Plant lore

Autumn blackberries

Angela PorterLeave a comment
Bramble28Aug12 © Angela Porter
Bramble © Angela Porter
5″ x 3″, pen and ink.

Plucking blackberries from hedgerows bursting with the deep purple-black fruits of the bramble are memories of childhood.

Taking care not to prick fingers on the thorns, or get clothing snagged and torn upon them either.  There were also the sticky burrs of goose-grass to avoid too.

It was all worth the hours of effort, however.  Blackberry and apple pie, blackberry crumble, bramble jelly, and the blackberry wine my father brewed (if he could steal any away).

Blackberries were frozen by the plastic gallon re-used ice-cream tub to be used for Sunday desserts through the winter months too.

All of these things created once the blackberries had been washed in salted water to bring out any maggots that had burrowed their way into the fruits.  If I caught sight of one single maggoty thing, I couldn’t eat any more of them, and eating them straight from the bramble was not an option for me.  It’s no wonder I’m a vegetarian!

A free harvest that I no longer take advantage of, but may manage to do so this year if I can pluck up the courage to go by myself in to the countryside to do this.

Yes, I do mean courage, as I’ve become a bit of a recluse once again, not going out into the world where there are other human beings to encounter me.  A long, personal story that is, but one I hope to change with time.  The gist is I’ve allowed myself to be hurt by other people over the past few years.  Things I was once involved with have gone by the by and I’ve not managed to replace these social activities with others.  Oh, I do go out.  I am involved in things, but the people I encounter are, generally, more acquaintances than anything else.  I still seek and search for a sense of belonging in this world.

Even as I think back to childhood blackberrying, I remember that I was often alone even though the rest of the family were there, all chatting and laughing and playing amongst themselves while I was generally excluded, unless it was to be the butt of someone’s joke.  Always funny for them…

Funny, the memories of blackberrying, and collecting bilberries, or whinberries as they are also called, are still ones of pleasure – the pleasure of the food produced as a result.  Bilberries are small, blueberries, native to Britain.

Folklore

There’s plenty of folklore surrounding the humble bramble and it’s fruits.

“Throughout much of Britain there was a widespread belief that blackberries should not be eaten after a certain date.” [Vickery]

This date may have be that of the first frost, as then they become the Devil’s fruit  and are not fit for humans to eat .

Michaelmas (29 September) or  Old Michaelmas (11 October)  relate to the biblical tale of  Lucifer being thrown out of heaven for his proud, covetous ways by Archangel Michael (Isaiah 14:12).  It is said that Lucifer landed in a bramble bush and cursed it, which is why people won’t eat blackberries after Michaelmas, saying variously that:

  • they have the Devil in them
  • the Devil peeps over the hedgerow and blasts them
  • so the Devil may have his share
  • the Devil spits on them

Hallowe’en (31 October) or All Saints’ Day (1st November) are also dates given as the cut off for blackberry consumption.  As well as the reasons given above, this date also relates to the following:

  • they have the witch in them
  • the witches have peed on them
  • on Hallowe’en the puca has crawled on the blackberries.

“From a scientific point of view, blackberries contain a high concentration of bitter tasting tannins which over time accumulate in the fruit. Old Michaelmas day falls late in the blackberry season making berries picked around this time very bitter. To make matters worse, as autumn arrives the weather becomes wetter meaning the fruit will contain more fungus spores. This will not improve the taste either.” [BBC Nature UK]

Brambles were sometimes planted, or placed, on graves, one belief being that they stopped the dead from walking.  Another reason is that they kept the sheep off the grave.

