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HISTORY OF HERBAL MEDICINE EUROPEAN HERBAL HISTORY TO THE 20TH CENTURY LESSON 3

Wild Rose College of Natural Healing Terry Willard Cl.H PhD. ©2017 1

Lesson 3

European Herbal History (3rd - 20th Century)

Fall of Rome to the Twentieth Century

MIDDLE AGES This period in history is particularly interesting, as a shift in the sources of medical knowledge began to take place. With the barbarian invasions and the resulting fall of the Roman Empire in the Fifth

century (476 CE), the tables began to turn on academic or literate medicine. Christian dogma replaced prior accumulated texts of knowledge.1 Throughout the 7th and 8th centuries, the Arabs conquered much of the civilized world.2 With the introduction of Arabic control into areas previously under Roman and Greek rule, there was an opportunity for the Arabs to acquire knowledge associated with these conquered lands. Fortunately, the Arabs took this opportunity and consequently translated many documents into their own language.

Translations included much of the important medical knowledge originally introduced by Greeks such as Hippocrates, and Romans such as Dioscorides and Galen. This acquisition of past European knowledge was incredibly important, because with the disintegration of the Roman Empire in Europe, the expanding and powerful Christian Church shifted away from traditional medical pursuits and research. Instead there was a move towards a form of institutionalized shamanism where prayer, saints, exorcisms and miracles played a larger role than the accumulated medical knowledge of botanical simples, compounds, environment and diet. Without the continuation and uptake of the Graeco-Roman medical

Fig 3.0 Herbalists of the Middle Ages

Fig 3.1 Roman Empire



tradition within Arabic cultures, much of this past medical knowledge might have been permanently lost.3

The deterioration of European medicine from about the Third century A.D. continued for over 1000 years, until the Renaissance period began around the 14th century A.D. The Christian fanatics affiliated with the Church were responsible for destroying one of the largest collections of old medical documents and writings that were in the library known as the Alexandrian Serapeion. The destruction of documents associated with what was considered pagan art and science, reflects the early Christian mentality, which surrounded the condemnation of not only wisdom, but of earthly physical life. Herbalists during that time period who practiced their earthly science directly, were associated with both witchcraft and paganism and unfortunately were executed. However, there were some individuals that understood the severe long-term consequences of such Christian ideologies and actions for society.

THE MONASTERIES In particular, an educated Roman and Christian scholar by the name of Marcus Aurelius Cassiodorus, who lived from 490 – 585 C.E., viewed past knowledge as valuable despite its low level of appreciation at the time.

Cassiodorus, who worked as a chancellor for Theodoric, an important Ostrogothic King (one of the peoples that invaded the falling Roman empire), was in a position to create ways in which to rescue this past knowledge. For instance, Cassiodorus created the rule which dictated that monks, who also acted as physicians at this time, were to consult past works by Dioscorides, Hippocrates and Galen. An additional reference used was the work of the Roman, Caelius Aurelianus, who was responsible for compiling medical knowledge during the First century A.D. This important push by Cassiodorus to keep old manuscripts alive makes him responsible for the appearance of monastic medicine during the Middle Ages and the maintenance of an independent and

comparatively small medical world during these Dark Ages. In the early Fifth century, the last of the Western Roman emperors retracted their control over the margins of Europe. As they withdrew some of their plant and medicinal methods did remain. Several pagan groups like the Druid priest-healers and other small groups throughout Europe kept the herbal traditions alive in the monasteries. The pagan groups often had to act in secret, as the Christians condemned them as they grew in numbers and popularity. The pagans often suffered death for practicing their art. In Wales, in the sixth century, there was a school that maintained a rational approach rather than a religious priestly approach at Myddfai. They based

Fig 3.3 Monastery Gardens

Fig 3.2 Library of Alexandria



some of their material on Hippocrates and other schools of the past, but relied heavily on experimenting with local plant material. During this thousand years, a network of monasteries maintained medicine, as monks were obliged to acts as healers as well as religious counselors. The monks wrote each other and kept lines of communication open to Rome and Jerusalem. Many educated travelers used monasteries as way stations on their travels and in so doing transported and circulated messages and ideas. Some of the monks traveled themselves, enriching their education and exchanging knowledge. There were texts available, but it was rare to find a Greek or Roman medical text in its entirety. What little information they had in the Dark Ages was copied into Latin, annotated and often passed on. This process was not necessarily an academic pursuit as much as it was considered the duty of most monastic monks. The Benedictine and Cassiodorus monks were required to administer medicines. As outlined by Cassiodorus (487-583): ‘Study with care the nature of herbs and compounding of drugs. If you have no knowledge of Greek, you have at hand Herbarium of Dioscorides, who fully described the flowers of the fields and illustrates them with drawings. After that read Hippocrates and Galen . . . and other books dealing with the art of medicine, all of which I have left you on the shelves of the library.’

