[Sca-cooks] medicinal recipies

[Sydney Walker Freedman]

If we know whether of not camphor was extracted from elecampane in the
13th century, it would help.  (I think someone said that it hadn't been
extracted until the 17th century.)  Even if the translation doesn't
specifically say what sort of camphor, we can at leas make an educated
guess as to what may have been used.

> Whether camphor called for in the Anonymous Andalusian Cookbook of the
> Thirteenth Century is from camphor resin or from a tree related to
> cinnamon or camphor from elecampane is too technical for the Huici or
> Perry translations as no explanation is provided except in in Huici´s
> translation of the recipe "Camphor from Basil," see CXVI on page 141.
> Susan
>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> On 13 Nov 06 Elaine Kogggler wronte:
>> I have no idea...the recipes are from a 14th c. book and simply state
>> "camphor" and "musk"...maybe Urtatim or one of our other ME experts has
>> an
>> idea???
>>
>> Kiri
>>
>> On 11/12/06, Sydney Walker Freedman <freedmas at stolaf.edu> wrote:
>>
>>> Is the recipe referring to camphor resin (from a tree in the related to
>>> cinnamon) or to the camphor from elecampane?  I thought it referred to
>>> the
>>> former.  Any ideas?
>>>
>>>
>>>> aibhilin commented:
>>>> <<< I have not tried this one but I have worked with edible camphor.
>>>> make sure
>>>> you get it from a good East Indian shop and tell them it is to eat.
>>>> They
>>>> will make sure you get the right stuff. There are several different
>>>> ways to
>>>> process campor, and some should not be ingested.>>>
>>>>
>>>> Ummm. Yes, looking at the comments on processing camphor, it does
>>>> sound like you want to make sure you get the stuff processed to
>>>> ingest if you are going to use it in food.
>>>>
>>>> There are a number of comments on camphor in this Florilegium file,
>>>> including the message I've included here.
>>>>
>>>> gums-resins-msg   (32K)  8/31/03    Period use of plant gums and
>>>> resins. Myrrh,
>>>>                                         mastic, frankincense, camphor.
>>>> http://www.florilegium.org/files/PLANTS/gums-resins-msg.html
>>>>
>>>> -----
>>>> [Submitted to the Florilegium by: "Philippa Alderton" <phlip at
>>>> bright.net>]
>>>> From: Gaylin Walli <g.walli at infoengine.com>
>>>> To: herbalist at Ansteorra.ORG
>>>> Subject: Re: HERB - 'syropp of ela campane'
>>>> Date: Wednesday, November 04, 1998 9:29 AM
>>>>
>>>> Phlip asked:
>>>>  >Any ideas, folks?
>>>>
>>>> This is how I would look at it.
>>>>
>>>> 'syropp of ela campane' would probably be a syrup of the plant
>>>> elecampane, often called Elfwort or Scabwort. The botanical of
>>>> this plant is Inula helenium (L.) I think. One of the major
>>>> constituents of the plant is the volitale oil "helenin" which
>>>> is sometimes called "elecampane camphor." Camphor, throughout
>>>> history, has been used to treat the symptoms of any of the
>>>> numerous kinds of arthritis, including rheumatoid arthritis.
>>>>
>>>> An excellent write-up on Elecampane can be found in M. Grieve's
>>>> (OOP) herbal online at
>>>> http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/e/elecam07.html
>>>>
>>>> and this writeup includes pointers to period sources (including
>>>> Gerard, Culpepper, and others) which may be of use to the SCAdian
>>>> or recreator in tracking down the origins of the syrup's creation.
>>>>
>>>> Jasmine
>>>> Jasmine de Cordoba, Midrealm, g.walli at infoengine.com
>>>> -----
>>>>
>>>> Stefan
>>>> --------
>>>> THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
>>>>     Mark S. Harris           Austin, Texas
>>>> StefanliRous at austin.rr.com
>>>> **** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org
>>>> ****
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>
>>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Sca-cooks mailing list
> Sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org
> http://lists.ansteorra.org/listinfo.cgi/sca-cooks-ansteorra.org
>


Pax Christi,
Sydney