A superstition in Wales was “When thorns or brambles catch or cling to a girl’s dress, they say a lover is coming.” [Roud]

References:

BBC Nature UK, Nature folklore uncovered

Roud, Steve “The Penguin Guide to the Superstitions of Britain and Ireland”, Penguin Reference, 2003

Vickery, Roy “Oxford Dictionary of Plant-lore”, Oxford Paperbacks, Oxford University Press, 1995

Flowers, folklore and folk-medicine

Angela PorterLeave a comment

Our Fathers of Old

Excellent herbs had our fathers of old –
Excellent herbs to ease their pain –
Alexanders and Marigold,
Eyebright, Orris and Elecampane –
Basil, Rocket, Valerian, Rue
(Almost singing themselves they run)
Vervain, Dittany, Call-me-to-you –
Cowslip, Melilot, Rose of the Sun.
Anything green that grew out of the mould
Was an excellent herb to our fathers of old.

Wonderful tales had our fathers of old,
Wonderful tales of the herbs and the stars –
The Sun was Lord of the Marigold,
Basil and Rocket belonged to Mars.
Pat as a sum in a division it goes –
(Every herb had a planet bespoke) –
Who but Venus should govern the Rose?
Who but Jupiter own the Oak?
Simply and gravely the facts are told
In the wonderful books of our fathers of old.

Wonderful little, when all is said,
Wonderful little our fathers knew.
Half their remedies cured you dead –
Most of their teaching was quite untrue –
“Look at the stars when a patient is ill.
(Dirt has nothing to do with disease),
Bleed and blister as much as you will,
Blister and bleed him as oft as you please.”
Whence enormous and manifold
Errors were made by our fathers of old.

Yet when the sickness was sore in the land,
And neither planets nor herbs assuaged,
They took their lives in their lancet-hand
And, oh, what a wonderful war they waged!
Yes, when the crosses were chalked on the door –
(Yes, when the terrible dead-cart rolled!)
Excellent courage our fathers bore –
None too learned, but nobly bold
Into the fight went our fathers of old.

If it be certain, as Galen says –
And sage Hippocrates holds as much –
“That those afflicted by doubts and dismays
Are mightily helped by a dead man’s touch,”
Then, be good to us, stars above!
Then, be good to us, herbs below!
We are afflicted by what we can prove,
We are distracted by what we know
So-ah, so!
Down from your heaven or up from your mould
Send us the hearts of our Fathers of old!

Rudyard Kipling

Yes, there were some dreadful examples of medicine in days long ago, yet there were also many examples of folk-medicine that did work and that we use today.

For example research in biomedical Egyptology shows that many were effective and that some 67% of the cures recorded in various papyri complied with the 1973 Edition of the British Pharmaceutical Codex. They used honey, a natural antibiotic, to dress wounds and treat throat irritations, for instance, and aloe vera was used to treat blisters, burns, ulcers and skin diseases. They also used mouldy bread to treat infections; one of the moulds that grows on bread is penicillin!

There are many more examples of cures that worked and the active ingredients are used in modern medicine. Indeed, there is a branch of science called ethnobotany or ethnopharmacology that studies folk-medicines with the hope of finding new and active ingredients to treat the plethora of diseases still suffered by humanity.

Regardless of whether they worked or not, reading and researching about the uses of plants and other materials in folk medicine as well as the theories our fathers of old had about illness is something that I find fascinating, when I have the time to dig and delve into it. I find lots of interesting tales about where the names of plants come from, so I learn more about etymology, history, folklore, legend and myth. I get to look at photographs and illustrations of the plants used, so widening my knowledge and experience of art and so inspiring me to create my own. One day, the tales may even help to inspire me to do my own creative writing, maybe poetry, about all the wonderful lore that surrounds our most familiar plants, crystals, rocks, horseshoes, and so on.

Mistletoe and Ivy

Angela PorterLeave a comment

Well, as I’d done some notes about holly previously I thought it would be a good idea to complete the trio of plants most associated with Yuletide/Christmas/Winter festivities.

