From the earliest people to the present we have never been without Herbalism. It is only in recent history, the last 70 years, that we have been faced with suppression and systematic control over it. There is much debate over how herbalism came to be as a form of medicine and how people learned what plants to use for what disease or ailment. If we look at how people who still live close to the land and havenÕt forgotten their connection to the life that is all around them, they may have learned by watching animals or at the plants signature to see how it might be used medicinally. Some who have spiritual practices that are tied to the cycles in nature say that they communicate with the plants directly, asking how should be used. No matter how it was done, we have herbalism today that is being supported through scientific findings and studies to validate what our ancestors have known all along.
Egyptians around 3000 years BCE started the first schools of hebal medicine and the first group of physicians. At that time the physicians learned the proper chants, songs, spells, incantations and herbs to use with each type of condition. They were not always succesful and a number of their patients died from what we would consider mild condittions and easily treatable, like malnutrition. In one papyrus discussing labor settlements, workers made sure they had their beer, bread and onions before they would do any work and if these things would not be provided that there would be no work that day. A list of herbs made use of at this time were: onions, caraway seeds, squills, mint, colchicum, licorice, honey, flax seed, papyrus, dates, poppy, castor oil plant, aloes, lotus flower, henna, olive oil, rasins, grapes, mandrake, pomegranates, gentain, elderberry, wheat, myrrh, chamomile, camphor, palm oil and leaf, and elder berries.
Chinese and the people of India, around 2500 BCE, may have been one of the first to create a formal system of medicine making extensive use of herbs. They both have a similar system of looking at the human body in order to recommend the proper group of herbs to treat each persons condition.
The Yellow EmperorÕs Classic of Internal Medicine was written about 2600 BCE by Huang-Ti. It is considered one of the classics in chinese medicine, describing how to find the problems through pulse tests, looking at the face and the tongue, then matching an appropriate remedy. They had a system by which people paid their physicians to stay healthy, by preventing illnesses before they could take hold. The moment someone became ill, they stoped payment and it was up to the physican to bring their patient back to health. This proved valueble in that it taught chinese physicians how to deal with a wide variety of complaints from pain, kidney, liver, gallbladder, headaches, common cold and flu and degenerative disorders. A list of herbs made use of at this time were: sunflower, witch hazel, ginseng, gardenia, geranium, cotton, banyan, figs, loquat, ferns, water lily, clove, ginger, cinnamon, mugwort, ephedra, licorice, onions, plums, rice, thyme, leeks, dates, beans, millet, wheat, apricot, mallows and mandrake.
In India, traditions were passed down by memorizing long songs that were finally written down, around 2000 Š 2500 years BCE, and known as the Vedas. The form of medicine they developed is called Ayurvedic which treated leprosy, abscesses, skin diseases, coughs, headaches, and intestinal complaints. The Ayurvedic tradition used 750 plants, making it richer and more extensive than the Egyptian system. Ayurvedics had an incredible way to teach surgery to their students by operating on vegetables and leaves instead of animals and the dead. A list of herbs made use of at this time were: unfortunately the list is too extensive and some donÕt have a translation into english.
The Greek system started with Aesculapius, in 1250 BCE, the god of medicine who learned the trade from Cherison the centaur. From him we get the symbol of medicine, a staff with a serpent coiled around it. From him a movement of physicians and lay doctors known as Asclepiadae formed that were around from 1250 Š 600 BCE. This was the true form of Greek medicine and not from the priests of Aesculapius who may not have even practiced medicine but ceremony alone without the use of herbs. The oath of Hippocrates may have originated as the oath of Asclepiads. It is here included for your information.
"I swear by Apollo the Physician, and Aesculapius, and Hygieia, and Panacea, and all the gods and goddesses, that according to my ability and judgement I will keep this oath and this stipulation-to reckon him who taught me this art equally dear to me as my parents, to share my substance with him, and relieve his necessities if required; to look upon his offspring in the same light as my own brothers, and to teach them the art, if they should wish to learn it, wihtout fee or stipulation; and that by precept, discourse, and every other mode of instruction, I will impart a knowledge of the art to my own sone and those of my teachers and to disciples bound by a stipulation and oath according to the law of medicine, but to none others. I will follow that system of regimen which according to my ability and judgement I consider for the benefit fo my patients, and abstain from whatever s deleterious and mischievous. I will give no deadly medicine to anyone if asked, nor suggest any such counsel; and in like manner I will not give a pessary to produce abortion. With purity and with holiness I will pass my life and practice my art. I will not cut persons laboring under the stone, but will leave this to be done by men who are practitioners of this work. Into whatever houses I enter I will go into them for the benefit of the sick, and will abstain from every voluntary act of mischief and corruption; and further, from the seduction of females and males, of free men and slaves. Whatever in connection with my professional practice or not to be spoken of abroad, I will not divulge, as reckoning that all such should be kept secret. While I continue to keep this oath inviolate, may it be granted to me to enjoy life and the practice of the art, respected by all men in all times! But should I trespass and violate the oath, may the reverse by my lot!"
