Medieval Herbs Are Still Useful Today |
| Written by Lee Dobbins | ||||||
| Thursday, 17 July 2008 | ||||||
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Cultures across the globe have cultivated herbs for several millennia, but nowhere were herb gardens elevated so high as an art form as in Medieval Europe. The healing qualities of Medieval herbs were crucial to the Middle Ages while people lived without the medical advancements and technology of the Greeks. While much of what they knew came from practice by mixing fact and fiction, quite a bit of what they did actually worked. Beautiful and beneficial Medieval herb gardens provided families with medicine, food seasonings, and a place to escape from reality. The Cloisters in New York provides a modern-day version of these gardens. Despite being built years later in the 1930s, Cloisters was fashioned to look as much like the cloisters of old through treatises and poetry from the time. This goal was more than achieved. Even though New York's seasons vary greatly from freezing winters, hot and humid summers, and soggy Spring and Fall, the Cloisters flourish; including the herb garden, an important piece of the Bonnefont cloister. It isn't an exact replica of any particular herb garden, as it's base was from many sources. The results are the standard features of any historical herb garden, like wattle fences, raised beds, and a central wellhead. These Medieval herbs form an enviable centerpiece when surrounded by other plants and orchards that many home practitioners try to copy. In the winter, many are placed inside pots that are similar to ones found in the period. This helps the fragile ones survive in the cold, harsh climate. Herbs cultivated during Medieval times could be used for silly reasons like trying to ward off evil ghosts. It was believed that dill held magical powers. People also thought that they could be protected from the plague by rosemary. To try to treat epilepsy, sage was used. Herbs were arranged at the Cloisters in nine sections corresponding to classifications used in the period. The first section holds Absinthe and Thistles, the second contains medical herbs, such as St. John's Wort and Liquorice. The third section holds Lavendar, Lemon Balm and other aromatics. Caraway and Fennel, Parsley and Borage were used for cooking. Other herbs like Meadow Rue were used for questionable reasons and there were herbs that were thought to be magical like Herb Robert. Herbs were widely used in the middle ages, more so than today. But the same Medieval herbs remain available to modern herbalists. New research continues to identify medicinal properties of these herbs, often confirming that they are effective for the purposes they were used for centuries ago.
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You can learn more about all types of herbs including medicinal herbs, culinary herbs and even medieval herbs at http://basicherbgardeningtips.com/ where you will get basic tips for growing herbs both indoors and out.
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