Mistletoe (Viscum album)

Early antiquaries thought all types of Christmas foliage came from that used by the Romans at Saturnalia, which was a festival that originated in Greece.  However, once mistletoe became especially popular, the more picturesque theory of Druidic origin gained ground.  Pliny the Elder (AD 23-79) recorded the following about mistletoe:

The Druids hold nothing more sacred than mistletoe and a tree on which it is growing, provided it is Valonia oak … Mistletoe is, however, rather seldom found on Valonia oak, and when it is discovered it is gathered with great ceremony, and particularly on the sixth day of the Moon (for which these [Gallic] trips constitutes the beginning of the months and years) … Hailing the Moon in a native word that means ‘healing all things’, they prepare a ritual sacrifice and banquet beneath a tree and bring up two white bulls, whose horns are bound for the first time on this occasion.  A priest arrayed in white vestments climbs the tree and with a golden sickle cuts down the mistletoe, which is caught in a white cloak.  Then finally they kill the victims, praying to God to render his gift propitious to those on whom he has bestowed it.  They believe that mistletoe given in drink will impart fertility to any animal that is barren, and that it is an antidote for all poisons.

Steve Roud in ‘Oxford Dictionary of Plant-lore’ comments that ‘largely as a result of this passage, more nonsense has been written about mistletoe than any other British plant’.  It is responsible for more disinformation in British folklore than almost any other.   Whatever its merits in itself, it has been repeated over and over and has been used for many flights of fancy about Druids and the ancient origins of our customs and beliefs.

Because of its Druid and pagan associations, mistletoe is traditionally banned from churches, according to the very influential John Brand in 1849.  However, recent research has shown he was wrong, at least for some regions such as Staffordshire where churchwardens’ accounts record repeated purchases of mistletoe.  In 1648 is first listed among the many evergreens decking churches and homes at Christmas by Herrick in Hesperides, no 893.   From the Middle Ages on, the use of holly and ivy in this way has been well recorded.

Mistletoe became important in the late 18th century as part, and soon to be the most valued part, of the elaborate kissing boughs/bushes that were hung up in farmhouses and kitchens, of which kissing under the mistletoe was first recorded in 1813.  There were rules as to when it must be taken down, which varied regionally.  Why mistletoe was included was never recorded, and why kissing beneath it became popular is never fully explained, though it is commonly attributed to it being a Druidic/pagan fertility plant.  This has been stated again and again that it has become ‘The Truth’ as opposed to ‘the truth’.

‘Pliny was writing about the Gauls, not the Brits.  We do now know where or from whom he got his information about the Druids.  Classical authors, however reliable they may be in other respects, are at their most unreliable when describing foreign people, their lands and their beliefs.  There is no hint anywhere else to support Pliny’s report.  There is no other mention of the sacred nature of mistletoe in Britain until antiquarians began reading and believing Pliny’s report some 1500 years later.  Even if Pliny’s report was accurate, there is no evidence that the practice was continued into historical times or had any influence on later lore.  Modern mistletoe beliefs are reported almost exclusively from England, and not the Celtic areas where was are told the Druidic traditions continue to have resonance.’ (4)

Nordic Mistletoe Myths

There may be a link to ancient Nordic myths too.  Mistletoe, apparently, was the plant of peace in Scandinavian countries and if enemies met beneath it, they would lay their arms down and keep a truce until the next day.  Perhaps it was this ancient Norse custom that led to the one of kissing beneath the mistletoe?

This tradition, however, went hand in hand with the story of  the death and resurrection of Baldur, one of the most intriguing of the Norse myths, and perhaps it is this that is the start of the tradition of mistletoe as a ‘kissing plant’.

Baldur’s mother was the Norse goddess, Frigga. When Baldur was born, Frigga made each and every plant, animal and inanimate object promise not to harm Baldur.  However, Frigga overlooked the mistletoe plant — and the mischievous god of the Norse myths, Loki, took advantage of this.  Always the prankster, Loki tricked one of the other gods into killing Baldur with a spear made from mistletoe.  This god was Hoder, who was Baldur’s blind brother.  Loki guided Hoder’s hand, and Baldur’s heart was pierced by the spear.  The death of Baldur, a vegetation deity in the Norse myths, brought winter to the world, although the gods did eventually restore Baldur to life, but not before Frigga’s tears had become the white berries of the mistletoe.   After this, Frigga pronounced the mistletoe sacred, ordering that from now on it should bring love rather than death into the world.  Happily complying with Frigga’s wishes, any two people passing under the plant from now on would celebrate Baldur’s resurrection by kissing under the mistletoe.Mistletoe etymology

While the romantic traditions woven around mistletoe give us a feeling that the plant is all dreamy and lovey-dovey, it’s interesting to ponder the etymology of ‘mistletoe’.  The second century Anglo-Saxon name for it was misteltan, with  mistel meaning dung and tan meaning twig.  It was believed at that time that the plant grew directly from the birds’ dung rather than the seed that passed through its digestive system.

