HERB - Culpeper/Mavericks, etc.

[Nordmarc]

Greetings.
I know little about such matters, nevertheless I do have some thoughts
I'd like to share.
( First opportunity I've had to sit and answer mail in some time.)

Suzanna wrote:
"Culpepper was widely considered a maverick in his own time, and did not
always adhere to traditional herbal teachings."
Do you mean "traditional" according to what was recorded / taught  by
the Universities &  Guilds, or "traditional" according to the folk
medicine and lore that was handed down orally by the common folk? I do
believe there may be a difference here.

The reason is that I seem to remember Paracelsus (16th century) was
quite disgusted with the Physicians and Universities of the time. He
spent a good many years traveling and collecting the knowledge of plants
and medicines from "common" people in many lands.
If my memory serves, Paracelsus is quoted as saying, "All the
Universities have less experience than my beard!"  He scoffed at them,
and the guildsmen, frequently.
Paracelsus was regarded as a maverick also, on the other hand he now
carries the title of "Father of Chemistry".  I believe mavericks have
their place. Are necessary, in fact, to shake the status quo out of its
"comfy chair".

Suzanne wrote:
"For this reason, I would not rely heavily on Culpepper to document
herbal usage to period or nearly."
Hmm. I don't know about this. I'm skeptical about the interests of the
universities / physicians of the time period we're discussing. I have to
ask myself,  "What were the  primary concerns of those who decided to
take up medicine as an occupation in that period?  Was it the desire to
heal, or the income?"  Being a Guild Physician was a very lucrative
occupation back then.  Maybe I should ask,  "What was the agenda of
those making the rules and recording the information?"

We already know that the Colleges and Guilds had very strict rules about
who was or wasn't allowed to enter their ranks. For example, if you were
a female and wanted to learn medicine at college, you were generally out
of luck. You could of course pay for private tutelage, but then you
would still be laughed at by the Guilds, Church law, and mundane law, if
you wanted to practice. (Unless it was simple midwifery - another
topic.)

The Church had (in earlier years) ruled that anyone who didn't learn
medicine from a College must have gained their knowledge from the Devil.
The mundane laws of the period backed this up by declaring that if you
hadn't graduated from a university, you couldn't have a license to be a
physician.
We are all aware, I'm sure, of the terrible penalties that could be
exacted in those times for practicing medicine without a license.

Back to Culpeper, - I enjoy reading his comments about some of the
College of Physicians' recipes. However it makes me wonder about certain
issues.
The following quotes come from 'Culpeper's Complete Herbal & English
Physician.'

Ointment of Lead (Pg. 361) Culpeper's comment, "it will go nearer to do
more harm than good."

As for the College's Unguentum Neapolitanum, Culpeper says,
"...hundreds are bound to curse such ointments, and those that appoint
them." (Pg. 364)

Comments like this, I'm sure, led him to be regarded as a maverick.
Especially if you were in the business of making money by selling such
medicines! Did Culpeper perhaps give the patients of the period cause
for thought about the main objective of their licensed practitioners?

Suzanne: "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..."

Could you be more specific here please? You obviously have more to tell
and I'd love to know!

Suzanne:  "And I findCulpepper 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...."

I enjoy the whole astrological concept as well as the Humoural Theory.
Hildegard von Bingen (12th century) makes mention of Celestial Bodies
and their effects on people, plants, animals, & such, in her writings.
Although I think that, in Culpeper's period, we may be leaning more
towards Alchemic values.  A fascinating subject, of which I know next to
nothing at this point in time.


Then Jadwiga wrote:
"He attended college, but did not graduate; he studied pharmacy but did
not
ever become admitted to the guild."
There were many who didn't / couldn't attend medical college for one
reason or another, or be admitted to guilds. I believe at one point they
didn't admit married men. It doesn't necessarily follow that those
people who were refused, or didn't attend college, didn't know what they
were doing. For example...

Let's remember Paris in the late14th century, and the trial of Jacoba de
Felicie:
She was lauded by the people for the "miracles" in healing that she
brought about by her medicines and herbal knowledge. She severely
annoyed the Faculty of Medicine because her medicines would heal, where
theirs had failed. She was humiliated, and her work was publicly
discounted. The courts declared that because she had not been to
college, or certified to practice (frequently unattainable for a woman
in that time), she must have no medical knowledge. Yet the public stood
up in court for her and brought proof that this was not so!  Because of
public demand, the court finally had to rule that she would be allowed
to practice her medicine, but with one stipulation -  she could not make
any money doing so.
Was healing the foremost concern here, or whose hands the potential for
making money (power) was in?

There are always those people who don't comply for one reason or
another. Does it necessarily follow that either view is right or wrong?
I rather think that it points out just how many different ways there are
of looking at, and doing, things.
Perhaps Culpeper was not alone in his theories, simply alone in writing
about such matters and getting published.  I don't know - I wasn't
there!

Jadwiga: "His is the most comprehensive book on the astrological
treatment theory, but by no means the only one that was published,
either before or after his time."

Do you have any information on those others please?

Okay. Enough from me for now, this has become a little lengthy. Thanks
for listening to my blatherings. I'm really interested in hearing more
of your perspectives.

Isrith.

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