HERB - Fw: Re: A matter of herbs

[Kathleen Keeler]

RAISYA at aol.com wrote:

> Agnes,
>
> No, the name "Holy Roman Empire" was a later conceit by German rulers :).
> While he controlled most of Europe to some extent, Charlemagne was much more
> north-western European, his capital was in Aachen, Germany.

Hmmm. Yet isn't is culture mostly southern--Christian, for example.  Did his
herb lore come out of written stuff?

> Charlemagne's
> influence and memory lingered longest in France and Germany,

I know he was famous for agricultural reform that recognized the northern
climate and soils were different from Rome's
does that mean he listened to tribal chiefs and healers about useful plants?

> and I believe
> this is exactly the area that the Vikings would have been most familiar with.

Well, they raided.  Did they trade for medicines?  I note people are pretty
conservative about using familiar medicines, and yet, when sick, great
risk-takers.

> Now, a few of the plants would NOT have survived in Scandinavia, and I'm
> sure the Scandinavians had plants essentially unknown to other areas, but I
> just said that knowledge of the list wouldn't be unreasonable for a
> Scandanavian herbalist of 1000 AD.

Yes, agreed.
Especially an educated and well-traveled one.

This whole thread has me thinking I don't know much about homelife in Norway in
900.  Men sailed and women farmed?  Who were the healers?  How did the non
Christians approach health and medicine?

And clearly, I  need a life and times of Charlemagne.
He's in the Norman tradition, whatever he did for our uncivilized relatives.

Agnes


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