THE ANGLO-SAXON HERBALS 9 



for, and used, at least 500 plants.^ One feels instinctively that 

 the love of flowers and gardens was as deep-rooted in our 

 ancestors as it is in our nation to-day, and though we do not 

 know exactly what they grew in their gardens — which they 

 called wyrt5erd (literally, herb-yard) — we do know that the 

 marigolds, sunflowers, peonies, violets and gilly-flowers which 

 make the cottage gardens of England so gay and full of colour 

 to-day were also the commonest plants in the Saxon gardens. 

 Fashions in large gardens have changed throughout the centuries, 

 and there are stately gardens in this country famed the world 

 over. But in regard to our cottage gardens we are staunchly 

 conservative, and it is assuredly the cottage garden which 

 is characteristically English. Incidentally, one cannot help 

 regretting that so many of our old Saxon plant names have 

 fallen into disuse. " Waybroad," for instance, is much more 

 descriptive than " plantain," which is misleading.^ " Maythen " 

 also is surely preferable to *' camomile," and " wergulu " is 

 more characteristic of that fierce weed than " nettle." Those 

 of us who are gardeners will certainly agree that " unfortraedde " 

 is the right name for knotweed. And is not "joy of the 

 ground " a delightful name for periwinkle? 



The oldest illustrated herbal which has come down to us 

 from Saxon times is the translation of the Latin Herbarium 

 Apuleii Platonici.^ The original Latin work is believed to date 



1 A small but striking instance of Saxon knowledge, or rather close 

 observation, of plants is to be found in the following description of wolf's teazle 

 in the Herbarium of Apuleius : — " This wort hath leaves reversed and thorny 

 and it hath in its midst a round and thorny knob, and that is brown-headed 

 in the blossoms and hath white seed and a white and very fragrant root." 

 The word " reversed " is not in the original and was therefore added by the 

 Saxon translator, who had observed the fact that all the thistle tribe protect 

 their leaves by thorns pointing backwards as well as forwards. 



2 It is interesting to remember that even as late as the sixteenth century 

 plantain was called " waybroad." See Turner's Herbal. 



3 There are numerous Latin MSS. of this book, chiefly in Italian Hbraries, 

 several being in the Laurentian Library at Florence. The book was first 

 printed at Rome, probably soon after 1480, by Joh. Philippus de Lignamine, 

 who was also the editor. De Lignamine, who was physician to Pope Sixtus IV., 