Kissing and love

  • When a kiss is exchanged beneath the mistletoe, a berry should be removed.  Once all the berries have gone, no more kissing that year!
  • If an unmarried woman is not kissed beneath the mistletoe, she will not marry in the coming year.
  • If a couple in love kiss under the mistletoe, it is considered a promise to marry.

After Christmas is over …

  • Mistletoe should always be kept until the Christmas following.  It is believed around the Chudleigh district that it will stop the house from being struck by lightning.  At Ottery they say it will ensure that the house will never be without bread.
  • A piece of mistletoe must be kept to be burned under the Shrove Tuesday pancakes.
  • A piece of mistletoe must be kept from one year to the next because while mistletoe stays in the house love also stays.
  • A sprig kept hanging on the beam until next Christmas will keep the witches out/keep evil spirits way/goblins away.

My own mistletoe tradition

I must admit that I keep a bunch of mistletoe hanging in my front room at home.  I change it, usually, on the Winter Solstice, burning the old out doors.  I use a blowtorch to set fire to the old bunch and it burns fantastically well!  I make sure I stand upwind of the fumes too.

Why do I do this?  Well, it’s become a tradition for me at this time of year.  It symbolises the protection around my home that exists to keep bad away – maybe not ghosties and ghoulies and things that go bump in the night, but to keep people of ill intent out, to neutralise any ill intent sent my way, to create an environment of peace and harmony and love.  It seems to work … perhaps simply because it is a physical symbol of my intent to have such an environment around me, a safe environment to retire to when the world outside is just too much to cope with and I need quiet time to rest and recuperate.  Burning the old symbolises letting go of the past years’ troubles and worries and upsets and so on, and the fire purifies the darker elements that the mistletoe has symbolically soaked up, returning them to the light.

Whether you believe it or not, it works for me!

Ivy (Hedera helix)

Considered by some to be unlucky to have in the house at any time other than Christmas.

Ivy leaves formed the poets crown in ancient times, as well as the wreath of Bacchus, to whom the plant was dedicated most probably because leaves of ivy were bound around the forehead to prevent intoxication.

    Greek priests presented a wreath of ivy to newly-weds as a symbol of fidelity.

      English taverns used to display a sign of an ivy bush over their doors to advertise the excellence of the liquor served within – ‘Good wine needs no bush’.

        References

        1. Steve Roud, ‘Oxford Dictionary of Plant-lore’
        2. Jacqueline Simpson and Steve Roud, ‘ A Dictionary of English Folklore’
        3. Ronald Hutton ‘The Stations of the Sun’
        4. Steve Roud, ‘Penguin Guide to the Superstitions of Britain and Ireland’
        5. The Mistletoe Pages
        6. Norse Myths and Mistletoe at About.com
        7. The Truth vs. the truth – an old Wyrdsmithing blog engry
        8. BBC’s h2g2 website

        Holly

        Angela PorterLeave a comment

        English Holly (Ilex aquifolium)

        Holly © Angela Porter 19 Dec 2010

        Etymology

        The word holly comes from the Old English ‘holegn‘ which became the Middle English ‘holin‘, which Tolkien fans will recognise – Hollin was the name among men for the land of Elves that thrived to the west of the Mines of Moria, known as Eregion, and it was famous for its holly trees.

        In Welsh holly is called celyn.  In Terry Pratchett’s ‘Soul Music’, Imp Y Celyn is the lead singer of The Band With Rocks In

        Folk names for holly hulver bush, holm, hulm, holme chase, holy tree and Christ’s thorn.

