HERBS in the Herb Garden
Erica's Original Notes: The Herb Garden was donated by a Canadian food conglomerate with a grant of $2,000 in July, 1975.
Herbs are mostly used nowadays for cooking, but for centuries they were used to cure sickness and ward off evil spirits. Many of these old beliefs seem very strange to us in the light of our scientific knowledge. For instance, people believed in what was called the 'Doctrine of Signatures' whereby a plant gave an indication of its use; it was thought that because a nettle gave one a skin rash, a tea made from its leaves would cure skin troubles. Or a violet with its heart-shaped leaves would help heart ailments,hence the old word for violet was 'heartsease'. Today, scientists are researching these old remedies, and have, for instance, found salicin in the bark of willow, formerly used as a remedy for aching joints.
In olden days man believed that the spirits sent rain, sunshine and also sickness; in fact when people got the flu, they thought that it was due to elves' arrows!
The ancient beliefs in herbal remedies are many, and it is not possible to list them all, but here are a few that might appeal to one for guiding:
Sweet woodruff (Asperula odorata, also Galium odorata): dried garlands were hung in churches to sweeten the atmosphere!
Mint: represented hospitality to the Greeks; they rubbed down their tables with it before eating.
Bay Laurel: a sign of honour or victory in Roman times, as laurel was the symbol of Apollo. French children graduate after taking the Bacca (fruit) Laureate (covered with leaves); this comes from medieval times when students were awarded with the berried branches of the laurel.
Thyme: meant happiness or elegance to the Greeks who used it as an incense; later people made a tea of it for headaches or nightmares.
Oregano: used to be called 'organy,; was recommended by the 16th century herbalist Gerard against wambling of the stomach [nausea]!
Fennel Seeds: were stuffed into keyholes as protection against the devil.
Garlic: eaten by Roman soldiers to give them courage and no doubt frighten the enemy!
Pronunciation of Herb: with or without an 'h', that is the question - disappointingly for the two schools of thought, both are correct! There are many words in English that begin with an 'h'. 'Herb' was inherited from Old French, where the 'h' was not pronounced; and it in turn had been adopted from the popular spoken Latin. The fact that they had a letter 'h' was due to Classical Latin, when the 'h' was pronounced. The English, of course, were unaware of all this, which caused the confusion in regard to pronunciation: some words, like heir', never had the 'h' pronounced, while the word 'host' did; meanwhile, 'herb' fell in between these two groups. The pronunciation 'erb' was carried to the New England States. It was largely superseded in Britain by 'herb'.
Correctness is, and always has been, solely a matter of general agreement in cultivated habits of speaking; if a very large number of cultivated speakers pronounce in a certain way, that way is 'correct', even though it may have had its origin in ignorance or on a low-cultural level. From such mistaken or lowly origins comes the climb to unquestioned good use. Hundreds of habits of speech are now impeccably emancipated from their shady past! The pronunciation of the word 'herb' is a clear case of divided cultivated usage. Those who prefer 'erb' can rightly feel proud of preserving a well-founded tradition; those who prefer an unmistakably well-aspirated 'herb' can justly feel that they are at least not old-fashioned!
Updates 2013 (MG) Here are more herbs currently growing in the Herb Garden whose design is based on a Tudor knot garden:
Camomile (Roman, English, or Garden): Chamaemelum nobile or Anthemis nobilis. Ancient Egyptians worshipped it for its healing properties; Romans used it as a snakebite antidote. And Peter Rabbit's mother gave him camomile tea when he overindulged in Mr. McGregor's garden!
Lavender Cotton: Santolina rosmarinifolia. This Mediterranean native has aromatic foliage which protects it from browsing wildlife. It was often used in edging knot gardens. 'Santolina' means 'holy flax', but no one knows why. Neither do they know how it came to be called 'lavender cotton', as it is neither lavender nor cottony! The French common name for Santolina is 'garde-robe' [clothes closet] because sprigs were used to repel moths.
Fennel: Foeniculum vulgare. Fennel is native to the Meditteranean but has naturalized in other areas of the world. In the Middle Ages, fennel was hung over the door of a house to repel evil spirits. In cooking, the seeds and leaves of Foeniculum vulgare are used for fish dishes, but it's Foeniculum dulce, called 'Florence fennel' or 'finocchio', whose anise-flavoured bulb is quite delectable. Anise and fennel have similar tastes and are distantly related. In our Herb Garden, F. vulgare 'Purpurascens' is cultivated for its attractive, bronzy foliage.
