 tions were good for fevers, wounds, snake-bites, 

 stomach disorders, for corpulency ("if a man would 

 that his womb [belly] dwindle "), and foot-addle 

 (fotadle — gout). 



The herb Quinquefolium, that is, five-leaf, 

 Potentilla reptans. — This plant was good for ten 

 disorders ; the most important was the cure of cancer 

 ("blind a cancer"); it was to be seethed in wine 

 mixed with pig's grease, and worked into a plaster 

 and laid on the wound, which would soon heal. 



Vcrbenica, or Ashthroat. — "This wort, which is 

 named by some verbenaca, and by another name, 

 ashthroat, is produced everywhere, on smooth lands 

 and on wet ones." The i-oots of this herb wreathed 

 about the swere (neck), were highly beneficial in 

 ulcers and glandular^ swelhngs ("kernels"); for 

 calculus, the roots were to be boiled in hot wine. 



Hyoscyaimis iiiger, Henne belle, sometimes belene 

 (now Henbane). — According to the Glossaiy, this 

 name was given to it on account of its bell-shaped 

 capsules : it was also called Henne-wol {tuol meaning 

 poison). 



Polygonum Bistort a, Ncedre-wyrt (Adderwort). 

 Acorns Calamus, Bee-wort. — " That bees may not fly 

 away, take this plant and hang it in the hive, and 

 they will stay." 



Alchemilla vulgaris, Lionfoot. 



Ranunculus scelcratus, Cluf-thunge (Cloffing), 

 cluf = clove, thunge = poison, in allusion to the 

 form and poisonous qualities of the root. This plant 

 js described as growing in damp and watery places. 

 "Whatsoever man eat of this wort fasting leaves his 

 life laughing." 



Arte?nisia vulgaris, A. dracunculus, A. pontica. — 

 The Herbal recognizes the three forms, but they are 

 all classed under the English name of Mugwort 



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