        Holly decorations

        Holly is one of the most striking objects in the winter woodland with its glossy leaves and clusters of brilliant scarlet berries. It is very much connected with Christmas in many Western cultures. From very early days, it was gathered in great quantities for Yuletide decorations, both of the church and the home. The old Christmas Carols are full of references to holly.

        Christmas decorations are said to derive from a Roman custom that involved sending gifts to their friends during the festival of Saturnalia which occurred in mid-December. Strenae, twigs of holly or laurel with sweets fastened to them, were a popular gift. Boughs of holly and other evergreens were also used as decorations. Evergreens are symbolic, of course, of enduring and renewed life as well as a way to encourage the return of vegetation at the end of Winter.

        The Christians were quick to adopt holly for their own celebrations, with the holly representing the crown of thorns that Jesus wore, the berries symbolising drops of blood. A medieval legend asserts that the holly sprang up from the places where Christ walked, hence the name Christ’s Thorn.

        Old church calendars have Christmas Eve marked ‘templa exornantur‘ (churches are decked), and the custom is as deeply rooted in modern times, whether you celebrate Christmas, Yule, the Unconquered Sun, or the return of the light, as it was in either pagan or early Christian days.

        Childhood memories of ‘trimming up’.

        As a small child, I can remember going to bed on Christmas Eve to an ordinary home.  Generally, we were in bed early –  6pm on a school night, 7pm any other night.  On Christmas Eve, my parents used to keep us up until gone 7pm just to try to get us all to sleep through the night – I am one of six children, the second oldest.  I’d be blamed for everything, including the indecently early hour of waking on Christmas morning.  We’d make our way downstairs, bags of gifts in hand, and we’d be amazed!  The stairwell was lit by twinkling fairy lights.  The front room was sparkly with shimmering tinsel, metallic versions of fancy paper-chains, and the lights, baubles, lametta and tinsel on the tree.

        As a child this was magic!  It was, in many ways, the best part of the day.  We were always told that the the fairies that lived in the central heating did the work of decorating, but as we grew up, we took our places to help the ‘rents decorate, as well as taking part in the toast at 10pm to members of the family past and present.  Even when we were all young adults, the house was never decorated before Christmas Eve, and even when we all had moved away to our own homes we still returned on Christmas Eve to decorate for the ‘rents.  I still believe the rest of the family do so now.

        Holly superstitions

        It is said to be unlucky to cut a branch from a holly tree; it should be pulled off instead.

        Old stories advise people to take holly into their homes to act as a shelter for elves and fairies who could join mortals at this time without causing them harm. However, it must be entirely removed before Imbolc Eve (31st January) as just one leaf left within the house would result in bad luck.

        In Somerset, it was considered unlucky for holly to be brought into the house before Christmas Eve, and then only brought in by a man.

        In Herefordshire and Worcestershire, a small piece of holly which had adorned a church at Christmas time was regarded as very lucky to hang up in your home, even though the domestic decorations had to be burned as usual.

        Pliny tells us that if holly is planted near a house or a farm it would repel poison, deflect lighting and protect from witchcraft.

        Pythagoras noted that the flowers would cause water to freeze and if the wood, if thrown at any animal, would cause the animal to return and lie down by the wood, even if the wood did not touch the animal.

        A good crop of berries on holly is still said to be a sign that a hard winter is on the way.

        Holly uses

        Holly wood is heavy, hard and white-ish and it was used for the white chess pieces, ebony being used for the black.

        In the 1800s, weaving looms had holly wood spinning rods; holly was less likely to snag the threads being woven as it is a very dense wood and can be sanded very smooth.

        Peter Carl Faberge used holly cases for his famous Easter Eggs, as well as small objects such as hand seals.

        Holly is also used for veneering.