Useful Links
All about Herbs
Chinese Herbology
Herbs are mostly used nowadays for cooking, but for centuries they were used to cure sickness and ward off evil spirits. Many of these old beliefs seem very strange to us in the light of our scientific knowledge. For instance, people believed in what was called the 'Doctrine of Signatures' whereby a plant gave an indication of its use; it was thought that because a nettle gave one a skin rash, a tea made from its leaves would cure skin troubles. Or a violet with its heart-shaped leaves would help heart ailments,hence the old word for violet was 'heartsease'. Today, scientists are researching these old remedies, and have, for instance, found salicin in the bark of willow, formerly used as a remedy for aching joints.
In olden days man believed that the spirits sent rain, sunshine and also sickness; in fact when people got the flu, they thought that it was due to elves' arrows!
The ancient beliefs in herbal remedies are many, and it is not possible to list them all, but here are a few that might appeal to one for guiding:
Sweet woodruff (Asperula odorata, also Galium odorata): dried garlands were hung in churches to sweeten the atmosphere!
Mint: represented hospitality to the Greeks; they rubbed down their tables with it before eating.
Bay Laurel: a sign of honour or victory in Roman times, as laurel was the symbol of Apollo. French children graduate after taking the Bacca (fruit) Laureate (covered with leaves); this comes from medieval times when students were awarded with the berried branches of the laurel.
Thyme: meant happiness or elegance to the Greeks who used it as an incense; later people made a tea of it for headaches or nightmares.
Oregano: used to be called 'organy,; was recommended by the 16th century herbalist Gerard against wambling of the stomach [nausea]!
Fennel Seeds: were stuffed into keyholes as protection against the devil.
Garlic: eaten by Roman soldiers to give them courage and no doubt frighten the enemy!
Pronunciation of Herb: with or without an 'h', that is the question - disappointingly for the two schools of thought, both are correct! There are many words in English that begin with an 'h'. 'Herb' was inherited from Old French, where the 'h' was not pronounced; and it in turn had been adopted from the popular spoken Latin. The fact that they had a letter 'h' was due to Classical Latin, when the 'h' was pronounced. The English, of course, were unaware of all this, which caused the confusion in regard to pronunciation: some words, like heir', never had the 'h' pronounced, while the word 'host' did; meanwhile, 'herb' fell in between these two groups. The pronunciation 'erb' was carried to the New England States. It was largely superseded in Britain by 'herb'.
Correctness is, and always has been, solely a matter of general agreement in cultivated habits of speaking; if a very large number of cultivated speakers pronounce in a certain way, that way is 'correct', even though it may have had its origin in ignorance or on a low-cultural level. From such mistaken or lowly origins comes the climb to unquestioned good use. Hundreds of habits of speech are now impeccably emancipated from their shady past! The pronunciation of the word 'herb' is a clear case of divided cultivated usage. Those who prefer 'erb' can rightly feel proud of preserving a well-founded tradition; those who prefer an unmistakably well-aspirated 'herb' can justly feel that they are at least not old-fashioned!
Updates 2013 (MG) Here are more herbs currently growing in the Herb Garden whose design is based on a Tudor knot garden:
Camomile (Roman, English, or Garden): Chamaemelum nobile or Anthemis nobilis. Ancient Egyptians worshipped it for its healing properties; Romans used it as a snakebite antidote. And Peter Rabbit's mother gave him camomile tea when he overindulged in Mr. McGregor's garden!
Lavender Cotton: Santolina rosmarinifolia. This Mediterranean native has aromatic foliage which protects it from browsing wildlife. It was often used in edging knot gardens. 'Santolina' means 'holy flax', but no one knows why. Neither do they know how it came to be called 'lavender cotton', as it is neither lavender nor cottony! The French common name for Santolina is 'garde-robe' [clothes closet] because sprigs were used to repel moths.
Fennel: Foeniculum vulgare. Fennel is native to the Meditteranean but has naturalized in other areas of the world. In the Middle Ages, fennel was hung over the door of a house to repel evil spirits. In cooking, the seeds and leaves of Foeniculum vulgare are used for fish dishes, but it's Foeniculum dulce, called 'Florence fennel' or 'finocchio', whose anise-flavoured bulb is quite delectable. Anise and fennel have similar tastes and are distantly related. In our Herb Garden, F. vulgare 'Purpurascens' is cultivated for its attractive, bronzy foliage.
Useful Links
All about Herbs
Chinese Herbology