Herbs During the Plague

Anyone else been thinking about the Plague recently? Back in the middle ages there weren’t many options for medicines other than what grew within walking distance of one’s community. Actually, that’s true for almost all of human history, so it’s no wonder that people turned to herbs during the Plague years.

Below are a couple of old sayings during Middle Ages era of Plague:

“Eat valerian and pimpernel And all of you will be well”

“ Take of sage, rue, briar leaves, elder leaves, of each a handful, stamp them and strain them with a quart of white wine, and put thereto a little ginger, and a good spoonful of the best treacle, and drink thereof morning and evening.”

It was common to wear garlic around the neck or to tie other bundles of herbs around different parts of the body such as wrists to keep oneself safe, and the Plague doctors themselves also implemented herbal armor. Those long beak-like masks famous from that era were actually constructed that way in order to house herbs in the ‘beak’ area. The herbs were either fresh, dried, or soaked in vinegar to make an extract, then placed in the tip of the beak so the doctors would breathe in the herbal air instead of the ‘bad air’ because at that time they thought the disease was transmitted through air instead of understanding there were particles involved. The herbs varied depending on the place, but some common herbs used were: juniper berries, mint leaves, myrrh, rose petals, camphor, cloves, and straw.

Another use of herbs from the Plague years which is still around today is in the formation of ‘thieves’ oil. Thieves oil has a great story to it, though whether it is more history or mythology is anyone’s guess. The story has several variations, but basically they all say something along the lines of this: During the Middle Ages there were four thieves in France who used to rob the graves (or the houses) of those who had died of the Plague and managed to not get ill themselves. When they were eventually caught, they were given a lighter punishment in return for telling how they did it. The four thieves admitted they used herbs (most likely soaked in vinegar at that time) to keep themselves from getting the disease. They knew how to do this because among them were perfumers and spice traders who understood the anti-biotic and anti-viral properties of their goods. Their blend has passed down to us through all these centuries, though the actual recipes vary depending on who’s making it. Usually the blends include: clove, lemon, eucalyptus, cinnamon and rosemary, and then different makers add in their own special favorites. This is almost always an essential oil blend now, instead of a vinegar extract, and it can be found under names such as Thieves oil, Four Thieves, Bandits oil, Medieval oil, etc, and of course you can make your own. Just use a mix of antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal essential oils to make a powerful anti-germ blend and add it to a carrier to wear as perfume or diffuse it in the air with a diffuser.

Vinegar extracts aren’t nearly as common as they used to be, but one recipe has endured for a long time, though no one knows exactly when it began. This actually just came up in a court case because one company wanted to trademark the name ‘Fire Cider’ but other herbalists and companies resisted that since fire cider is a long time folk recipe that many believed should not and could not be owned by one company. The courts agreed and the trademark was thrown out so anyone can make fire cider and call it such. Fire cider is an herbal combination that boosts immunity, especially during the winter months, and seems to be more common in the Northeast of the U.S. than anywhere else from what I’ve observed, though I could be wrong about that. Beloved herbal elder, Rosemary Gladstar was one of the main people leading the fight to keep fire cider out of trademark territory, and she’s one of the first to pen a recipe that has been widely copied. Here is her version and you can watch her make it and follow along here:

Just to be clear, fire cider is not a recipe originating from the Plague era, but it is a vinegar based recipe which is how most herbal medicines were prepared back then, which is why I’m sharing it on this post. Also, don’t worry about exactness with this recipe, as it’s a folk recipe that has many variations so yours will be just fine.

Stay safe and healthy and let me know if you make your own fire cider and how it turns out! Also comment with any herbs you are currently taking to keep healthy during this pandemic~ I’d love to hear!