ASE’s Medieval Garden | 3 | Weeds and Foraging

Introduction

Ah, weeds. A weed is a plant that is growing where it is not wanted and is competition to cultivated plants. The plants in this category are usually very prolific, fast growing, and often have invasive properties. There are many such plants growing in our Medieval Garden!

Although we call these “weeds” in modern horticulture, many are edible, or are useful pollinators supporting the cultivated plants. Medieval writers often mention weeds, especially in medical recipes, possibly because of the ease of getting these ingredients.

In the modern world, plants deemed as weeds can be found on road sides, footpaths and even in carparks, as well as (sigh) in our gardens and allotments. For this blog post, we are going to look at four different common weeds and look at how they were used and found in medieval contexts - and make sure you watch this week's video to learn about weed taxa found near the ruins of Barking Abbey.

And although some of these plants may be edible, please don’t go around eating weeds unless you’re absolutely sure what you’re doing!

Cow Parsley

A very common sight by the side of road with its waves of white flowers, Cow Parsley, also known as wild chervil and Queen Anne’s lace, is a surprising weed. It is a member of the carrot family, and all parts of it are edible, tasting slightly like aniseed. Cow Parsley is found archaeologically in medieval contexts at both Barking Abbey and from Viking Coppergate (Kenward and Hall 1995). It also makes an appearance in Leechbook III in a cure for cancer (Cockayne 1865).

Groundsel

Groundsel or “old man in spring” is an annual weed. Its name comes from the Latin recorded by Pliny the Elder (see external links). The flower heads are small white and wispy and are transmitted by being blown in the breeze or catching on clothing or animal fur.

Unlike many plants on this list, Groundsel is poisonous to humans. Nevertheless, it is found in the medicinal writings in the Old English Herbarium (Cotton MS Vitellius C III) in a recipe for relieving gout.

Þiþ fot adle genim þar ilcan wyrte cunca mid nysle lege to þam fotum hyt gehþegaþ a ran.

---For gout, take the same wort (plant), point it with lard, lay it to the feet, alleviates the disorder.

As Groundsel is not ingested in this recipe, we can hope that no one fell foul of this poisonous weed!

Fat Hen

Fat Hen, goosefoot or wild spinach is an annual weed and is very invasive. It is very commonly seen along road sides especially in north Essex at the moment! Fat Hen is used in some places in the world as a vegetable crop or for animal feed. The seeds look a lot like couscous.

Fat Hen has been found archaeologically in medieval sites including Barking Abbey and the Southampton Docks (Birbeck 2005), as well as in the excavations in Coppergate in York (Kenward and Hall 1995).

Nettles

This category includes both the dead nettle types with purple and white flowers and well as the nasty green leaved stinging types. Nettles are probably the most invasive weed commonly seen. They are however very interesting, nutritious plants. They are edible, rich in vitamins A and C, iron, potassium, manganese, and calcium. Nettles have been used in soups and teas for centuries and have even been used to make beer!

The archaeological remains of nettles were found at Barking Abbey in medieval contexts and are also found in writings from the early medieval period. The old English word for nettle is “netle” and its use as an ingredient appears across Bald’s Leechbook, Leechbook III and the Lacnunga. In the Lacnunga, nettles are deemed herbs by their presence in the Nine Herb Charm which has suspected Viking influence due to its invoking of Woden within the charm. In Bald’s Leechbook nettles are used in cures for dog bites, headaches, and in a supposed cure for small pox.

Conclusion

As a gardener weeds are the bane of my allotment. They grow faster and larger than the plants I actually want to grow. But in the past were these plants seen as problems to be “weeded” out?

Evidence from a manuscript, dating from the 11th century, MS Corpus Christi College 383, seems to indicate that there was some weeding and keeping cultivated land clear of unwanted plants (Poole 1989). The Old English text within this manuscript, ‘be gesceadwisan gerefan’, lists these tools for clearing the ground for plants:

“He shall [have] many tools to cultivate the farm, have many implements for the household: Axe, adze, pruning knife, chisel, awl, plane, saw, spoke shave, forked shovel… auger, mattock, pry bar, shear, coulter, and also goad, scythe, sickle, weed hook, spade, shovel…”

This is quite a list of tools, which to the modern gardener will surely seem familiar!

Many modern views of gardens and gardening don’t allow for weeds to be part of the growing experience. This is why initiatives such as re-wilding and wild flower meadows are introducing less regimented ways of gardening. These plants that are seen as “weeds” are great pollinators, provide cover for insects and in some cases sources of extra food. By looking at the evidence archaeologically and in the written sources it is also brilliant to see that these plants were grown (however accidentally!) and used during the medieval period.

If you have been inspired by the common weeds that are mentioned in this blog post, next time you are out see if you can spot some! And maybe don’t be so worried if your own patches are weedy – you’re helping future archaeobotanists!

References

Birbeck, V, 2005 The Origins of Mid Saxon Southampton: Excavations at the Friends Provident St Mary’s Stadium 1998-2000. Wessex Archaeology.

Cockayne, O, 1865 Leechdoms, Wortcunning and Starcraft or Early England vol ii.

Kenward, H, and Hall, A, 1995, Biological Evidence from 16-22 Coppergate. York Archaeological Trust.

Poole, R G, 1989 The Textile Inventory in the Old English Gerefa. The Review of English Studies, vol. 40, no. 160, Oxford University Press. pp. 469–78.

External Links

Pliny’s Natural History: http://www.attalus.org/info/pliny_hn.html
Bald’s Leechbook http://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/Viewer.aspx?ref=royal_ms_12_d_xvii_fs001ar
The Lacnunga http://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/Viewer.aspx?ref=harley_ms_585_f001r
The Old English Herbal http://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/Viewer.aspx?ref=cotton_ms_vitellius_c_iii_f011r
The RHS has a really good guide to common weeds: https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/Common-Weeds