The story of Nicholas Culpeper - legendary rebel, radical, Puritan, and author of the great "Herbal". Working in the underground world of religious sects, secret printing presses and unlicensed apothecary shops, Culpeper challenged the authority of the College of Physicians at the time it was reaching the very pinnacle of its power - and in the process helped spark the revolution that toppled a monarchy. This is the story of a medical rebel who took on the authorities and paid the price.

"Heal Thyself" is the first full biography of Nicholas Culpeper, a 17th century English pioneer of herbal medicine whose actions and beliefs revolutionized medicine and medical practice. 25 line illustrations.

Breverton's Complete Herbal is a modern reworking of Culpeper's classic reference guide, Culpeper's Complete Herbal. Arranged alphabetically, this book describes over 250 herbs and spices as well as feature entries on scented herb/medicinal gardens, the great herbalists and New World Herbs not included in Culpepper's original text. Each entry provides a description of the herb: its appearance and botanical features, a brief history of its uses in medicine, dyeing and cuisine to bizarre remedies and concoctions designed to get rid of all manner of real and imaginary ailments. As informative as it is entertaining, this incredibly diverse compendium contains just about everything you'll ever need to know about the properties and provenance of herbs and spices of the world. From amara dulcis to yarrow, all-heal to viper's bugloss, Breverton's Complete Herbal is a modern day treasury of over 250 herbs and their uses.

Description of Microcosm's Fall 2022 edition: For the last 350 years, since the reign of Elizabeth I, Nicholas Culpeper's encyclopedic compendium of the uses and properties of medicinal herbs has been unrivaled in completeness or charm. From Adder's Tongue to Yellow Loosestrife, each of the 316 herbs is described in detail, along with its "government and virtues," remedies and cautions—much of which has held up remarkably well through many advancements in scientific understanding. This new edition has been updated and annotated by Dr. J.J. Pursell, author of The Herbal Apothecary. Dr. Pursell has added modern scientific names, usage notes and contraindications, and a fascinating new introduction that frames Culpeper's remarkable life and work through a modern lens. This timely upgrade to a classic work retains the brilliance of the original while making its valuable information available to new generations of herbalists, house witches, students, and anyone who wants to know more about the plants growing in their backyard.

Drawing on the writings of Nicholas Culpeper, the 17th-century herbalist, apothecary and astrologer, this updated, accessible introduction celebrates the holistic medical traditions of the West, and places Culpeper in his appropriate context as one of the forebears of modern holistic medicine and a prophet of the NHS. An extensive new introduction to the work comments on the latest research and developments in the area. The book traces the development of the Western holistic medical tradition from its origins in the natural philosophy of Ancient Greece to the work of Culpeper himself. It describes and explains the relationship between the four elements, the four humours and the four constitutional types: sanguine, choleric, melancholic and phlegmatic, as well as explaining the functional relationships of organs and body systems. The book explores the interconnectedness of psyche (mind) and soma (body) and includes a section on herbal medicine and therapeutics with a study of 20 common herbs, dietary suggestions and uses for culinary herbs. It also provides accessible information on astrology and the importance of the horoscope for holistic patient assessment. The book looks at the holistic approach to the preservation of health and prevention of disease, with explanations of the various disease states, their humoral medical diagnosis and treatment. An authoritative insight into the expanding world of holistic medicine, this book is an indispensable resource for medical herbalists, students of herbal medicine and all those interested in Western holistic medicine and its origins.

Food historian Emma Kay tells the story of our centuries-old relationship with herbs. From herbalists of old to contemporary cooking, this book reveals the magical and medicinal properties of your favourite plants in colorful, compelling detail. At one time, every village in Britain had a herbalist. A History of Herbalism investigates the lives of women and men who used herbs to administer treatment and knew the benefit of each. Meet Dr Richard Shephard of Preston, who cultivated angelica on his estate in the eighteenth century for the sick and injured; or Nicholas Culpeper, a botanist who catalogued the pharmaceutical benefits of herbs for early literary society. But herbs were not only medicinal. Countless cultures and beliefs as far back as prehistoric times incorporated herbs into their practices: paganism, witchcraft, religion and even astrology. Take a walk through a medieval ‘physick’ garden, or Early Britain, and learn the ancient rituals to fend off evil powers, protect or bewitch or even attract a lover. The wake of modern medicine saw a shift away from herbal treatments, with rituals and spells shrouded with superstition as the years wore on. The author reveals how herbs became more culinary rather than medicinal including accounts of recent trends for herbal remedies as lockdown and the pandemic leads us to focus more on our health and wellbeing.

A lost classic of Western herbalism—rediscovered and restored with 200 full-color images. Herbalist to King Charles I, John Parkinson (1567–1650) was a master apothecary, herbalist, and gardener. Famous in his own lifetime for his influential books, his magnum opus, the Theatrum Botanicum, was published in 1640 and ran to 1,766 large pages. The sheer scope and size was perhaps to prove the book’s downfall, because while it was much revered—and plagiarized—it was never reprinted and, centuries later, has attained the status of an extremely rare and valuable book. Parkinson was writing at a time when Western herbalism was at its zenith, and his skills as a gardener (from his grounds in Covent Garden) combined perfectly with his passion for science, observation, and historical scholarship. In the The Herbalist’s Bible, Julie Bruton-Seal and Matthew Seal have beautifully combined selections from Parkinson’s book with their own modern commentary on how each plant is used today to create a truly one-of-a-kind, comprehensive collection of herbal information old and new. Parkinson’s clear and lively description of a chosen plant’s “vertues” or healing properties side-by-side with the editors’ notes—including copious herbal recipes—make this the perfect book for students and practitioners of herbalism, historians, and gardeners, all of whom will welcome this restoration of Parkinson’s lost classic.