HERB - Re: treatment varieties and misconceptions

[Gaylin Walli]

Katerine Rowley wrote:

>True. And of course, some things make people sick while not bothering
>others.[....] One person's trash is another's treasure. :)

It also makes me wonder about treatments in the middle ages and
the renaissance. It struck me last night as I was reading Gerard
(and fending off one very persistent cat who *needed* to read
with me) that the variety of treatments in the Middle Ages and
Renaissance really doesn't seem all that different from today.

I think a lot of us suffer from a misconception, myself included,
that the Middle Ages had a few treatments, some of of which were
decent, some of which were bogus, that affected cures for various
symptoms. But, when it comes right down to it I think we perceive
the time period as "backward" or "quackish". It doesn't occur to us
that the medical information they had during their time was some
of the best they could possibly have. They used things that you
and I wouldn't even think of in our culture. And used them with
success.

I think too many people live with the misconception that the whole
of medieval medicine and science consisted the use of bloodletting for
every ill, poisonous plants that were chosen based on their shape,
and poorly chosen diet. All of these are at least in part either
untrue or misconstrued. What can we do to change these views? I
know the answer and I've been lax:

WRITE MORE TI ARTICLES. Put together a series of articles for the
CA. Send a little something a-typical to your local or regional
newsletter. Don't just send something anyone could figure out,
like where an plant originated; give people something they didn't
know, something they couldn't look up in Rodale's Guide, something
they wouldn't normally make the connection for. How about a
redaction? There a plenty of recipes for non-food items that
people could put together.

Does this all sound like a rant? I suppose it does, in a way. And
if I've offended, pray forgive me. Today I was asked why I don't
write more about some of what I know. An honest question and one
with an honest answer: I haven't set aside time to do it. Perhaps
it's a little late for New Year's resolutions, but I'd like to
start now. I keep saying I will. Now it's time to start doing it.

Anyone want to coauthor an article on a redaction of Gerard's (Johnson's)
recipe for acne relief? :) [It's in the recipe for cucumber-meat-oatmeal
pottage.]

Jasmine
jasmine at infoengine.com
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