MANUSCRIPT AND PRINTED HERBALS 63 



looseth euery day a leaue as the Moone waneth and it springeth 

 and waneth as doth the Moone and where that it groweth there 

 groweth great quantitie. 



" The vertue of this herbe is thus — thei that eat of the 

 beris or of the herbe in waning of the moone, wha he is in signo 

 virginis if he have the falling euell he shal be hole thereof or if 

 he beare thys about his neck he shal be holpen without doute. 

 And it hath many more vertues than I can tell at this tyme." 



One of the unidentified herbs is called " sene," and we are 

 given the somewhat vague geographical information, " It groweth 

 in the other syde the sea and moste aboute Babilon." 



Another small book printed by William Copland must be 

 mentioned, for, although it is not a herbal, it contains a great 

 deal of curious herb lore not to be found elsewhere. This is 

 The hoke of secretes of Alhartus Magnus of the vertues of 

 Herhes, Stones, and certaine beastes. Who the author was is 

 unknown, but he was certainly not Albert of Bollstadt (1193- 

 1280), Bishop of Ratisbon, the scholastic philosopher to whom 

 it was ascribed, probably in order to increase its sale. There 

 is one philosophical remark which is not unworthy of the famous 

 Bishop : " Every man despiseth ye thyng whereof he knoweth 

 nothynge and that hath done no pleasure to him." But for 

 the most part it deals with the popular beliefs concerning the 

 mystical properties of herbs, stones and animals. 



Of celandine the writer tells us : " This hearbe springeth 

 in the time in ye which the swallowes and also ye Eagles maketh 

 theyr nestes. If any man shal have this herbe with ye harte 

 of a MoUe (mole) he shall overcome all his enemies. . . . And 

 if the before named hearbe be put upon the headde of a sycke 

 man if he should dye he shal syng anone with a loud voyce, if 

 not he shall weep." 



" Perwynke when it is beate unto pouder with wormes of 

 ye earth wrapped aboute it and with an herbe called houslyke 

 it induceth love between man and wyfe if it bee used in their 