Hippocrates, 450 BCE, is regarded as the father of medicine because he sperated magick, superstition, and ceremonry from the making of herbal medicines. He used around 300-400 herbs to make his drugs and medicines and is credited with the Hippocratic Collection, a series of medical works. He was a teacher with many pupils who became healers and practitioners using his remedies in the healing arts of their time.
Theophrastus, 372 Š 285 BCE, is said to have been a pupil of Plato and Aristotle, wrote two important volumes on botany. In one of his volumes, Historia Plantarum, he describes over 500 plants in use at that time. He also credited for the volume, An Enquiry Into Plants, and possibly, De Plantis. His knowledge came by first-hand observations and what he could learn from travelers about plants in foreign places. He is called the, Ōfirst scientific botanistÕ, because his works included full biological treaties on the herbals he investigated.
Around 50 BCE, Cratuas was a great herbalist and physician to Mithridate VI. He is credited for creating well known herbal drawings along with discussions on the plant, names, descriptions and medicinal uses. The drawings he made were accurate and are of continuing interest to botanist. ItÕs been said that botany owes the Ōart of portraying the forms of plants exactly and artisticly for identification purposesÕ to him and is therefor know as "The Father of Plant Illustrations".
Dioscorides, around 50 ACE, is known as one of the greatest herbalists of his time. A physician to Emperor Nero and his army. As he traveled he collected a vast amount of general information about the plants he encountered first hand. He produced the work called, De Materia Medica, which has been since translated and reprinted, making it a chief source for the last fifteen centuries to herbalists of all nations have drawn their inspiration from his work (from The Greek Herbal of Dioscorides). His work was essentially a drug collectorÕs manual, a leading text of pharmacology. He was able to detail the properties of 600 medicinal plants, giving their name, its Greek synonym, a description of the plant, its natural habitat, and how to prepare it as a medicinal. Because of his efforts, so many of our modern uses of plants as medicine originated in ancient herbals, such as the ones Dioscorides produced.
In 130 ACE, Galen is the last of important Greek herbalists, produced a work called, De Simplicibus. He traveled extensively, studying plants, authoring over 400 works, of which 83 are extant. In his works he listed the herbal drugs and their uses, each plant would be given a paragraph listing its common name, its synonym, its habitat and a description of the plants uses.
Between 500 and 600 ACE, all the important Greek works were being translated into Latin, Arabic and Syrian. This allowed for much of the information to last through the ages into modern times. The ancient knowledge of the herbalist only became widely available once the printing press was invented, before that most of the works were written by hand in Latin. After the printing press this knowledge spread to a wider audience that already made use of local plants, from knowledge passed by word of mouth. This lead to the age of scientific study of plants and their use as medicines.
In 950 ACE, Leech Book of the Bald is the oldest existing Saxon book dealing with herbs. This is the oldest existing leech doctrine that was written in the vernacular and the first medical treaties written in Western Europe, containing the beginnings of English medicine. The Leech book is a manual of a Saxon doctor, basing his information on other older lore, who refers to other doctors or leeches and combines his herbal knowledge with Pagan traditions.
The period from 1200 to 1600 ACE was an era of great people such as Bacon, Thomas Aquinas, Albertus Magnus, Eleanour Rohde and Agnes Arber, are just a few of the names.
Bartholomaeus Anglicus, 1250 ACE, an Englishman wrote the original treaties on herbs. A theologian, he wrote easily on theology and herbology, producing a work called, De Proprietatibus Rerum, first printed issue was in 1470.
From Germany, 1485 ACE, The Herbarius, listed 350 plants along with woodcuts, which were the best prior to the period of botanical illustration and much copied and recopied. Also, in 1491, Ortus Sanitatus, an herbal rich in pictures which display a liveliness which is missed in modern botanical books.
In 1525, BanckeÕs Herbal, was the first printed herbal containing within it a manuscript of exceptional interest, describing the virtues of rosemary.
