A Book Review
Olde
English Herbals
A Book Review
by Lady Alys de Trois Rivières
“Olde English
Herbals” by Eleanor Rohde is a book worth taking the time to pick
up and read. It is not a comparative study of herbal books but more
like a history of herbals and stillroom books themselves. There are all
sorts of surprises inside. From poetry to recipes and incantations to
garden descriptions. There is a lot of folklore on herbs and their uses
sprinkled throughout. Philosophical looks on planting and using herbs
and garden design are found in the book as well.
The book also takes a critical look at the herbalists and their
scholarship as well as brief bios on them. The book has pictures from
the manuscripts themselves and there are portraits of three of the
herbalists.
There are many insights into period thought and social interaction that
one can pick up on in this book too.
It is arranged with chapters on the early Anglo-Saxon herbal
manuscripts, later manuscripts and early printed herbals with chapters
discussing Turner, Gerard, the new world, Parkinson, and later 17th
century books. The last chapter also discusses still room books from
the 16th and 17th centuries. The book is prefaced, has extensive
bibliographies, and an index.
This book gave me some more ideas for herbal research and what and how
to look for more information. Now I have a desire to collect even more
herbal books. The more I read the more I wanted to keep reading. To
find copies of the herbals and stillroom books discussed would be great
as far as I am concerned.
Overall, I felt this to be a really good book and a definite adder to
the reference or resource shelf in your home.