A History of Herbal Medicine
While today they are considered an alternative medicine, for thousands of years herbal remedies were the only medicine. As civilizations advanced and writing developed, some of the earliest information recorded included herbal remedies. Dating to the sixteenth century BCE, the Ebers papyrus is one of the oldest written records on the use of medicinal plants in Egypt.1 Along with the physical details of plants, it contained more than eight hundred herbal recipes as well as information on perfumery and incense. Made from healing herbs, many Egyptian perfume oils doubled as medicines.
Some of the earliest writings from India contained information about herbs and spices. This evolved into Ayurvedic medicine, which is believed to be the oldest system of healing. Although the tenth-century Persian physician and philosopher Avicenna (980–1037) is often credited with discovering the distillation process, archaeological evidence suggests that distilling aromatic plants into oils was achieved in India around 3000 BCE.2 Herbs are also integral to Traditional Chinese medicine, a system of healing that dates to approximately 200 BCE.
Known as rhizotomoi, “root gatherers,” the herb merchants of ancient Greece kept records on the properties of herbs.3 Greek physician Hippocrates (460–377 BCE), regarded as the “Father of Medicine,” has been noted for his balanced, holistic approach, which included the use of herbal remedies. Several centuries later, Greek physician and botanist Pedanius Dioscorides (ca. 40–90 CE) compiled the first European manuscript on herbal remedies entitled De Materia Medica, “The Material of Medicine.” As a prototype of the classical “herbal” on which our present-day books are patterned, it contained instructions for many types of preparations and served as a major reference book well into the seventeenth century.
Claudius Galenus better known as Galen (130–200 CE) was a prominent Roman physician whose writings included a range of herbal preparations. One of his elixirs, which became known as Venice Treacle, was popular into the eighteenth century. 4 Another influential writer was the Roman natural historian Pliny (23/24–79 CE). Eight of his thirty-seven books dealt with plant pharmacology and were a valuable resource for herbalists through the seventeenth century.
After the fall of the Roman Empire, Europe was plunged into the uncertainty of the Dark Ages. To escape the social upheaval, many physicians and other learned people relocated to Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey) and along with them went a storehouse of knowledge. However, even though European civilization floundered, the works of Hippocrates, Dioscorides, Pliny, and others were translated and widely distributed in the Middle East.
As life in Europe became more stable, scholars and medical knowledge filtered back and so too did the ancient texts of Greece, Rome, and Egypt. Tucked away in their monasteries, monks not only copied ancient books of remedies but also kept extensive herb gardens for culinary, healing, and religious purposes.
German abbess, writer, and mystic Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179) was also a healer and an authority on herbs. She is the only medieval wisewoman whose work has survived. In contrast to the complicated formulas of others practicing medicine at that time, she relied on “simples,” or preparations that used one herb rather than combinations of plants.
The study that was taking place in monasteries sparked the creation of universities and medical schools. These schools played an important part in the development of the study of medicine. During this time, herbs were central to healing remedies. By the thirteenth century, the trade in herbs and spices expanded between the Middle East and Europe, and then to Asia and Africa. After Columbus’s voyages, even more new medicinal plants arrived in Europe.
Despite this flood of plants and knowledge, many people did not have access to or could not afford doctor visits and remedies from exotic plants. Instead, they did what people had done for thousands of years and relied on local healers—the wisewomen who had special skills and knowledge.
A golden age of herbalism was sparked in the Elizabethan era by the use of the printing press. English physician and botanist John Gerard (1545–1612) was instrumental in introducing plants from the Americas to a wider audience in Europe. His work entitled The Herball, or Generall Historie of Plantes was published in 1597 and became a classic text. Physician and master herbalist Nicholas Culpeper (1616–1654) published his work entitled The English Physitian in 1653. This book has never gone out of print.
Even with the popular enthusiasm for herbals among lay people, change was in the air where the medical establishment was concerned. Seizing on the idea of Swiss physician Theophrastus von Hohenheim (1493–1541) that a little bit of something dangerous can be healing, conventional medicine separated paths with herbal-based remedies. Purging and bloodletting became popular treatments, as did the use of leeches. Anyone following folk traditions came to be regarded as amateurs, and herbal medicine was considered primitive and irrelevant. For a time, the use of herbs and oils was stifled by this schism, which was made worse by the waxing and waning hysteria over witchcraft. As a result, the village wisewomen suffered terribly.
Herbal remedies and perfumery eventually made a comeback as the world changed and attitudes shifted. Part of that shift was due to the Industrial Revolution, which sparked many new social developments. One was the creation of the suburbs. While suburban gardens were too small for the grand sprawling designs of the Renaissance, they were a good size for growing basic vegetables and herbs. Herbs and other plants found their way back into conventional medicine but mainly in research laboratories where the active components of plants were studied.
In the early twentieth century, the advancement of chemistry was not only overtaking the use of herbs and essential oils in medicines but in perfumes and cosmetics as well. French chemist René-Maurice Gattefossé (1881–1950) was responsible for resurrecting the use of essential oils during the 1920s. After burning his hand in his laboratory, he grabbed the nearest bottle of liquid, which turned out to be lavender oil. Intrigued by its rapid healing effect, he devoted the remainder of his career to studying essential oils. Although in the 1930s herbal remedies began to make a comeback in England, the 1940s ushered in an overwhelming amount of laboratory-produced medicine.
