Fw: HERB - Two Questions

[LadyPDC@aol.com]

In a message dated 5/9/00 8:32:47 AM Pacific Daylight Time, ezagula at srv.net 
writes:

>  have looked at both those sources also.  What do you think about Martha
>  Washington's Booke of Cookery and Sweetmeats mentioning "frankincense of
>  jawa"??  It is hard to say from the different period sources what it is.  
>  In a previous post I listed info from the glossaries of Gervase Markham's
>  "The English Housewife" and Hugh Plat's "Delights for Ladies" which say
>  different things for benjamin or beniamin.

Martha Washington's book gave a reference to the Oxford English Dictionary.  
I consulted that this morning and her reference does seem to be correct.  The 
inference/references in the OED seem to be that Oil of Benjamin is a separate 
product from Frankincense, though possibly closely related in scent.  Thus 
oil of Benjamin was called "Frankincense of Jawa" to indicate that it came 
from a different place but had a similar smell.  Their history of the word 
also makes much sense.  The arabic word luban jawi with the lu being lost in 
translation would give you ban jawi and thus the transliteration of the words 
"ban jawi" into english becoming "Benjamin"   

It would be interesting to see two ointments made up with exactly the same 
ingredients in each excepting these two oils (oil of Benjamin and oil of 
Frankincense).  Fun to see what differences in scent, texture,  or effect (if 
any) might be present.  Do I sense another A&S project coming on? ;)

Constance de LaRose
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