Lesson One - History Of Herbs
Lesson One covers the history of herbs. While my intention was to do an extensive amount of research and post my essay here, I felt that the Extra Credit essay that Amethyst Lavender (First Year, Gryffindor) did when Prof. Angelus ran this class and is much better than anything I could have come up with at the drop of a hat. With that said, below is her essay on the history of herbs:
By: Amethyst Lavender
Herbs are the oldest cultivated garden plants in the world. Ancient records show that the Sumerians of 5000 years ago used certain herbs for medicinal purposes. A 2500-year-old Chinese herb book lists over 300 medicinal plants. Ancient Egyptians used herbs in burials. The civilizations of ancient India, Greece and Rome used herbs for cooking, fragrance and healing.
The uses of herbs continued into the Middle Ages of England. The best known writings about herbs in English date back to the 1600's, and mixed the uses of herbs, folklore, medicine, astrology, and magic. If an herb looked similar to any part of the human body, it was considered to have medicinal value for that part of the body.
The first English colonists coming to America brought their favorite herb seeds and roots with them. Native Americans also shared herbal medicines with the colonists. Immigrants from other countries to America brought their own folk medicines and herbs, as well.
In the 1800s, the Shakers were one of the first to develop commercial herb farms. Modern medicines have largely replaced the herbal remedies of folklore in Western society today. That's not to say that some sources for modern drugs are not still actually from various herbs. Some of the best known are foxglove (a heart stimulant) and valerian (tranquilizers).
A lot of the herbs used in history for healing harmed their patients instead of helping them. That can hold true for those same herbs today. If you ingest certain herbs, especially in large amounts, they can cause serious problems and/or death. One should be very careful, even using the safer herbs. The history of herbs is a fascinating subject. Most books on herbs have a chapter on their history. They also have descriptions of each herb and whether that herb has any historic and/or current medicinal qualities associated with it.