THE PHYSIC GARDEN Monasteries took care of passersby and the poor. Every monastery had a physic garden in which the common and most needed herbs grew. Some of these monks were amateurs not doing it for money or to attract more patients, but as part of their monastic duties. After a while certain monks built up skills and started training others, until eventually the monasteries were producing a new class of professional practitioner. This was very much the state of herbalism right through the eleventh and twelve centuries, when the first European universities opened and began to train physicians. Bonus material: A look at the life of a crime solving, medieval monk in

a physic garden – Cadfael - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108717/

HERBALS TRANSLATED INTO THE VERNACULAR

In England, King Alfred (870 - 899), like many of the educated class, had a keen interest in medicine. He arranged for some of the most important medical texts to be translated from Latin into English. No other European countries had translated this material into the vernacular, as only monks, and therefore medical practitioners, could speak Latin. These books Fig 3.5 Physic Garden

Fig 3.4 Medieval Monastery

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108717/



were eagerly bought up, as the women of households could then take over some of the simple medical tasks. Even at this time there was often a distrust of the medical class, who were called “Leeches” at the time. In terms of medical knowledge, England was in advance of most of the Continent at the time, using some 500 medicinal plants, only 200 of which were borrowed from older texts. Keeping in mind the limited literacy of the time, one of the popular books in England was Leech Book of Bald (early 10th century, also known as Medicinale Anglicum). It was a compilation of some of the best Greek and Roman thought. Some of the major treatments among the medical class were bloodletting, leeching, and diet along with heavy use of botanicals from the physic gardens. Two of the great European lines of tradition in this era were the Myddfai and Salerno, which practiced a form of holistic healing that would be successful today. They continued to base their works on the ‘classics’ of Galen, Hippocrates, Apuleius, etc. The Salerno, in Italy, was also influenced heavily by the Arab and Muslim traditions that came out of “The House of Wisdom” in Bagdad. Many traveled to this area of Italy to refine their education as physicians.

GALEN RULES SUPREME Out of all of this, it appears that the teachings of Galen seemed to survive more than that of Hippocrates. By the 800’s, pharmacy was already separate from the practice of medicine among the Muslims. This influence slowly made its way into Europe. Up until the 10th century most of Europe was completely ignorant of the Arab traditions, but now it slowly filtered its way up into the Continent and by 12th century the top medical school in Europe was in Salerno, south of Naples in what is now Italy. Salerno bore the imprint of Arab medical translations. Universities were starting to take form and information was spreading faster. Galen and Avicenna were considered the supreme authority. The university training included astrology charts of twenty-four different ailments, and the hue of patient’s urine. These doctors became known as the ‘mouthing doctors’, distinct from the surgeons who were the ‘wound doctors’ working in the battle fields and city streets.

HILDEGARD VON BINGEN A German mystic who lived in the late 11th century, in 1099 Hildegard reputedly had angels come to her that told her to how to make formulas. She had many followers who believed in her ways and using her formulas for hundreds of years. This was during the height of mystical healing in the Christian church, just prior to the opening of the universities.

Fig 3.6 Galen

Fig 3.7 Hildegard von Bingen



ARAB INFLUENCE Because of the Arab influence on education and trade across the Indian Ocean and as far as the South China Sea, many of the herbs used in Europe were Asian spices such as nutmeg, cloves and saffron. Since the evacuation

of the humors was such an important medical concept at the time, the laxative herb Senna became one of the more common imports. Turkey Rhubarb was also introduced into Europe at the same time for its purgative action. Compounding started to become more popular than simples. Some recipes came from the Arabs, other from the medical schools, but many came from folklore. Some of the ingredients were common, but many were exotic, like viper’s flesh, crushed deer antlers, crab’s eyes, rhinoceros, unicorn horns, oil of earth worm, scorpions, powdered mummy, the moss from a dead man’s skull, urine of goat or young boy, and the much-valued bezoar stone (a curious concretion,

found in the gut of wild Persian goats). Some of these substances had medicinal value, but many of them were probably used because of their exotic nature and high price. It should be noted that by the 12th century onward, the apothecaries in Europe were doing a very prosperous business. The simple that could be picked by anyone in the field, would not fetch anywhere near the same prices as the exotics. We find a direct conflict between how the physicians of the day and the apothecaries prescribed items. Apothecaries were far more likely to prescribe a more expensive exotic herb. In France, in the 16th century, disagreements between the two professional groups resulted in simples being prescribed by physicians and the apothecary trade dwindling.

WISE WOMEN VS. THE ‘EDUCATED DOCTORS’ Of course, during this whole era, there were always the wise women and other similar traditions that used the local herbs to heal the common people. As a result, classes of medical practitioners can be seen forming at this time. It was important for the ‘educated doctors’ to distant themselves from the common people. After all, spending many years studying the classics of Galen and Avicenna, doctors had a much more complex knowledge of healing. The works of the Arab Serapion the Younger (written in 11th century) became very popular for the university doctors. He had sorted and classified hundreds of new Arab plants into Galen’s terms: ‘Those that are hot and drie in the first degree; then those cold and drie in the same degree . . .’ (Johnson, 1633). This energetic system created an educated model and supported trade between the Arab countries and Europe.

Fig 3.8 Arab Apothecary

Fig 3.9 Wise Woman Herbalist



BLACK DEATH The assumed supremacy of the university-trained doctor all changes in 1348 when the Black Death spread throughout Europe, killing about 1/3 of

the population in months. Neither the educated doctors nor the lay healers had a theory, or more importantly, a cure that could conquer the bubonic plague. It seemed that the best cure was fear and avoidance. Pope Clement VI - on advice from his surgeon - spent the time sweltering between two great fires in his chambers in the papal palace at Avignon. With no satisfactory explanation, it was decided the Black Death was written in the stars. A conjunction of Saturn, Jupiter and Mars in Aquarius was considered the cause.

LAY HERBALISTS In the people’s mind, it was clear that their remedies did little worse, if not better, than the educated doctors; especially in the countryside. People stayed away from the cities in fear. By the 15th and 16th century, herbal books started becoming common, especially in the country houses of the rich, where ‘doctoring’ was administered by the lady of the house.

