“Melrosette is made thus. Take faire purified honye and new read rooses, the whyte endes of them clypped awaye, thā chop theym smal and put thē into the Hony and boyl thē menely together; to know whan it is boyled ynoughe, ye shal know it by the swete odour and the colour read. Fyve yeares he may be kept in his vertue; by the Roses he hath vertue of comfortinge and by the hony he hath vertu of clensinge.
“Syrope of Rooses is made thus. Some do take roses dyght as it is sayd and boyle them in water and in the water strayned thei put suger and make a sirope thereof; and some do make it better, for they put roses in a vessell, hauing a strayght mouthe, and they put to the roses hote water and thei let it stande a day and a night and of that water, putting to it suger, thei do make sirope, and some doe put more of Roses in the forsaid vessel and more of hote water, and let it stande as is beforesaide, and so they make a read water and make the rose syrope. And some do stāpe new Roses and then strayne out the joyce of it and suger therwyth, they make sirope: and this is the best making of sirope. In Wynter and in Somer it maye be geuen competently to feble sicke melācoly and colorike people.
“Sugar Roset is made thus—Take newe gathered roses and stāpe them righte smal with sugar, thā put in a glasse XXX. dayes, let it stande in ye sunne and stirre it wel, and medle it well together so it may be kept three yeares in his vertue. The quātitie of sugar and roses should be thus. In IIII. pound of sugar a pounde of roses.
“Oyle of roses is made thus. Some boyle roses in oyle and kepe it, some do fyll a glasse with roses and oyle and they boyle it in a caudron full of water and this oyle is good. Some stampe fresh roses with oyle and they put it in a vessel of glasse and set it in the sūne IIII. dais and this oyle is good.
“Rose water. Some do put rose water in a glass and they put roses with their dew therto and they make it to boile in water thā thei set it in the sune tyll it be readde and this water is beste.”
Under the same flower we find this fragrant example of the widespread mediæval belief in the efficacy of good smells:—
“Also drye roses put to ye nose to smell do cōforte the braine and the harte and quencheth sprite.”
The herbalists were never weary of teaching the value of sweet scents.[51] “If odours may worke satisfaction,” wrote Gerard in his Herball, “they are so soveraigne in plants and so comfortable that no confection of the apothecaries can equall their excellent vertue.” One of the most delicious “scent” prescriptions in Askham is to be found under Violet—“For thē that may not slepe for sickness seeth this herb in water and at euen let him soke well hys feete in the water to the ancles, whā he goeth to bed, bind of this herbe to his temples and he shall slepe wel by the grace of God.”
The most curious recipe is that under “woodbinde.” “Go to the roote of woodbinde and make a hole in the middes of the roote, than cover it well againe yt no ayre go out nor that no rayne go in, no water, nor earth nor the sune come not to much to it, let it stande so a night and a day, thā after that go to it and thou shalt fynde therein a certayne lycoure. Take out that lycoure with a spone and put it into a clean glas and do so every day as long as thou fyndest ought in the hole, and this must be done in the moneth of April or Maye, than anoynt the sore therwith against the fyre, thā wete a lynnen clothe in the same lycoure and lappe it about the sore and it shal be hole in shorte space on warrantyse by the Grace of God.”
Unlike the later Grete Herball, Askham gives some descriptions of the herbs themselves, notably in the case of alleluia (wood-sorrel), water crowfoot, and asterion.