Comments on: The Nine Herbs Charm To Cure Infection

By: Cat

Cat — Sun, 09 Jul 2023 02:24:28 +0000

Tbank you, astrotaswegians love weeds, this is useful for id combined with your photos and so adorable!

By: Venetia

Venetia — Tue, 07 Apr 2020 07:58:20 +0000

Chris Webb: Michael Wood is another person who reads Old English so well. His series on Aethelstan (King Alfred and the Anglo Saxons) was shown again recently and, like you, I realised that I love the sound of that ancient version of our language.

By: Pamela Traves

Pamela Traves — Mon, 06 Apr 2020 00:02:37 +0000

I have very much enjoyed these pictures, so much to learn.?????????

By: Chris Webb

Chris Webb — Thu, 02 Apr 2020 13:57:00 +0000

Old English is a beautiful language, and on all too rare occasions we get to hear Janina Ramirez reading snippets. She ought to make a CD, I would certainly buy one. I would also like prints of the illustrations to frame.
I had to look at Wikipedia to refresh my memory on the old letters thorn and eth!

By: Lynne Perrella

Lynne Perrella — Thu, 02 Apr 2020 13:41:37 +0000

Like many of your readers, I go “down the rabbit hole” when I come across a new-to-me term.
Last year, one of those cosmic discoveries was…….”still room book”. Yes. A still room BOOK.
Anything with “book” interests me, for a start. And I learned about the ancient practice of recording a book of cures, salves, remedies and other “home wisdom” in a book that would literally STAY with the property/home for the duration. So, for instance, an estate might have a still room as part of the holdings — and the Lady of the House would continually add to the book, contributing new information that emerged. I did not have a lot of luck finding images of such books — which at first was so disappointing — but then I decided to create a still room book of my own invention. Collage, mixed media, engravings, scribbling, herbarium fodder, etc. It was a blast. The images above are stunning – thanks for treating us, as ever.

By: Saba

Saba — Thu, 02 Apr 2020 12:45:04 +0000

Thank you, GA, for this treasure trove which I shall go through very slowly later in the day. The original text with translation is magical; the old illustrations a treat. Thank you, also, Bailey Jones for the book title. I shall give that a try.

By: paul loften

paul loften — Thu, 02 Apr 2020 12:37:25 +0000

My mother suffered from migraines throughout her life and I recall when she had an attack I would be sent down by bus to Dalston Junction. Just opposite the station, there was a tiny herbalist shop with a wonderful display of herbs for every ailment imaginable. Inside the small and dark space, an iron grey-haired woman stood at the counter and you would tell her what you needed the herbs for. She would go to a few of the jars that were lining the shelves behind her and pour them into a container and weigh them on an old scale with iron weights. Entering the tiny shop was like going back in time. it was quite an experience. The shop was there for quite a few years . Perhaps where the Balls Pond Road meets Dalston Lane could be a very good place for a mystical experience

By: Bailey Jones

Bailey Jones — Thu, 02 Apr 2020 08:37:53 +0000

Great Post. The power of herbs and apothecary.

I really like reading through Old English to spot words which have survived into modern English like ‘is’ and ‘and’, and words that can be guessed like ‘behealdad’ (the last letter being, I think, thorn not d but my keyboard won’t do it.) But so much here is a foreign language.

The history of language is the history of power and the history of the people. If anyone fancies a good read while holed up at home I would recommend Melvin Bragg’s The Adventure of English’. No linguistical knowledge required but you will learn some on the way as you voyage through history and culture. For more technical English and sociocultural knowledge, there are several good books by David Crystal like ‘Stories of English’ .

Sorry GA for getting carried away here.

By: Nina Archer

Nina Archer — Thu, 02 Apr 2020 08:13:09 +0000

Lovely pictures -so apt for this particular times .. thank you (er… text is a challenge though …)!

By: Jill Wilson

Jill Wilson — Thu, 02 Apr 2020 07:48:40 +0000

I wonder what the ‘venom’ refers to? Especially as they are supposed to be ‘flying’? And I’d love to know what all the different coloured venoms mean…

Another left-field and thought provoking post – thanks GA.