It was common to add more information about the local herbs in the columns of these herbal books. This became so popular that some books left space for local notes and drawings to be inserted. Of course, much of this local information was learned from the gypsies, peasant and common folks who lived in the area, and became the base of our “old wives’ tales.”

SYPHILIS A century and a half after the Black Death, a new disease came to Europe which challenged the foundations of the medicine of the time – syphilis – and spread with appalling speed through a population without any immunity to it. Although again believed to be a bad conjunction of three planets, many claimed it came to Europe from Christopher Columbus’ crew returning from the West Indies. It may have been introduced through an Italian port. Regardless, it was a most virulent and painful disease. We now know syphilis to be a contagious venereal disease, related genetically to the New World disease called yaws, caused by a microbe known as the spirochaete Treponema pallidum (due to its corkscrew shape). The first symptom is a small hard swelling, near the point of infection that often breaks into an ulcer. It will usually disappear by itself, which gave many early practitioners false hope. Weeks or even months later, the disease flares up again causing a variety of symptoms, ranging from a mild rash to sores on the genital organs and racking pain in the bones and joints. This stage will also clear up on its own accord. Months and sometimes years later, the disease attacks with renewed fury and degeneration of the heart, brain, or nervous system possibly triggering paralysis, dementia or even death.

Fig 3.11 Diagram of the Symptoms of Syphilis

Fig 3.10 Black Death



One of the problems was that often a person would be passing on the syphilis when they thought they were cured. The disease looked disgusting, with skin ulcers that gave off a decaying odor. As it was often passed on unknowingly, it crept into every corner of society, and none were immune. Children were born deformed or with congenital defects. Everyone from peasants, to soldiers, to noblemen, kings and even popes were desperate for a cure. Neither Galen nor any other of the medical theories gave an answer. Bleeding and purging did little good. Rich and influential people were demanding a cure so many things were tried. It is interesting to note that, for a while, it was thought the disease ‘liked’ priests the most, because they seemed to be one of the largest group of sufferers. But, unlike the Black Death, this disease gave time for practitioners to experiment. It soon became evident that the surgeons were having better results than the physicians. They were using mercury to treat syphilis, as developed by the Arabs in their alchemical experiments.

ALCHEMY During the13th to 17th centuries, alchemy became the fascination of intellectuals from the Middle East, throughout Europe, and into the British Isles. Even though the tools of the alchemist appeared to be chemical in nature, it was (and still is) very much a spiritual philosophy. The alchemist’s goal is to uncover nature’s secrets. This in turn spawned a large number of secret societies and mystery schools. Some of the top intellectuals of the time were involved, including the likes of Isaac Newton and Leonardo da Vinci. Part of the problem in applying the alchemical knowledge was that the type of mercury used by the surgeons, and later the physicians, was not of the same nature. This meant the common people were often using a toxic form of mercury. And since the alchemists were sworn to secrecy, the information eluded the common surgeons and physicians.

Alchemy has long been an esoteric study in many cultures from Egypt to the Orient. This means there are many forms of alchemy. The tradition that came out of the Middle East, and flooded Europe at the time, was focused on understanding what was hidden behind plant life and metals. Eventually, it became the pursuit of the philosopher’s stone, which could transmute a common metal into gold. The true believers in alchemy had much higher goals than material and financial success, even though this would remain the notion of the person in the street. The strange metal mercury represented many things to the alchemist. Both a solid and a liquid, ever-moving, fluctuating and eerily responding to temperature, the metal was the symbol of the planet Mercury on earth. It

Fig 3.12 The Alchemist

Fig 3.13 Newton



represented the god Hermes and the spirit itself. In fact, in the Hindu language, the very word alchemy - rasasidi - means the knowledge of mercury. There are many formulas used to this day in India and China that require mercury; that are said to be elixirs of longevity, helping one live forever. But if used inappropriately, mercury is fatal. The Middle Eastern and European alchemy process was much more than the study of mercury and the transmutation of gold. Western alchemy’s roots are linked to the oldest philosophical traditions of the Mediterranean region. The QBL or Kabbala of Jewish origin set the structure of the relationship of numbers and universal elements which is fundamental to alchemy. Alchemists had a specific perception of the plant kingdom. Each plant is associated with particular times, days of the week, numbers and celestial bodies. These associations led alchemists to collect, process and finally prescribe the use of herbs in very specific ways. The potency of the preparations or techniques is greatly refined by these considerations according to alchemical theory. A lexicon of alchemy defines it as “the separation of the impure from the pure substance”. The idea of alchemy is to purify a substance’s energies. If a person can purify the energies of a base metal (thus fully understanding its energies) they may at some level be able to manipulate these energies and create an enhanced physical substance — whether a profoundly powerful herbal remedy or a metal turned into gold. Metalwork is often called the ‘Great Works’ or philosopher’s gold. A person who accomplished transmutation would not be doing it for mere financial reward. The philosopher’s gold is thought to be far more valuable to its owner spiritually and requiring rigorous discipline to achieve.

