Ethnobotany of Celtic Tradition

Keowulf 22

Two new additions to my bookshelf:

Medicinal Plants in Folk Tradition: An Ethnobotany of Britain and Ireland - David E. Allen and Gabrielle Hatfield

"Assembled by two of the most distinguished botanical and ethnological scholars in Britain, this book chronicles the medicinal uses of more than 400 species used by the plain folk of Britain and Ireland. The history of these plants’ usages has been mined from rich firsthand accounts captured by surveys, from more than 1000 manuscript volumes of the Irish Folklore Commission, and from close to 300 other published and unpublished sources. The book includes chosen illustrations from herbals such as those by Bock, Fuchs, and Brunfels, and a selection of color photographs by Deni Brown."


The Healing Power of Celtic Plants: Their History, Their Use, and the Scientific Evidence That They Work - Angela Paine


"Our knowledge of the Celts, who spread all over Europe a few thousand years ago, has been growing rapidly over the last few decades. One of the most fascinating aspects of their culture was their use of plant medicine. Angela Paine, who has degrees in plant chemistry from London University and has published extensively and internationally in scientific journals, provides here both a history of their use, a guide to using them today, and an account of their effectiveness in healing."