“Artemisia. To make a child mery hange a bondell of mugwort or make smoke thereof under the chylde’s bedde for it taketh away annoy for hem.”
“Rosemary. For weyknesse of ye brayne. Agaynst weyknesse of the brayne and coldenesse thereof, sethe rosmarin in wyne and lete the pacyent receye the smoke at his nose and kepe his heed warme.”
“Southernwood. The fume of it expelleth all serpents out of the house and what so ever there abydeth dyeth.”
There are two delicious violet recipes for “Syrope of Vyolettes” and “oyle of vyolettes.”
“Syrope of vyolettes ī made in this maner—Sethe vyolettes in water and lete it lye all nyght in ye same water. Than poure and streyne out the water, and in the same put sugre and make your syrope.
“Oyle of vyolettes is made thus. Sethe vyolettes in oyle and streyne it. It will be oyle of vyolettes.”
It is in this herbal that we find the first avowal of disbelief in the supposed powers of the mandrake.
“There be two maners the male and the female, the female hath sharpe leves. Some say that it is better for medycyne than the male but we use of bothe. Some say that the male hath figure of shape of a man. And the female of a woman but that is fals. For Nature never gaue forme or shape of mākynde to an herbe. But it is of troughe that some hath shaped suche fygures by craft as we have fortyme herde say of labourers in the feldes.”
The Grete Herball ends thus—
“O ye worthy reders or practicyens to whome this noble volume is presēt. I beseche you take intellygence and beholde ye workes and operacyōs of almighty god which hath endewed his symple creature mankynde with the graces of ye holy goost to have parfyte knowlege and understandynge of the vertue of all manner of herbes and trees in this booke comprehendyed and everyche of them chaptred by hymselfe and in every chaptre dyuers clauses where is shewed dyuers maner of medycunes in one herbe comprehended whiche ought to be notyfyed and marked for the helth of man in whom is repended ye hevenly gyftes by the eternall Kynge to whom be laude and prayse everlastynge. Amen.”