THE PLANT STONE In the long process of developing alchemical “sensitivities”, the first step is the ‘Little Works’ of the plant kingdom. This involved making a ‘philosopher’s stone’ out of plants. The physical methods of doing this are relatively simple, but it takes much more than lab procedure to complete the job. It is said that the alchemists must purify their own bodies in the process of purifying the plant material. The ‘Little Works’ are thought to be the most potent form of a herb in the herbal kingdom. Let’s say that we make a philosopher’s stone from mint. The philosopher’s stone would not only be the most potent form of that mint, but is said to stimulate other herbs to their most potent state. As a practical step, the alchemical herbalist would take their stone and put it in a herbal infusion or decoction as they were making it for a person. This would make the tea much more potent (irrespective of the original contents). As the stone would not dissolve or diminish in quality, it can be retrieved after the preparation of the tea, to be used again and again. It seems to act like a magnet, drawing out the power of other herbs for use in

Fig 3.14 process in alchemy



medicinal circumstances. Sounds useful! It is not as easy as it seems, however. We will look at this material in more detail in future (other) courses on Western herbalism. Alchemy is made up of three different disciplines:

1. Astrology 2. Kabbala (QBL) 3. Lab work

Astrology and Kabbala have been slandered over the centuries much the same as alchemy. While these disciplines have come in conflict with the established churches over the years, there is nothing intrinsically evil or Satanic about them or with the goal of developing advanced plant products. The objective is to bring the purest essence out of the plant, and to leave behind all the impurities. But because of the conflict between what the alchemist studied and the beliefs of the church, the need for secret societies became a matter of life or death.

MERCURY The study of mercury was very important as the alchemist obtained higher levels of initiations. The common practitioners knew little of how the alchemist used mercury, but they did have knowledge that large amounts of mercury were being obtained by these top-secret ‘researchers’. At the same time, small amounts of mercury had been shown to be very successful as ointment in cases of scabies, lice and itches. The toxic effect would undoubtedly have reduced microorganism action in the less than hygienic conditions of medieval Europe. Since a salve had helped other skin conditions, it was applied with some success to the skin of syphilis victims. Since some of the mercury would absorb into the bloodstream it would often kill the disease organisms and bring aid, if not recovery, to even some of the advanced forms of syphilis. So, soon the surgeons in the street were offering a cure for a disease that many were ashamed to report to their family doctor. It wasn’t long before the physicians were also using it as the only cure known. The side effects were dramatic, and most likely many died, but since many died from syphilis anyway; it was hard to pin down what caused what. The short of it was more people were surviving with mercury treatments, so it became strongly endorsed. The treatment was said to be horrible. Sweating and wretched choking patients crouched for days over bowls, with saliva pouring out of their mouths. Often pints a day would drool out. The belief was that in this saliva was the poison that caused the syphilis in the first place. Once it was eliminated, the body would be cured. Usually the gum and tongue swelled, and the teeth turned black and fell out. Ulcers appeared on the face and

Fig 3.15 Part of the plants



jaw, often falling away leaving the victim grotesquely disfigured. Some developed tremors or paralysis.

CURES FROM THE NEW WORLD While the New World was being colonized and conquered, milder cures from the West Indies were discovered, so rich Europeans travelled there to come back cured. The cure came from Guaiac plant (Guaiacum officinale). It was chewed, decocted and drank. The patient also had to do heavy exercise to bring up a sweat for two hours. Usually they were completely cured in six weeks. Of course, this developed into a huge trade of Guaiac between Europe and the West Indies by the Spanish. With reports in 1517 of three thousand Spanish syphilis sufferers being cured, guaiac’s fame spread like wildfire. Rich families, like the Fuggers, started controlling the import of guaiac. But the fad was short-lived as people in Europe did not have the same success as the ones who went to the West Indies for treatment. This was probably due to two major factors: the treatment and adulteration. The treatment in the hot sun of the Caribbean, induced heavy perspiration and internal heat. (It was shown in 1932, that raising a patient’s temperature

above 42C was partially successful in destroying the syphilis spirochaete.) Even the many people who started the 40 days of near-fasting treatment and confinement in hot chambers, (with no wine and no women), often abandoned the treatment as soon as the symptoms eased up. Also, due to the high cost of guaiac and the famous cure rate, lots of fake plant material ended up in people’s hands. Be that as it may, the success that was obtained sent many an explorer to the New World in search of exotic medicines. In 1574, Monarde published Joyfull Newes out of the Newe Founde Worlde. A new flow of botanicals started coming into Europe; herbs like Jalap (Ipomoea purge) Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum), Sassafras (Sassafras albidum), China root (Smilax china), and Sarsaparilla (Smilax aristolochiaefolia). The last two were also used for syphilis, but with the same confinement and abstinence conditions, so that even if people could afford the more exotic herbs, they didn’t want to follow the regime. This often meant the return to the use of mercury. Even though it is easy to condemn the use of mercury as one of the colossal hoaxes ever perpetrated in the history of medicine, it remained in continual use for four-and-a-half centuries. Eventually the homeopaths provided other treatments that were more effective and these started coming into favor, albeit as a less dramatic cure. And it’s worth noting that syphilis treatment in the early 20th century (before penicillin) focused on an arsenic compound (Salvarsan). The use of mercury became so entrenched as the cure for syphilis it became illegal to try any alternative form of therapy. This was one of the first political turning points in which new techniques of chemistry were protected and made dominant over older plant based medicines people had used successfully since the dawn of time.

