Rosemary

Rosemary has quite an interesting and varied history; from witches to fairies to weddings to burials - this plant seems to be truly a story full of legend and perhaps even a bit of fancy. Many of the historical references and legends surrounding rosemary have grown vague with time and the folklore of the origins of Hungary water has its own legends.
 
Like so many of the herbs discussed on our site, recorded history first mentions rosemary among the Ancients of Greece and Rome.
 
Pliny (23 - 79 AD), Dioscorides (contemporary of Pliny and author of De Materia Medica a work on the use and identification of medical herbs which was the basis of medical practice for the next 1400 years), and Galin all wrote of rosemary. It was cultivated by the Spanish in the 13th century and was a popular condiment with salt meats from the 15th to 18th centuries.
 

Rosemary & Weddings.

Rosemary was often entwined into a wreath worn by brides at the alter after being dipped in scented water. The wreath symbolized fidelity love, abiding friendship and remembrance of the life the woman had led prior to her marriage.
 
The crowns and garlands of rosemary at weddings led to the lays, or amorous ballads of the Troubadours (approx. 1100 - 1350) referring to rosemary as "Coronaria".
 
Anne of Cleves (1515 - 1557), Henry the Eighth's 4th wife, wore a rosemary wreath at their wedding. The affluent, at that time, would also present a gilded branch of rosemary to each wedding guest.
 
Robert Hacket, in a wedding sermon in 1607 said, "Let this Rosemarinus, this flower of men, ensigne of your wisdom, love and loyaltie, be carried not only in your hands, but in your heads and hearts." Herrick talks of rosemary's attachment to both beginning and end of adult life with,
 
Grow for two ends - it matters not at all
Be't for my bridall, or my buriall."
 

Rosemary, a cure for the common thief?

In the 14th Century, rosemary root was "seethed in wine vinegar" and the lotion was then used to wash the feet of a thief. This was done in the belief that he will no longer have the power or strength to commit robbery, steal or do any further harm once his feet had been so washed. To quote our original source for this bit of folklore, "How the potential or suspected thief is to be persuaded to wash his feet, the manuscript does not divulge."
 

Early Medical Uses

The Countess of Hainault, Jeanne of Valois (1294 - 1342), sent her daughter Queen Phillippa (1311 - 1369), wife of King Edward III of England (1312 - 1377), an accounting of the virtues of rosemary and it is presumed a number of plants or cuttings accompanied the gift. The original manuscript can be found in the British Museum. The Countess suggests that laying the leaves under the head of a man while he sleeps will "doth away evell sprirites and suffereth not the dreeme fowl dremes ne to be afearde."
 
Gerard, author of Herball or Historie of Plants(1597), a work that borrows its information liberally from Dr. Priest's earlier work Pemptades (1583), quoted the author Serapio (no specific references given) as suggesting that a garland of rosemary worn about the head as a remedy for the "stuffing of the head, that commeth through coldnes of the brain." He also mentions that rosemary grew so plentifully in Languedoc (a former province in south-eastern France) that "the inhabitants burne scarce anie other fuel."
 
Bancke, in his work Herball from 1525, suggests techniques to use rosemary as a rememdy for both gout of the legs and to keep the teeth from all evils. He also recommended that smelling rosemary regularly would "keep thee youngly."
 
Rosemary was also believed to offer protection from the plague and in 1603, when bubonic plague killed 38,000 Londoners, the demand was so high that the price increased from one shilling for an armful to six shillings for a handful. To put that price increase in perspective, one pricelist from 1625 indicated that one could obtain 18 gallons of good ale or double beer with carriage(delivery?) for only 3 shillings or an entire 'fat pig' for 1 shilling.
 

Early Folklore & Non-Medicinal Uses of Rosemary.

Mr. Folkard mentions that in Sicily, rosemary was a favored plant and that "the young fairies, under the guise of snakes, lie concealed under its branches." (Unfortunately, our source neither dated this reference nor provides information about who Mr. Folkard is and why he was worthy of inclusion in their work.)
 
Rosemary and thyme were used on St. Agnes' Eve, an evening and day that honors St. Agnes, the patron saint of virgins and young girls that are celebrated on January 20th and 21st. Wikipedia mentions some rituals practiced on St. Agnes' Eve were to aid young girls discover their future husbands, a superstition that was the main theme of John Keat's poem, The Eve of Saint Agnes.
 
A common saying of rosemary was, "Where rosemary flourishes the lady rules." According to the same folklore, a man seeking relief of his lady's rule would find no benefit from damaging or destroying a vigorous bush of rosemary.
 
Rosemary once had a reputation for strengthening the memory and was considered a symbol fo remembrance. Greek scholars were known to twine rosemary in their hair when studying for exams in the hope of aiding their memories. According to one old ballad:
 
 
"Rosemary is for remembrance
Between us day and night,
Wishing that I may always have
You present in my sight."
 