In 1526, Grete Herball, was the highest reputation of the earlier English herbals. It was printed by Peter Treveris and seems to be only a translation of the French herbal, Le Grand Nerbier, from 1500.
William Turner (1510-1568) in 1550, produced the, TurnerÕs Herbs. A physician and divine, was the first Englishman who studied plants scientificly and this marks the beginnings of the science of botany. This is the only original work written by any Englishman in the 16th century. His work contained many beautyful drawings both, original woodcuts and reproductions from, FuchÕs Herbal. He was ne of the few who cautioned against the excessive use of any herb.
Leonard Fuchs (1510-1566) in 1550, was the greatest of the German fathers of botany, a landmark in history of natural history producing an herbal with incredible illustrations.
In 1597 and 1633, GerardÕs Herbal by John Gerard (1545 Š 1612) is the second greatest English herbalists. It is said that his herbal is the work of Dr. Priest, which was a commissioned translation of, DodoensÕ Pempades, which fell into GerardÕs hands when Priest died. As a well travled surgeon, he altered the classification of the plants and added a great deal of his own observations. This book was first published in 1597 and later corrected and a better version was printed in 1633. As a true gardener, he took pride in being able to grow plants not often found in Britian. He observed the course of his plantsÕ growth and method of cultivation with great detail. He grew over 1000 plants and gives the impression he had personal experience with every plant. Although his work is full of errors, many accept him as a credible witness, dispite accounts such as, Ōthe Goose tree or tree bearing geeseÕ, which he claims to have confirmed by his own observations.
Nicholas Culpeper (1616-1654) is refered to as the most notorious exponent of the subject of astrological botany. Culpeper was both loved and hated in his time. Hated by the College of Physicians because he had the audacity to translate from Latin and publish in English some of the elitist medical works of the time, notably the Pharmacopoeia, which he retitled A Physicall Dictionary. This book and its formulas had been the exclusive tome for the elite college or anyone who could read Latin and they were most upset that it was translated into English so that anyone could read it and understand. He was known to charge small fees, had an unaffected manner and his poor west-end patients loved him. He had a garden of medicinal plants for he felt that the poor could not afford them. His book, though scorned by the elite, is the one most often reprinted, over and over again and been read by many more people than the books produced by the herbalists of his time.
Modern herbalism, from the 1800Õs to the 1900Õs, saw doctors in both England and America wirting their own books and creating their own patent medicines. In the later part of the twentieth century, there was a resurgence of interest in homely herbal and folk medicine. Plants began to be analyzed chemically for their active ingredients, showing what herbalist and believers of folk medicine knew to be true throughout the centuries, that plants had active medicinal components and that plant medicine worked. Science was proving that herbalism was based on medical reality and what had been known all along, was true.
Sebastian Kneipp (1821-1897), a priest who wrote, My Water Cure, published in 1886. This book is considered a classic in health. The first half, devoted to using water to cure all manner of ailments, it includes a second part dealing with herbal medicine. KneippÕs formulas are used to make aromatic as well as cosmetic products that are notable for their excellence and theraputic value.
In more recent hisory we have herbalists and authors such as, Hilda Leyel (1880-1957), who wrote six major herbals, one of which is GrieveÕs Modern Herbal.
In 1931, Maude Grieve wrote, A Modern Herbal and edited by Mrs. Hilda Leyel, an extemely useful source. A modern herbal bringing up to date the history, folklore, usage of plant listing medicinal, cosmetic and culinary applicatons.
Back to Eden: A Human Interest Story of Health and Restoration, written 1939 by Jethro Kloss (1861-1946). This unique volume full of recipes and information has been an imporatant source to many people but with a number of drawbacks, notably the incorrect naming of plants and not necessarily their correct or current use.
In our time, there are a number of authors of note who are producing a number of works on herbalism and its applications. Jeanne Rose credited with seven books, termed the "grande dame", James Duke, Handbook of Medicinal Herbs; Michael Tierra who has produced several books, combining Western and Eastern herbalism; John Lust who wrote, The Herb Book; Michael Moore, the author of several good works and an excellent website. Other authors of note: Feather Jones, David Christopher, Jim Green, Roy Upton, Silena Heron, Brigitte Mars, Rosemary Gladstar Slick, David Hoffman, Christopher Hobbs, Mindy Green, John Lust, Nelson Cook, Maurice Messegue, Richard Lucus, Jean Velnet, the Lloyd Brothers and so many more than I have room for. Look to the bibliography for a growing list works on Herbs and Herbalism.