Product Description

From Amara Dulcis to Yarrow, All-Heal to Viper's Bugloss, Culpeper's Complete Herbal and English Physician Enlarged offers remedies for all ills known to Seventeenth century society. Together with the alphabetical section on herbs, their provenance and properties, there is The English Physician and Family Dispensary, which provides an astrologo-physical discourse of the human virtues in the body of man. Nicholas Culpeper (1616-1654) studied at Cambridge and became an apothecary, physician and astrologer in London. Whilst only the imprudent would follow his dictates today without question, the Herbal remains a fascinating historical treatise, and stands as a monument to botanical and medical science.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #22189 in Books
• Published on: 1995-04-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 608 pages

Customer Reviews

An Illuminative Look at Herbal Medical knowledge circa 1653
I am an herbalist. a university trained anthropologist/archaeologist. That being said, I work with herbs, herbal supplements & historical/scientific writings dealing with herbs. I was given a copy of this Herbal in December 2000. It is a difficult book to read. The vernacular is the same as when initially written. Prior to full comprehension of each herb, formulae or idea; almost all the entries need to be translated from the colloquial of 1653. One can lose the original intent simply by attempting to update the wording. There is no table of contents & unless you are diligent; the descriptions of herbs lead into a section denoting several uses & formulations of herbs, portions of plants & idiomatic medical terminology; which is confusing at best. Again the vocabulary/glossary is difficult because the publishers have given no guidance. There comes a section in the book which speaks of either "the college" or "culpepper's" view on herbs & their uses. It is almost as if several works of the author have been put into the same book; without any weaving of the materials together -other than their common denominator being the author. However- the uses of Latin based pharmacological nomen & the more common lay names of the herbs, formulations & "remedies" has broadened my knowledge further & entices me to read more. This is not a light reading category book. This book needs a serious classical reader or someone who has the patience to read Old English medical treatises. As a reference; it will become a part of my formulary's bibliography.

Historical
This is largely for historians wishing to know about how herbs used to be used although it still can be used to day. There were no illlustrations, although the book does have an index of some herbs and diseases, which is useful. The book also states the astrological and zodiac uses of each of the herbs and they can be used for and descriptions of the herbs.

Best Reference Book
This is one of the best reference books for herbs and plants.

Although the language can be hard to understand as it's written in the English used in the early to mid-1800's, once you get used to it, it's invaluable.

It's a great buy - I've been using it since I was a child (my mother's copy)