Fig 3.16 Anton Fugger Trade in Herbals



THE NEW REVOLUTION IN MEDICINE FROM

THE ALCHEMIST ‘The physician’s duty is to heal the sick, not to enrich the apothecary’4

wrote an angry young Swiss-German doctor in the early 16th century. His name was Philippus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim (1493 - 1541), better known as Paracelsus. He is recorded as one of the great alchemists and often referred to as the father of modern chemical pharmacy. He was trained partially by his father, a physician very interested in alchemy. He was also partially trained by a well-known alchemist, Abbot Trithemius, by the Gypsies, the peasant class, and by his keen observation of nature itself. He had contempt for doctors who were trained exclusively from books, even though he was himself considered a first-class physician. He said, “I have not borrowed from Hippocrates or Galen or anyone else, having acquired my knowledge from the best teacher, that is, by experience and hard work.” Paracelsus was very much a hard working, but unconventional man. Writing many volumes of work, spending hours over his furnace with different metals, he felt that many physicians were too distracted by theory, that ‘very few, have attained exact knowledge of diseases, their causes and the critical days.’ His lecture hall at Basel University was full. Students liked his energy and new ways, but this of course created an army of enemies among the other faculty. Watching the use of mercury and other substances, he denounced the unholy alliance of medicine with commerce at the patients’ expense. He was very vocal against the way mercury was being used at the time. He felt that local herbs could often do the trick. Paracelsus took many of his remedies from folk medicine and believed strongly in the Doctrine of Signature, in which the shape of the plant often connoted its medicinal properties. He spent lots of time learning the ways of the old ladies, Gypsies and country healers, feeling that they had more knowledge about real healing than the academics. Despite all of this herbal knowledge and use, he is most commonly thought of as the person who brought chemicals into modern medicine. Probably because he also studied minerals and that he was strongly against the Galenic system, Paracelsus was made their figurehead. But in looking at his work, it can be strongly argued that he was not into throwing away the old system with the introduction of the more popular chemical system.

THE QUACK CHARTER King Henry VIII (1491 - 1547) of England, like many monarchs and wealthy people had a keen amateur interest in medicine. He loved to dabble in the physic garden and often offered medical advice to those around him. At this time many Herbals were written, some in the vernacular for the common folk and others in Latin for the physicians, but herbal knowledge was very much alive in its many forms.

Fig 3.17 Paracelsus



Some Herbals were rewrites of the classics and others tried to impose yet another complex system. The major problem was the use of so many herbs which were never mentioned in any of the classics. Even in 16th century England the training of a physician was so theoretical that it took an Oxford or Cambridge graduate fourteen years to complete their studies. Often after this, the physician would travel to Paris, Montpellier, Salerno or Basel for more study. They felt, as the elite educated class, that they had all knowledge of healing at their fingertips. (This emphasis on formal education remains today wherein a MD requires seven years, which may be followed by five years of residency training and then finally a fellowship). You can imagine the professional jealousy when people with ‘no education’ were found prescribing botanicals in the streets

of English cities. Besides these folk herbalists, there were all kinds of other lowly trained practitioners in England, particularly in London. There were the surgeons, who were gaining in knowledge now that the invention of the printing press meant copied texts were printed and circulated outside the monastery system. The surgeons were supposed to deal with injuries only, not internal medicine which was the domain of the physicians. But often the surgeons wandered into this area. The increase in business due to rampant syphilis brought

them a new set of clients. Then there were the barber-surgeons, who had no real Guild or Charter. They were supposed to do only bleeding, cupping, and tooth extraction, activities advertised to this day by the blood-red strip of the barber pole. Next down the rung came the apothecaries, who learned their way via apprenticeship. They were expected to keep in stock everything from agrimony to unicorn’s horn, and often found their profit shrinking by an inventory that often was perishable. So, they usually took to prescribing too, as they felt they knew more about their products than any book-learned physician. By now the London population was exploding, growing from 30,000 to 200,000 between the years 1400 and 1500. In 1512, English parliament passed an act that no one could practice medicine within seven miles of London who was not a graduate of either Oxford or Cambridge, unless they had been licensed by the Bishop of London, on the recommendation of four physicians. By 1523 this ruling was in theory extended to all of England. Only members of the College of Physicians could now practice medicine. This of course created a domino effect. Physicians sued the

Fig 3.18 King Henry VIII producing the "Quack Charter"

Fig 3.19 Barber-surgeons



surgeons and the surgeons accused the barbers of practicing surgery illegally, and all of them pointed a finger at the apothecaries. The herbalists were also attacked and denounced by all the credentialed practitioners. Throughout this time there developed a huge void in medical care for the poor. Therefore, King Henry VIII, who was sympathetic to practitioners of the physic garden, created a new level of practitioner:

It shall be lawful to every person being the King’s subject, having knowledge and experience of the nature of Herbs, Roots and Waters, or of the operation of same, by speculation or practice within any part . . . of the King’s dominion, to practice, use and administer in and to any outward sore, income, wound, apostemations, outward swelling or disease, any herb or herbs, ointments, baths, poultices and plaisters, according to their cunning, experience and knowledge in any of the diseases, sores and maladies before-said, and all other like to the same, or drink for the Stone and Strangury, or Agues, without suit, vexation, trouble, penalty, or loss of their goods.

This act quickly became known as the Quack Charter among the schooled doctors. Many a modern herbalist today calls it the Herbalist Charter. It was clear that Herbalists now had a place, with what seemed broader rights to practice than the surgeons. The physicians tried again in 1581 to strike this down in the courts, but Queen Elizabeth (like her father) was also sympathetic to the herbalist, being active as an amateur herbalist herself. She struck down the case.

