[Sca-cooks] Semi-OTL what to do with rue?

[Stefan li Rous]

Brighid ni Chiarain asked:

<<< I planted rue in my perennial border because it has attractive  
foliage
and flowers, and the deer that wander through my yard won't eat it.  The
stuff grows and self-seeds   impressively.  I wouldn't call it invasive,
like mint, but it flurishes mightily.  Is there anything I can do with
rue, other than the potentially hazardous culinary uses?  >>>

Do you have any holy water which needs sprinkling? Or perhaps need to  
keep away some bugs?

From: Herbs-Sm-Grdn-art (32K) 10/10/01    "Medieval Herbs for the  
Very Small Garden"
                                        by Jadwiga Zajaczkowa.
"Rue [Ruta graveolens] (the herb o' grace o' Sundays) is a strongly  
scented, straggly periennial with deeply lobed leaves that nobody  
would grow if they weren't a medievalist. The scent is somewhat  
unpleasant when first picked, but fades as it dries. Medieval people  
put it in linens and in nosegays to keep away bugs and 'noxious  
odors', as well as using it in cooking. At one time, it was  
supposedly used to sprinkle holy water at Masses. It  doesn't take up  
much space, though it grows about 36" high, and you can tuck it in  
the back of your plot, as long as it has enough sun."

You might also look at this file:
rue-msg           (26K)  9/18/04    Medieval uses of the herb "rue".  
Cautions.

From:
Pest-Control-art  (32K)  5/16/97    "Medieval Household Pest Control"
To control fleas and lice:
"A 15thC English Leechbook (collection of medical recipes)
suggests the following "traps": 'For fleas and lice to slay them, take
horsemint and strew it in your house, and it will slay them'  or   
'Take the
juice of rue and anoint your body with it' or 'Take gorse and boil it  
in water,
and sprinkle that water about the house, and they will die.   
Palladius (5thC)
recommended bring fleas to a sticky end on surfaces which were often
sprinkled with oil dregs.

Using the search engine on the Florilegium may turn up a few more  
uses, as well as a number of recipes which call for rue, although you  
specifically were ruling out its use there..

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 ****