The work opens with an extensive examination of Anglo-Saxon medical manuscripts, including the Leech Book of Bald and the Lacnunga. These texts reveal primitive medical beliefs involving the doctrine of the elf-shot, flying venom, and the worm as the ultimate source of disease. Elaborate ceremonies and charms required for picking and administering healing herbs are detailed, reflecting deep-rooted nature worship and pagan survivals blended with Christian rites.
The narrative progresses to later manuscript herbals and early printed books, focusing on Bartholomæus Anglicus and his famous work De Proprietatibus Rerum. The author analyses the influence of foreign herbalists, particularly William Turner, who is recognised as the father of English botany, and discusses the works of Dodoens, de l'Obel, and Gerard. Their contributions shaped the study of plants in Tudor England and established standard classifications for medical uses.
A significant portion is dedicated to the herbals of the New World, detailing the introduction of exotic remedies brought back by Spanish explorers and English colonists. Accounts of tobacco, sassafras, and mechoacan illustrate how native American healing practices influenced European medicine. Josselyn's observations on New England plant life provide rare historical records of early American gardening.
The volume concludes with a comprehensive study of John Parkinson, the last of the great English herbalists. Parkinson's Paradisus and Theatrum Botanicum are presented as the culmination of centuries of botanical knowledge. The text bridges the gap between medieval superstition and modern scientific inquiry, preserving the rich folklore associated with plants and their healing properties throughout history.
