Herbs played an important role not only in medieval cuisine, but also as the foundation of the healing arts. Knowledge about herbs was disseminated either by word of mouth (between herb-women in the country), or between monks and scholars via ancient scripts.
Many herbs can be taken in the form of teas, concoctions (by prolonged cooking), infusions (in scalding water), as extracts (macerated), tinctures (alcohol-leached) or steeped in vinegar, juices or concentrates for gargling. Adding honey or sugar did nothing for the efficacy of herbal salves, but it did help the medicine go down better. In addition to ingestion, herbs were applied in the form of creams, ointments, poultices or oils, emulsified and diluted in water. In certain cases the advice was to sleep on cushions filled with dried plants. It was believed (especially in rural areas), that the properties of the herbs were affected by the particulars of when and how they were gathered (for example on Midsummer night, at midnight etc.) accompanied by special formulaic incantations or enchantments.
Herbs played an important role not only in medieval cuisine, but also as the foundation of the healing arts. Knowledge about herbs was disseminated either by word of mouth (between herb-women in the country), or between monks and scholars via ancient scripts.
Many herbs can be taken in the form of teas, concoctions (by prolonged cooking), infusions (in scalding water), as extracts (macerated), tinctures (alcohol-leached) or steeped in vinegar, juices or concentrates for gargling. Adding honey or sugar did nothing for the efficacy of herbal salves, but it did help the medicine go down better. In addition to ingestion, herbs were applied in the form of creams, ointments, poultices or oils, emulsified and diluted in water. In certain cases the advice was to sleep on cushions filled with dried plants. It was believed (especially in rural areas), that the properties of the herbs were affected by the particulars of when and how they were gathered (for example on Midsummer night, at midnight etc.) accompanied by special formulaic incantations or enchantments.