The Empire of Corwyth - Herbs

Nature has provided bountifully for good taste and health. Herbs do prove themselves as excellent aids in medical treatment

For those who have the eyes to see by shape of leaf or colour of stem, or even such things as scent and size, herbs hold many promising qualities. How they are used depends upon the intentions of the herbalist, for what is good can be turned around or overused to become wicked. Within this Herbal, find ye the ways to avoid those wicked things, and cook thou with goodly taste, and masticate ye the herbs to find their intrinsic goodness for healing of many ills.

Herbs for the purpose of remedies of ills

It is best to purchase herbs in their quantities from a good herbalist such as Granny or Altoni Keemi. These expert herbalists will provide what is needed for the purpose, and thus is avoided the terrible errors of over-prescription or incorrect preparation.

Howsoever it be, if it is that you have skill in herbalism, you may purchase them for the remedies of ills as used in the following manner:

Creeping ivy oil - it is a soothing oil for wounds. Best purchased in liquid form in a good bottle of glass, not of stone unless it be very high quality stone that does not contaminate with grit. Or purchase creeping ivy, masticate it in wine with a good pestle and mortar, and let it seep for two days and nights, then do you strain it well into a glass bottle. This should not be taken internally, but applied onto wounds.

Wolfsbane - rumoured to be good for the repelling of werewolves. While it is true wolves do not like the smell of wolfsbane, it is not truly a repellent. However, wolfsbane is most excellent when mixed with honey and lemon for the suppression of coughs. The leaves, not the root, must be chopped very small, and it must be fresh.

Catnip - a fine herb for the attracting of cats. It infallibly draws feline attention, and just as infallibly causes perfumiers (who must by the nature of their speciality be olfactorally sensitive) to be strongly repelled. Some perfumiers will even faint upon exposure to catnip.

Alambas - a goodly herb that produces a fine cooling sap when masticated. This jelly-like sap can be spread instantly upon the burn wound, and it aids minor and even moderate burns in the healing.

Arfandas - its root can be prepared by slicing into thin slivers, and these pieces should be left to seep within a peppermint tea overnight. The drained infusion should be taken as a draught, no more than a thimbleful twice a day. For quantity, the measure is one arfandas root per one tankard of wine.

Arlan - can aid in nausea of seasickness and the sickness of pregnancy. Take the small leaves of one arlan plant and masticate, then prepare an infusion with boiling water over the masticated leaves. Caution: no more than a spoonful per day should be taken, and the preparation must be no stronger than the leaves of one plant per pint of water. To increase the dosage is to cause grave danger of miscarriage and internal bleeding, and death has been known to occur when overdosage has occurred.

Awn - the juice of the large leaves of this plant can be rubbed over aching joints, and it does relieve the pain for many who suffer joint pain.

Basil - it is said to draw out various kinds of poison and to reduce their effects. However, there is no reliable documentary evidence for this claim.

Coberwort - a preferred method of dealing with poisons and venoms, although it will not help with internally ingested poisons, but rather with venomous bites and suchlike things. Mashed into a thick paste when its leaves are combined with wine, spread over the point of entry for the venom (as swift as possible after the poison has begun its work), and then held in place by a layer of dusty cobwebs and fennel leaves, the herb has been effective in some instances.

Belladonna - when the belladonna plant is masticated, it is said to be good to ingest for the relief of gout (which is true), tone-deafness (most probably untrue), weariness and general malaise (so it has been found), and addiction to strong liquer (a hopeful suggestion but never proven to be true). It is imperative to be most careful with this herb, for even a little too much is fatal. Treatment should never include more than a single drop of the tincture, and no patient should take more than one drop a day. The drops are sometimes used to promote brilliant eyes, but there is growing evidence that the long-term effect is blindness.
One not-always known fact is that two drops of this tincture will aid in treating a werewolf bite.

Calamint - this pretty herb is often claimed as a restorative for madness; however, it is very evident that there are few, if any, genuine cases of curing madness. Most physicians do not subscribe to the theory, but calamint has been used successfully in treating cases of battle fatigue.

Cinquefoil - used as an aphrodisiac with limited successs, and that limitation more due to monetary enticements than to aphrodisiacal qualities in cinquefoil.

Coripilander - its root is good when ground into a fine powder in the treatment of blisters.

Marigoldeye - when infused as a tea and taken internally, it has been shown to be good against insomnia. When used in a paste (combining the tea with masticated prunes) and applied to the skin, it is efficacious as a freckle remover.

Herbs for taste in cooking

Many are the uses to which various herbs can be placed for fine cooking, and this herbal claims not to be a Cooking Guide. Yet would any good cook stock basil, bearberry, parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, coriander, pepper, nutmeg, cinammon, mint, peppermint, fennel, and many more.

Herbs which are used as poisons

This Herbal seeks not to provide poisoners with knowledge of deadly substances, only to warn against the dangers of common herbs in overdose or incorrect usage.

Seek then, to be most precise and proper in the use of creeping ivy oil, belladonna, arlan, blackwither (not sold by reputable herbalists), rotflower (not sold by reputable herbalists), and so on.

 

Price List - medicinal herbs and herbal remedies.
Name	Uses	Granny's Price
Creeping Ivy Oil	Soothing oil for wounds	2 coroni
Wolfsbane	Supposedly repels wolves, and is good for coughs	10 coroni
Catnip	Attracts cats and repels perfumiers	3 coroni
Bearberry	Can be made into a sauce or wine	2 coroni
Alambas	Relieves burns	5 coroni
Arfandas	Helps broken bones to knit more quickly	50 coroni
Arlan	Is said to aid seasickness, and nausea in pregnancy	12 coroni
Awn	Anti-inflammatory (reduces aches in joints)	3 coroni
Basil	Said to draw out some poisons and reduces their damage; excellent in tomato-based dishes	12 coroni
Coberwort	Effective in the treatment of poison and venom bites.	12 coroni
Belladonna	Cures gout, tone-deafness, weariness, addiction to strong liquer, and general malaise - or so it is said. Also may aid brightness of eyes, but too much is dangerous	80 coroni
Calamint	Is said to cure madness, although the physician who claimed this died in a madhouse. May be useful in reducing the effects of battle fatigue	30 coroni
Cinquefoil	Often used as an aphrodisiac, but more successfully used as a taste enhancer of fine liquers	90 coroni
Coripilander	May be used in the treatment of blisters	5 coroni
Marigoldeye	Used as an aid against insomnia, and as a face mask to reduce freckling	25 coroni