278 ENGLISH BOTANY. 
Common Yew. 
French, Jf commun. German, Gemeine Dibe. 
The derivation of the common name of this tree is variously given by different 
authors. In Chaucer and other old authors it is spelt ewe, and Dr. Prior considers 
that it is a corruption or abbreviation of ajuga, and to have been mistaken for the 
black cypress. Some writers say it is derived from the Celtic word ww, sometimes 
pronounced #f, and signifying verdure, alluding to the yew being an evergreen; and 
this will also explain the French name 7. 
The yew and its use for making bows are mentioned by the earliest Greek and 
Roman authors, and its poisonous properties are pointed out by Dioscorides, Nicander, 
Galen, Pliny, and others. Theophrastus says that the leaves will poison horses. 
Cesar mentions that Cativoleus, king of the Eburones, poisoned himself with the 
juice of the yew. Suetonius asserts that the Emperor Claudius published an edict, 
stating that the juice of this tree had marvellous power in curing the bite of vipers. 
Plutarch says it is venomous when in flower, because then the tree is full of sap, and 
that its shade is fatal. to all who sleep under it. Pliny adds that the berries of the 
male yew are a fatal poison, particularly in Spain, and that persons have died who 
have drank wine from casks made of this wood. In more modern times Mathiolus 
and J. Bauline were the first to prove, by positive facts, the poisonous nature of the 
leaves of the yew; but Father Schoot, a Jesuit, asserted that if the branches were 
dipped in stagnant water, their poison became neutralised. Gerarde and L’Obel soon 
afterwards discovered that the fruit of the yew might be eaten with perfect safety, and 
there was no danger in sleeping under its shade. Gerarde, after stating the opinions 
of the ancients as to the poisonous nature of the yew, writes, “ All which, I dare 
boldly affirm, is untrue; for when I was young and went to schoole, divers young 
schoolfellows, and likewise myself, did eat our fils of the berries of this tree, and have 
not only slept under the shadow thereof, but among the branches also, without any 
hurt at all, and that not one time, but many times.” Nicander, in his book of 
counter-poisons, as quoted by Gerarde, says :— 
“ Shun the poys’nous yew, the which on (ita grows; 
Like to the firre, it causeth bitter death. 
Unless besides they use pure wine that flows 
From empty’d cups, thou drinke, when as thy breath 
Begins to faile, and passage of thy life 
Growes straight.” 
The wood of the yew is beautifully shaded with reddish orange and dark brown, 
and is extremely tough and elastic, qualities that recommended it in former ages as 
the best material for the long bow, the dreaded weapon of our forefathers. It was 
fatal to several British kings—viz. Harold, at the battle of Hastings ; William Rufus, 
in the New Forest; and Richard Coeur de Lion, at Limoges, in France. In the 
battles of Cressy, Poictiers, and Agincourt the strong bows of yew achieved the 
victory. In 1397 Richard IL, holding a Parliament in a temporary building, on 
account of the wretched state of Westminster Hall, surrounded his hut with 4,000 
Cheshire archers, armed with tongh yew bows, to ensure the freedom of debate. 
Numerous statutes were enacted to secure a supply of this valuable wood, and the 
exportation of it was forbidden, When the trees of native growth were insuilicient, 
large quantities were brought from abroad. 