THE HERBAL BOOKS One young prodigy, Valerius Cordus (1515 -1544), spent most of his time collecting and improving formulae. This later became the first official pharmacopoeia. John Gerard (1545 - 1607), considered one of the most prominent figures in British Herbal medicine, published Herball or Genral Historie of Plantes in 1597. He was an exception to the rule, a surgeon keenly interested in herbs and their cultivation as well. It is apparent that others helped and contributed to this work. In fact, it is thought that much of the Herball was copied from the work of an earlier scholar named Dodoens. The Herball is a book whose popularity and subsequent editions have continued into the 20th century. Another Englishman by the name of John Parkinson wrote the Theatrum Botanicum, which was published in 1640. This work is considered the last of the great herbals. It is a large book with 1755 pages and over 2700 pictures created from woodcuts. Woodcuts were the earliest method of illustrating books. Essentially, they are wood blocks cut in such a way as to create a raised surface, which when covered in ink and used like a stamp create a picture for a page. In this book over 3800 plants are described. Parkinson incorporated information from past herbals and writings on materia

Fig 3.20 Herbalist Charter

Fig 3.21 Gerard (1545 - 1607)



medica while adding his own knowledge as well. He arranged the plants according to their properties creating a system of 17 groups. The large size of Parkinson’s book reflects in a way the vast amount of knowledge that was acquired over human history surrounding the plants and their medicinal properties. The Herbal, which is an amalgamation of medicine and botany, is a creation that reflects the overlapping of fields of knowledge at that time. In the centuries that follow, broad general arts or science studies begin to move away from such overlap and individual specialized fields begin to appear. The beginning of such a separation is reflected in the 17th century physician’s distaste for the home-grown remedies also known as “specificks”, which were a product of the untrained country folk. Part of the reason for such disapproval was associated with the fact that these remedies were applied without any theoretical application of medical principles. This bothered the highly trained physicians of the time.

PHYSICIAN WORKING WITH OR WITHOUT APOTHECARIES

Throughout Europe there were different scenarios playing out. By 1618 the physician of London had worked out a deal with the apothecaries by cramming their Pharmacopoeia full of costly compounds that were so dear to these merchants’ hearts. As the apothecaries were making enough money, they had little desire to practice medicine. In Paris they did the opposite, by creating books that could help the poor make their own remedies, so many had little use for the apothecaries. This almost ruined the apothecary class, and thus the battle raged on in the market place and in court.

WOMEN HERBALISTS During this whole era, it is important to note that there were still several classes of herbalist in Europe, especially in the countryside. Of course, there were the Gypsies, midwives and various wise women who practiced their arts. They were usually trained from childhood by other villagers or by their own group if they showed an aptitude toward the subject of medicine. This was mostly an oral and apprenticeship system, not that different than a tribal tradition. Another class was the 17th century housewives. Running a house in this era was definitely a full-time job, no matter how many servants you might have had. Besides all the day-to-day chores, the Lady of the Manor was often expected to be family doctor and in some part the doctor to many in the countryside around them. It was common for a woman to have a scrapbook full of recipes for various ailments, sometimes blurring the line between cookbook and medical book. A herbal was very much part of every household library, if one could afford it. The most popular was the Gerard Herbal. Other Herbals were developed for this purpose and we find books like The English House-Wife, first published in

Fig 3.24 The Lady of the Manor was also the herbalist

Fig 3.23 17th century Apothecary

Fig 3.22 Gerard's Herbal



1615, that stayed in print for centuries. The use of mustard plasters and footbaths were popularly applied along with many herbs from the garden and countryside. Most of the remedies used and traded from household to household during this era were more practical and less costly than the exotics found in the apothecaries in the large cities.

NICHOLAS CULPEPER (1616 - 1654) During the 17th century, England was in desperate need of physicians, but they maintained their secrecy, continuing to write even the pharmacopeia in Latin. Nicholas Culpeper, a young apothecary disagreed with this. Trained at Cambridge, he to would have probably gone on to be an elite doctor, except for falling in love and deciding to elope. On her way to meet him, his fiancé had a bizarre accident and was struck down by lightning. He was so affected by the incident that he stopped his studies. He eventually went on to get training in the inferior job of apothecary. It wasn’t long before he became as much a local shop doctor to the poor, as shop keeper. He made a practice of using more economical herbs instead of expensive exotics and was well-liked by his patrons. He realized that apothecaries like himself were the only doctoring that many of the poor would ever have. He took his knowledge of Latin and translated many of the medical texts into the vernacular, so other shops could also use the information. In 1649, he started translating the London Pharmacopeia, calling it the Physicall Directory, and adding many ideas and scathing criticism of the medical society in the process. Two years later he published his still famous English Physician. This book was heavily seeded with astrological ideas, as he felt that astrology was the best way to treat a person. He considered himself as much an astrologer as a doctor. This book is still being reprinted to this day, with many versions of it available. It was highly popular, and strengthened the domestic use of herbal medicine in England, and later in many parts of the English-speaking world.

