Medicinal Plants in Medieval Monasteries

At the beginning of the week, I spent the morning wandering around a local Abbey ruins. The original structure, immense as it would have been, was unfortunately pulled down in the sixteenth century at the behest of Henry VIII, and what remains is effectively a beautiful garden. It got me thinking about the role of monastic orders in the Middle Ages. In contrast to common perception, whilst the monks and nuns themselves were consigned to a voluntary oath of poverty, the orders themselves were rich and prosperous businesses run by shrewd, powerful business leaders who were also the Abbot or Abbess. Often, the Monastery or Abbey would own and control vast swathes of the surrounding land, making the religious order both a self-sufficient community, and head of a thriving manorial society. You can find more information on the monastic hierarchy here: Who did what in a Medieval Monastery? - Medievalists.net. In this blog, I will instead focus on the hospitality function of the orders.

In medieval times, hospitals per se did not really exist. The word hospital actually comes from hospitality, which in turn comes from the Latin hospes which means "guest" or "stranger". So the early hospitals were mostly infirmaries within a monastery where the poor, the sick, or the tired could rest and be cared for. Oftentimes it would just be travellers passing through, from those needing a bed and hearty meal, to those with injuries or ailments. For the most part, regular illnesses, when not dealing with travellers, would be treated at home. Being a religious order meant care was always charitable in nature. As providers of meals and aid, a ready supply of food and herbs was a necessity and all monastic communities would have a plentiful kitchen and herb garden. The plants grown would have been used for both food flavouring and their medicinal properties. When we think of herbs now, we generally think of things we would find in our kitchens - the likes of dill, basil, oregano, or, in the words of the Beatles, "parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme!" But the plants in a monastic herb garden would have ranged from common weeds to highly toxic plants like deadly nightshade and hemlock! We tend to think of the middle ages as being very backward when it comes to medicine, and by our own standards, they were. However, a lot more credit should be given for their vast knowledge of plants and their medicinal properties, that we have lost completely over time. Although, a huge number of people died throughout the Middle Ages, from illnesses and infections that our modern medicine could cure without a second thought, their "medical" knowledge of what was available to them should not be underestimated. Let's look at just a few examples:

Garlic

I'm going to start with garlic as even today many people are aware of the health benefits of garlic, considered anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal, and anti-viral. When Guidaloste is treated for injuries in a monastery, his wounds are cleaned with a mix of onion, garlic, wine and bile salts. This concoction was actually discovered recently in a 9th century medicinal recipe book. It was known as Bald's eyesalve and researchers at the university of Warwick found it effective against 5 types of microbial pathogens, that could prove it a valuable weapon against modern-day biofilms (collection of certain bacteria that form a layer of protection against regular antibiotics). Garlic would have been grown extensively in monastic gardens for both medicinal and culinary purposes as it is also an excellent flavour provider.

Sage

This herb will be known to most as it is a popular culinary herb. It was also one of the most popular in a medieval garden as it was thought of as one of the most beneficial for good health. Its Latin name salvia literally derives from the words for healing and safety, from which our word "salvation" is born. Throughout history, it has been used to aid digestion, brain fog, sore throats, joint pain, respiratory illness, and as an antiseptic, among many others. It's healing properties were renowned throughout the world, not only in the West.

Lavender

Few could dispute the calming properties of lavender and it is still used extensively as an aid to restful sleep. In the Middle Ages, monastic gardens would have been filled with its sweet scent, as it was considered vital for headaches, stress, insomnia. and for its antiseptic properties. It was also used in the household to freshen laundry and mask unpleasant odours in the air. One interesting take was that it was considered an aphrodisiac and medieval people believed that if you sprinkled the head of your lover with lavender water it would keep them faithful!

Nettle

Nowadays, we try to avoid touching nettles as much as possible but in the Middle Ages, it was used as a poultice to aid healing and treat inflammation and joint pain. It could also be brewed and drunk as a tea to cure digestion or urinary problems.

Hemlock

A well known poison, this plant would have been grown in medicinal gardens as a key ingredient in anaesthesia. Unlike today, surgery was rarely performed with little more pain relief than a large slug of alcohol and biting down on a piece of wood or rope to avoid biting your tongue off! However, there is evidence in an Italian monastic manuscript of the 800s that hemlock was mixed with opium, henbane, mulberry juice, lettuce, mandragora and ivy to make an anaesthetic concoction, which if administered in the wrong dose, would have proved lethal!

These are just a tiny selection of the vast number of common, and not so common plants (many that we would consider weeds today) that the medieval monks would have been skilled in cultivating and mixing in correct doses to administer both topically and orally. We are lucky today to have such a wealth of scientific knowledge at our fingertips, but in many ways it is also a shame that so much of nature's cure has been lost. Although not the poisons. It is never a good idea to ingest deadly poisons!