HERB - Culpepper's accuracy

[Walter J. Wakefield]

Granted that Culpepper is post period.  Sometimes we use slightly
post-period works, since they frequently shed light on practices that
have been common for quite a while.  And this is normally true in herbal
references.  Which is why I have no problem with the fact that the Dover
edition of Gerard is Thompson's expansion of 1633.

However, Culpepper was widely considered a maverick in his own time, and
did not always adhere to traditional herbal teachings.  For this reason,
I would not rely heavily on Culpepper to document herbal usage to period
or nearly.  He claimed his departure was in the interest of helping
people save money by using local herbs instead of foreign ones, but this
does not account for all of his points of departure...  And I find
Culpepper harder to follow than Gerard, personally.  Maybe I just have
less trouble with things being caused by cold or heat than by
astrological events, I don't know....

Suzanna, Herbalist, Barony of the Steppes, Kingdom of Ansteorra (Dallas,
Tx)  

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