NATIVE INDIAN PHYSIC By the 17th century botanicals were coming in from the New World at a faster rate. It was noticed that the indigenous people of the New World were much healthier looking, without disfiguration as seen in Europeans. At one time, the cause was believed to be the new strong drug Tobacco. “It was the free use of tobacco, they assured themselves, that preserved the local Indians from many grievous diseases wherewithal we from England are sometime afflicted.” Tobacco was sold as a wonder drug in Europe, making it into the pharmacopoeia up until the early 20th century. As for Native health, superior hygiene was probably a major factor, as most

Fig 3.25 Culpeper society Herbal

Fig 3.26 Trade with North American Indians



Native groups used some form of sweat lodge to cleanse themselves, but nutrition from wild game and wild plant life surely played a large part too. Trade in all sorts of plants was profitable. Expeditions were sent out to find the new exotic plants of the West. New material was learned from a group affiliating themselves with the “Botanical Doctors from the New World”. The apothecaries were stocking up and housewives and lay herbalists were using their wares. At a professional level though, little notice was taken of the Indian medicine. What could a barbarian teach an Oxford graduate? None of the European officials took that much notice of South America after the Guaiac syphilis incident until some Jesuits brought back some Peruvian bark (Cinchona succirubra). It was seen to cure malaria and became a major military resource for the British who drank ‘branch water, lime and gin (juniper alcohol)’, thus being called the Limeys. The branch water was of course Peruvian bark and provided a form of immunization. This let their military and commercial explorers go into the malaria-infested areas with less fear of contracting the dreaded disease.

IN FRANCE The same type of professional medical doctors were active in France. Many a person, including most of the Royal family, died from bloodletting and mercury elixirs in the later part of the 17th century. Chemical medicines were very much in use in many parts of Europe. Louis XIV, despite his troops of official doctors, also supported herbal medicines. He had monks in the Louvre create tranquillizers out of aromatic plants ‘baume tranquille’. The physicians and the ‘chemists’ were making huge profits, some treating Royalty with the equivalent of 2.5 million dollars a year, but the average annual service fee was 2 to 3,000 pounds, equivalent to over $100,000 today.

THE PLAGUE By the late 17th and early 18th century the Plague hit Europe again, decimating London in 1665. One of the few remedies found effective for the Pasteurella (now Yersinia) pestis bacterium during this time was garlic and was incorporated as a major ingredient of “Thieve Vinegar”. It was consumed orally and sprinkled on victims as they were plundered, letting the thief get away with the riches and escape the plague. Again, chemical medicine did not work. Isolation and lay herbal remedies seemed to be more effective, so the people in the countryside used these and stayed away from the cities and the dreaded plague.

Fig 3.27 The Plague



THE APOTHECARIES By the beginning of the 18th century, at least 70% of the botanicals carried in the apothecaries were from the Far East and American sources. It is felt to this day that the higher profits and exotic nature were the major reasons for the imports. People valued medicines that were more expensive and mysterious over ones that could be found in a local field.

THE MEDICINE CHEST By the early 19th century, the medicine chest had become prevalent. The Family Dispensatory Chest had a booklet of uses for the small vials of ingredients. Most apothecaries had refills for these boxes and many households had them. Of the 60 ingredients in the box, only 24 were of plant origin. The box included opium, calomel (mercurous chloride), and many other toxic things that would never be used by lay people in our day.

COFFINISM In 1838, at the beginning of the Victorian era, a 48-year-old American came to England with a system based on the Thomsonian vitalist tradition. At first, he had a hard time getting noticed, as the medical community wanted nothing to do with him. Going into the countryside, he modeled his life very much after Samuel Thomson, writing the Botanic Guide to Health, and Coffin’s Botanical Journal, which used more local herbs. Coffin developed many ‘agents’ in various towns and by 1850 there were branches in every Northern Town as well as in London. His guide had gone through 20 printings, with over 10,000 readers for his journal. Even though he was quite successful, the medical doctors took very little notice of him, as they were more worried about controlling the Homeopaths at the time. Besides, the Quacks Charter written in Henry VIII’s time protected him. Eventually, the doctors decided to take him to court for prescribing the use of lobelia. This greatly backfired and he became even more popular. People reading his journal, who learned how the use of the medicine kits with opium and mercury were accidently killing themselves, so they started to use his patented remedies instead. Later Coffin seemed to get too big for his own good and rival factions emerged among his own followers. Ego conflicts broke out and soon other figures like Dr. John Skelton seem to win out in popularity.

MAUD GRIEVES

Maud Grieves was a Fellow of the Royal Horticultural Society, and a passionate gardener. When WWI broke out, she was running Whin’s Vegetable Drug Plant Farm and Medicinal Herb Nursery at Chalfont St.

Fig 3.28 The medicine chest

Fig 3.29 A.I. Coffin (1790 -1866)



Peter, in Buckinghamshire. There was a dramatic shortage of medicine due to the war. Maud Grieve began special classes to help people grow the necessary herbs and produced a series of pamphlets. In 1931 Hilda Leyel published A Modern Herbal, based on Maud Grieves pamphlets. To this day, The Modern Herbal is one of the most important contributions to herbalism and is used by many contemporary herbalists, including myself. Grieve’s Herbal can be found on-line at http://www.botanical.com

THE THIRD REICH Adolf Hitler’s fanaticism for all things “Aryan, pure or natural” raised folk traditions to an almost religious status. Chairs of botanical medicine were created in all universities. In 1933 a law was passed granting naturopaths and herbalists almost equivalent status with qualified doctors and surgeons. Rudolf Hess remarked reverently: “I have had experience of the value of natural healing on my body. Science admits that it is faced with failure. The natural remedy, it seems to me, is to return to Mother Nature.”5 By 1938 Dr. Weiss of Berlin University noted that “we are in danger of a veritable flood of new special preparations from all sorts of plants, and of popular literature on plant therapy.” Interestingly, Germany continues to be a leader in natural plant based products and research.