  Parkinson (1567-1650), the King's Botanist to Charles I, mentions that in countries where rosemary is well-suited and grows to a large size that thin boards of rosemary were used to make lutes and other instruments, carpenters rules, and a myriad of other implements. The French believed that combing their hair once a day with a rosemary wood comb would prevent giddiness. Uncrupulous merchants however, would often use other woods and simply scent them with rosemary oil.
 
Shakespeare (1564 - 1616) has Ophelia in Hamlet say, "There's rosemary, that's for remembrance. Pray you, love, remember!" He also mentions how the English once placed rosemary in coffins and around graves in Romeo and Juliet when Father Lawrence says,
 
"Dry up your tears, and stick your Rosemary
On this fair corse."
  There was a bit of disagreement within our sources as to the reason rosemary was often placed with corpses at burial. Most linked its usage to being a plant associated with remembrance. One source, Herbal Simples Approved for Modern Uses of Cure, believed the custom stemmed from a much more practical application. It was thought that the smelling of rosemary provided a powerful "defence against any morbid effluvia from the corpse." In other words, rosemary was used by mourners to provide relief from the odor of decomposition.
 
With perhaps some reference to fidelity and his lack thereof, one reference to the use of rosemary at burial is that of a soldier shot for mutiny in 1649. His body was adorned with branches of rosemary but half of each branch had been stained with blood.
 
One of the many Queen Elizabeth's from history (no usable reference was given) was fond of mead and her own recipe for the drink included the leaves of sweet briar, with rosemary, cloves and mace.
 
French hospitals, at one time, burned Juniper berries with rosemary to correct vitiated or poor quality air and to prevent infection. Additionally, in the French language of flowers, rosemary represents the power of rekindling lost energy.
 
Rosemary was once used to create Essence of Mustard which also included spirits of turpentine and black mustard seed. The resulting oil was not prone to going rancid and was used by clockmakers and for other "instruments of precision."
 
In Spain, rosemary was used as a protection against witchcraft and menaces on the road. George Borrow mentioned how he came to learn about this superstition in his work The Bible in Spain (1843). He first mentions meeting a traveler who had adorned his hat with rosemary and later mentions a lady, who was concerned for Borrow's own safety, who offered him some for his own hat. He further relates a series of misfortunes on his journey and ponders informing the lady of his first-hand knowledge of the failure of the protective abilities of rosemary.
 
An old Spanish proverb says of rosemary that men who are indifferent to the scent of rosemary are likely to be insensitive about other pleasures,
 
...Who passeth by the rosemarie
And careth not to take a spraye
For woman's love no care has he,
Nor shall he though he live for aye...
 

 

Hungary Water.

Hungary water (_l'eau de la reine d'Hongrie_) was something when I first started writing about the history of rosemary that seemed quite an easy legend to share. However, when I tried to determine which Queen Elizabeth is the primary focus of this legend on Wikipedia, I was surprised to find, that while history retains the legend, the lady it surrounds appears to be lost to history. Comparing dates of when distillation was first used, the reigns of various Queen Elizabeths associated with Hungary, Elizabeths who were not actually queens, and simple timelines unfortunately eliminated virtually everyone from meeting the legend's details. Even the legend itself appears to have several versions including the source of the original recipe thought to be given to the Queen by a hermit, a monk-recluse or a court alchemist (who could have also been a monk). I suppose, if one stretched things a bit, a monk-recluse could live as a hermit and still be the official court alchemist?
 
Our other references also appear to have a disagreement as to why Hungary water was provided to the Queen along with the recipe or formula. Most said the original request by the Queen was for a tonic to aid her gout and restore her youthful vigor. Wikipedia, on the other hand, focusses on its historical value of being the first European alcohol-based perfume and only mentions its medicinal properties at the end of the article.
 
Along with the details of the lady of the legend, the date of origin also appears lost to history, though most of our references place it somewhere in the 1300s. However, some of the potential queens discussed on Wikipedia could place the origin as far back as the early to late 1200s or as late as the mid-1600s. One of our sources mentions that the formula for Hungary water, written by Queen Elizabeth's own hand in golden letters can be found in the Imperial Library at Vienna. (I'll leave it to someone else to explore the library and further research this document.) But, with so many monarchs named Elizabeth, this too may not be the Elizabeth associated with the legend and simply be a later monarch of the same name who enjoyed Hungary water.
 
There's also the mysterious Queen Elizabeth who enjoyed mead flavored with rosemary who may or may not be the same person.
 
Hungary water, regardless of it's origins, remained the most popular fragrance and remedy in the world until eau de Cologne appeared in the 18th century. (At least according to the author of the Wikipedia article.)
 

 

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