In Europe and the United States, the post-war shift toward the desire for things that were “new” (which equated to “better”) regarded herbal remedies as outmoded. This was spurred on by a medical profession that considered the use of herbs as old-fashioned, superstitious belief. Once again, herbs were pushed out of medicine and this time from the garden, too. The new affluence and growth of the suburbs brought changes to how people used their outdoor space. Stretches of lawn became the norm with ornamental flower gardens for accent. Herbs were separated from decorative plants and relegated to their own little spot by the kitchen door, if they were grown at all.
The tide of public sentiment began to turn in the early 1960s with the thalidomide tragedy. Used to relieve morning sickness, the drug thalidomide caused a range of deformities in unborn babies. Faith in modern medicine was badly shaken and people’s perceptions of drugs and health began to change.
Amidst the myriad of social changes during the 1960s, a back-to-the-land movement and the science of ecology emerged. With the growing awareness of how our health depends on the health of the planet, the genie was out of the bottle. Herbal medicine made a comeback and even the scientific community has begun to acknowledge its importance. Ironically, despite all the money spent on drug research and development, a substitute for digitalis (from the plant commonly known as foxglove, Digitalis purpurea) continues to elude production in the laboratory. In addition, scientists are wondering what undiscovered cures might come from unknown plants in places that have not been thoroughly explored, such as the Amazon River basin.
Although still considered “alternative” for the most part, the practice of Traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic medicines is increasing in Europe and the United States. In addition, growing herbs and using them medicinally is working its way into the mainstream as many of us take a more active role in our healing and well-being. As we do this, we come full circle to the wisewomen and men of the past who relished and relied on the herbal bounty of the earth.
Other Traditional Uses of Herbs
In addition to being an integral part of medicine and the culinary arts since ancient times, herbs have been important to a wider range of uses. While we have the convenience of ready-made products for everyday use, until the last century this was not the case and herbs were a major component of good housekeeping.
Used for laundering clothes and linens since Roman times, the name lavender comes from the Latin lavare, which means “to wash.” The Old French word lavanderie means “laundry.” 5 Along with lavender, other herbs such as rosemary, tansy, and woodruff were used in linen cupboards to keep away moths. Herbs were also used in the kitchen pantry to combat pests. Bay leaves placed in flour bins helped repel weevils, and tansy and rosemary rubbed on meat kept flies away. Sprigs of marjoram, mints, and pennyroyal were scattered on shelves to discourage ants.
Elsewhere in the house, herbs were used for cleaning and for odor and pest control. To avoid increasing dampness in a home during certain times of the year, fennel and mint were used to scrub floors without water. Any bits of plant material left on the floor were simply swept up. Rosemary and lavender were also used for scrubbing floors in this manner. And for the furniture, lemon balm and marjoram were made into a polish. Herbs were also added to cushion and mattress stuffing for fragrance as well as to combat pests.
In Northern Europe and Britain from the Middle Ages to the late eighteenth century, strewing herbs was a vital part of good housekeeping. This practice of strewing plants on the floor helped to warm a house in the winter and cool it in the summer. It was common practice to spread rushes on earthen and stone floors with herbs such as savory and basil mixed in. Not only did this scent the air, the herbs acted as an antiseptic and aided in repelling fleas. Lavender and meadowsweet were used with reeds to overcome musty odors. Bunches of aromatic herbs were also hung about the house in the summer so the oxidizing essential oils could cool and refresh rooms. In the sixteenth century, violet, rosemary, and other distilled herbal waters were sprinkled on wooden floors to scent and cool rooms.
While the rich color purple used by royalty and high church officials was made from sea snails and prohibitively expensive, everyone else did not walk around in plain, drab clothes. A wide range of beautifully colored dyes were made from herbs. Yellows were created from chamomile, fennel, sage, St. John’s wort, and yarrow; reds from dandelion, dock, and St. John’s wort; blues from elder, indigo, and woad; greens from angelica, marjoram, and rosemary; and shades of gold from mullein and plantain.
In the past, herbs touched almost every aspect of everyday life. Now we are finding our way back to nature as many traditional herbal uses beyond healing remedies are being revived.
1. Inge N. Dobelis, Magic and Medicine of Plants (Pleasantville, NY: The Reader’s Digest Assoc., 1986), 51.
2. Julia Lawless, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Essential Oils: The Complete Guide to the Use of Oils in Aromatherapy and Herbalism (London: Element Books, 1995), 18.
3. Barbara Griggs and Barbara Van der Zee, Green Pharmacy: The History and Evolution of Western Herbal Medicine (Rochester, VT: Healing Arts Press, 1997), 8.
4. Kate Kelly, Early Civilizations: Prehistoric Times to 500 C.E. (New York: Facts on File, 2009), 132.
5. Ruth Binney, The Gardener’s Wise Words and Country Ways (Newton Abbot, England: David and Charles, 2007), 126.