IN ENGLAND The various professional groups here were engaged in territorial conflicts by the mid 20th century, and splinter groups began forming. This left several groups, with fighting among themselves, including the British Health Freedom Society, the Society of Physical Medicine, and the Congress of Natural Healing. The government interceded in 1941, and with an MD-loaded parliament, herbalists were made illegal. The public cried out and the act was deemed powerless. Going into WWII, some medicines were in short supply and people in the countryside still relied on botanical medicines. It is interesting that around the same time that the pharmaceutical companies began to focus solely on molecular synthesis of synthetic drugs, the public began to question the effectiveness of such synthetic chemicals. The adverse drug reactions and the tragic cases of drug mishaps such as that of Thalidomide had made many people contemplate alternatives. This shift in popular thinking was reflected in the increasing interest in alternative practitioners, such as herbalists, homeopaths, osteopaths, acupuncturists and naturopaths by the early 1970’s alternative therapies, such as herbalists, homeopaths, osteopaths, acupuncturists and naturopaths (Griggs, 1981).

Fig 3.28 Rudolf Hess

Fig 3.29 Modern synthetic drugs

http://www.botanical.com/



The era from WWII until the mid 1970’s was definitely the dark ages for Western herbal medicine, obscured more in North America than in Europe, but herbalism has very much played second fiddle to Bio-medicine in Europe also.

SUMMARY In the Middle Ages herbal medicine in Europe entered into something of a dark age with Christianity squelching its development in one way, but supporting it through a tightly controlled system of monasteries. The Physic garden very much became a part of monastic, royal and titled people’s lives. The common people often relied on wise women, monasteries and sometimes the titled ladies for medicines. Once the official herbals were translated into the vernacular, wider knowledge of the use of physic herbs was known. Much of the European system relied on Persian academics who kept it alive during the collapse of the Western Roman empire. During this era, the theories of Galen became the major driving force. The educated herbalist used herbs of a more exotic origin thus often playing into the hand of the apothecary and international trading enterprises. The Black Death signaled an era when many of Galen’s ideas failed drastically and 1/3 of Europe died in a short period of time. It was a good time to stick to the countryside, where the lay herbalist still flourished. Syphilis was another blow to both Europe and the knowledge of physicians, so they adopted the mercury medicines of the alchemist via the surgeons. Unfortunately, most of the mercury was of a toxic type. The use of mercury and blood-letting were the major forms of medicine for physicians for some 450 years. Remedies started coming in from the Americas, adding a new dimension to European medicine. Paracelsus, developed techniques that later became the foundation of modern pharmacy, even though he was a considerable practitioner of botanical medicine. Several great Herbals were written in Europe during the 16th century, Gerard’s and Parkinson’s being the most famous. In 16th century England, the ‘Quack Charter’ guaranteed a place for herbalists, after long battles with the physicians, surgeons, apothecaries and barber-surgeons. In the countryside, lay herbalists still worked with the poor. Culpeper became quite important to many people, helping both patients and other apothecaries obtain the ‘secret’ information of the physicians and educated class through his translations from Latin sources. Medicines and now medical theory, continued to come in from the Americas. The plague broke out in Europe and once again it was better to be in the countryside using medicines, sunlight, garlic and herbs that grew



in the wild. By the 19th century the medicine chest had become popular and many households had one, using all sorts of toxic and harmful substances. The charismatic American, Coffin, created a large network of people using medicine from simples and easy-to-pick herbs, along with his patented medicines that created quite a following. As WWI broke out, herbal remedies were in short demand and people like Maud Grieve taught people to grow and use these medicines. This later became A Modern Herbal. In Germany, natural medicine was flourishing, while differing philosophies divided the British herbalists. By time the 1960’s came around, so much was lost a new form of herbal medicine had to be revitalized and reinvented. We find through all these periods there has always been a conflict between the common herbalist and the educated herbalist. The educated herbalist used herbs of a more exotic origin thus often playing into the hands of the business-minded apothecary. Similarly, there has been consistent tension between herbalists and medical doctors extending back to the early universities and the beginnings of academic specialization. European herbalism is marked by a history of marginalization, constantly regenerated by folk medicine but consistently challenging the status quo and authorities of its time. Now at the beginning of the 21st century, with broad public support and large international markets, herbal medicine is at another crossroads. Will it become integrated into the dominant medical and pharmaceutical system, or will it remain stationed at the peripheries and outer gateways always contesting society’s established ranks and beliefs?



Notes 1 Wicke, R. (1995). A History of Herbology and Herbalism: Oppressed Arts. Rocky Mountain Herbal Institute. Retrieved February 21, 2001 from the World Wide Web: http:// www.rmhiherbal.org/a/f.ahr1.hist.html

2 Kremers, E. & Urdang, G. (1946). History of Pharmacy: A Guide and a Survey. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company.

3 Hamarneh, S. (1973). Origins of Pharmacy and Therapy in the Near East. Tokyo: The Naito Foundation.

4 Griggs B; Green Pharmacy; Healing Arts Press Rochester, Vermont; 1997

5 Sunday Dispatch, 22 March, 1936, cited Potter Bulletin. Johnson, T. & Gerarde, J. (1633). The Herball or Generall Historie of Plantes. London: Adam Islip Joice Norton & Richard Whitakers. http://tei.it.ox.ac.uk/tcp/Texts-HTML/free/A01/A01622.html

http://www.rmhiherbal.org/a/f.ahr1.hist.html

http://tei.it.ox.ac.uk/tcp/Texts-HTML/free/A01/A01622.html



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