HERB - Cecille's Herbal Hair Care Entry....

[Jenne Heise]

> 3.  ...finding Medieval Names of Herbs.....
> I am still working on finding the Medieval names for my herbs.  
> I can not seem to find anything from th local libraries and on line.  
> I went to Amazon.com and Borders.Com,  but they did not have any early herbals for sale. 
> Suggestions?????

Hm. Though it's not the best source, try the English Physician online by
Culpeper, also Gerard's Herbal (see if the local libraries have it). 
 
> 4.  My herbal hair care product entry is actually the old "Queen of Hungary" water.  I was fascinated by it's recipe and its many uses.  
> Hungary Water and or Queen of Hungary Water has been used as a hair rinse, a facial toner (astringent), a mouthwash, a headache remedy, a foot bath and a toilet water.  
> I have found Queen of Hungary" water is mentioned as being used by 1370, but my internet bibliographies do not site specific reference.

You've pressed the button.. I've been trying to track down our friend
Queen of Hungary water for a long time (see
http://www.lehigh.EDU/~jahb/herbs/hungarywater.html for a tedious brief
description of my attempts so far.)
Nope, nobody seems to give a particular source for the date or any
documentation, except the Household Encyclopedia [1881], which says:

"Original Receipt for Hungary Water.

The original receipt for preparing this invaluable lotion is written in
letters of gold in the hand-writing of Elizabeth, queen of Hungary. Take
of aqua vitae, four times distilled, 3 parts, the tops and flowers of
rosemary, 2 parts. To be put together in a close-stopped vessel, And
allowed to stand in a warm place during 50 hours, then to be distilled in
an alembic, and of this, once every week, 1 dr. to be taken in the
morning, either in the food or drink, and every morning the face and the
diseased limb to be washed with it."

I found this unbelievable, especially as such books from the 1800s are
always suspect. However, another book (bother, I don't have the
citation) says that the recipe is on file in a library in Austria. (The
book dates to before the wars, so it probably is wrong by now!) So it is
possible. However, as you can see, that recipe doesn't help, because it's
only rosemary tops and flowers. 

I wish I had more information to give. 

Even the date of 1370 is unproven...

> I knew from various readings that these herbs and the vinegar were available and used for various purposes in the Middle Ages.

Note that all the recipes _I've_ found call for alcohol distilation,
rather than steeping in vinegar. I saw one mentioned on SCA-Arts and have
the source somewhere.


Here's some suggestions for the 'period names'
> Sage:  is added for dandruff control.
Sage was known as Sage or Salvia
> Lemon Balm (Melissa)  Not sure why besides scent.  It does contain citronella which is an insect repellent.......
Bawme, Balm, or Melissa
(cheers the spirit, etc.)
> Comfrey:  Not sure why, besides perhaps that it is an astringent and stimulates cell (scalp and new hair growth ?),  proliferation due to  the prescience of allatonin.
Comfrey
(it's a healing plant)
> Chamomile:  adds golden highlights
Camomile or Chamomile, etc.
> Rosemary:  promotes darker highlights and hair growth.
Rosemary.
(astringent. Used in medieval beauty treatments...)
> Calendula:  is soothing to scalp and adds golden highlights.
Calendula or Marigold.
> Lavender:  is used for its scent.  It also is a scalp treatment for  itchiness, dandruff, and lice!
Lavender, Lavendar, or Lavander

BTW: I don't know what your group feels about juding things where the
documentation is in a fancy font, etc. but in the East that is discouraged
because it makes the documentation hard to read and also looks (I'm not
making this up) 'unprofessional'. *sigh*

Jadwiga Zajaczkowa, mka Jennifer Heise	      jenne at tulgey.browser.net
disclaimer: i speak for no-one and no-one speaks for me.
	"You wake up to realize your only friend... has never been 
         yourself or anyone who cared in the end..." -- Jewel Kilcher

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