Medieval ditch medicine

 

This morning, when walking the dog, I saw several plants used for healing purposes in the Middle ages. Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla), tansy (Tanacetum vulgare), gout weed, (Aegopodium podagraria), and nettle (Urtica dioica) grow side by side in a ditch (around the outskirts of a nearby forest) as they probably did in the Middle ages and were thus available for practically everybody.

Chamomile or more exactly German chamomile has been used by many cultures for gastrointestinal disorders as well as skin conditions.  It was employed in ancient Egypt and in the Middle ages chamomile was used as a diuretic (to rid the body of excess water) and a tonic to manage pain and fatigue.

Tansy has also a long history of use. It has been employed as a medicine and an insect repellent.  It is known that tansy was cultivated by the ancient Greeks for medicinal purposes. In the early Middle ages, it was grown in the herb gardens of monasteries, e.g. by Benedictines of Saint Gall. Tansy was used to treat intestinal worms, rheumatism, digestive problems, fevers, and sores. Hildegard von Bingen says: “Whoever suffers from catarrh and has a cough, let him eat tansy. It will bind humors so that they do not overflow, and thus will lessen."



Chamomile and tansy.



In addition, it was considered that tansy has virtues in reproductive matters.  It was believed to help women conceive and to prevent miscarriages. Contradictorily, large doses were believed to induce abortions. In skincare, tansy was used as a face wash and was reported to lighten and purify the skin. Tansy is also reputed as an insect repellent in different cultures, e.g. in medieval Europe and apparently among American Indians. 
Goutweed was cultivated during the Middle Ages for use as a vegetable, pot herb and for its medicinal use against gout, hence goutweed. Its Latin name, aegopodium podagraria, includes the name of the disease, podagra. It is said to have been introduced by the monastics of the Middle Ages, who cultivated it as a herb of healing. Therefore, it was called Bishopsweed and Bishopswort and it was frequently found near old monastery ruins. It was also called herba (Sancti) Gerardi, after Gerardus (St. Gerard) †1120 founder of the Knights of St. John. Herb was dedicated to St. Gerard, who was invoked to cure the gout, against which the herb was chiefly employed.

Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica and the closely related Urtica urens) has a long medicinal history. In medieval Europe, it was used as a diuretic and to treat painful muscles and joints, eczema, arthritis, gout, anemia, sores, and bleeding.