It doesn’t matter whether it’s medieval society or modern, is there anything that symbolizes “social” more than beer? People have been brewing beer since 7000 BCE in the East and 3500 BCE in the West.Hops have been being added to beer since at least the 9th century. The practice began in Germany and spread west from there. If you’d like to… Continue Reading…
In his book, TREES:A WOODLAND NOTEBOOK, the Right Honorable Sir Herbert Maxwell says:The name “willow” speaks to us of a time when our Anglo-Saxon forbears dwelt in wattled houses. They spoke of the tree aswelig and also as widig (whence our “withy”), the root-meaning being pliancy. Another old English name for the tree was “sallow,” which in the north has been shortened… Continue Reading…
In his book Flower Lore, Rev. Hilderic Friend tells us that “The Whortlebury, emblem of Treason, growing in wastes, affords a juice which was often used in more dangerous times to stain and disfigure the face.” I’m not sure why “the emblem of treason” but the use of blueberries as a dye was apparently fairly common throughout history. Here is an… Continue Reading…
Aelfrida would have been unfamiliar with the plant that I so enjoy, as this cultivated variety didn’t appear until the 1450’s.Here is a nice article on the search for the original medieval pink. In Shakespeare’s time, the gillyflower was a symbol of promiscuity because of how easily it hybridized.Today, the carnation has come to be a symbol of many different movements,… Continue Reading…
Since ancient times, the Linden has been known as a tree of truth and peace.Herodotus tells us that “The Scythian diviners take also the leaf of the lime-tree (linden), which, dividing into three parts, they twine round their fingers; they then unbind it and exercise the art to which they pretend.” The Germanic peoples associated the tree with the Goddess Freya, and… Continue Reading…
In his book, Trees, A Woodland Notebook, the Right Hon. Sir Herbert Maxwell points out that many places in Great Britain are named after the elder. This suggests that elder was both common and noticed.Elder has always been considered to be female and, like many other female spirits and deities, has been believed to have two sides to her personality. In… Continue Reading…
Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve wanted to make myself a garment of plant fiber that I grew, processed, spun, and wove myself. Comes from reading fairy-tales from a young age, I guess. Which is why it’s always been nettles that I wanted to make it of. A robe of nettles would give me an unbroken connection to my… Continue Reading…
You can find the radish in a lot more places than just the salad bowl.Pliny tells us that there was at least one offering of a golden radish to the god, Apollo. Every year in Oaxaca, Mexico, they celebrate The Night of the Radish – an entire festival centered on the carving of large radishes.