        1. www.wikipedia.com
        2. www.botanical.com
        3. homepage.ntlworld.com/blackbirdhollins/articles/Holly%20tree.htm
        4. “English Folklore” J Simpson and S Roud

        Michaelmas

        Angela PorterLeave a comment

        Hiring, firing and pack rag days

        Today is the feast of St Michael the Archangel.  It is one of the four Quarter Days, important times in legal and economic matters from at least medieval times to the late C19th.  Today was a day for the payment of rents and the beginning or ending of hiring engagements.  As these contracts came to an end, many local families were busy packing their belongings and moving home on this day, and it became known as ‘Pack Rag Day’.  Also, local courts were often held on this day.

        Michaelmas Roast Goose

        It was also a day for feasting, traditionally on goose.  The goose had been fattened on the stubble fields.  Sometimes, these geese were presented by the tenant farmers to their landlords.  It was said that ‘if you eat goose on Michaelmas Day you will never lack money all year.

        Blackberries

        Blackberries were bad, or even poisonous, after this date.  The exact date varies from Michaelmas to the 10th or 11th October, depending on the area.  The latter dates equate to the 29th September before the change in calendar in 1752.

        The reason for the blackberries’ sudden decline was that the Devil interfered with them in some way on this date – putting his foot on them, wiping his tail or club on them, spitting on them, urinating or defecating upon them.

        Election of the Lord Mayor of London

        The Lord Mayor of London is the head of the Corporation of London, the authority that governs the City of London.  This is not to be confused with the Mayor of London, a post created in 2000 for the head of the Greater London Authority.  The Lord Mayor of London is a position that dates from around the year 1192.

        The Lord Mayor is elected on 29 September, presents himself to the Lord Chancellor at the House of Lords in October for royal approval, and finally takes office on the second Friday in November.

        The Lord Mayor is still an extremely important person in the nation, and in many situations is second only in precedence to the monarch.  As well as all the ceremonial duties, the Lord Mayor chairs the Court of Aldermen and the Court of Common Council and serves as Admiral of the Port of London, Chief Magistrate of the City and Chancellor of the City University.

        1. Steve Roud – The English Year
        2. Jacqueline Simpson and Steve Roud – A Dictionary of English Folklore

        Memories and sloes

        Angela PorterLeave a comment

        Memories

        I’ve mentioned this before, but memories of my father include his wine making and beer brewing hobby.  Most of what he created, to my taste buds, was vile, but others seemed to relish it.  The only brew of his I liked was a raspberry wine that still tasted of raspberries and was quite sweet.  He’d spend hours and hours in his wine-shed (literally a concrete block/brick shed that was attached to the house) filtering and bottling and labelling.  And tasting it.  Never forget the tasting it.  He’d often spend much of the day tiddly from it!

        Tea would be delivered to the shed door, empty mugs whisked away.  Scottish bagpipe or marching military band music would ooze out of the door, alerting everyone to what he was up to.  Occasionally, the music would stop and he would come out to declare he was feeling woozy.  We’d feed him some sugary snack suitable for a diabetic and then feed him properly, he’d recover and off he’d go back to his brewing.  You couldn’t get him to stop and eat when he was in the middle of something, nor would he eat any food delivered to him.

        He had a brewing passion for years, and before it consumed his waking moments he would spend his days working on fixing and welding cars.  Tea would be left on the wall, empty mugs removed.  We often said he’d pass away while under a car and the only way anyone would notice was that un-drunk mugs of tea would line up on the wall.  As it was, he passed away in hospital from Alzheimers’, cancer, arthritis, diabetes and high blood pressure.  And that is an entirely different story.  And there are many tales of my father and his blinkered missions to do things or collect things from nature or his DIY diasasters.  He meant well, though he was very proud and couldn’t be told there was trouble ahead if he carried on doing what he was doing.

        Perhaps I’ll relate tales and memories of my father in this blog.

        Sloe, fruit of the Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa)

        Sloe comes from the Old English slāh. It is the fruit of the blackthorn or sloe tree that has a pale-blue waxy bloom on its surface.  Sloes ripen in the Autumn and, in Britain, are traditionally collected after the first frosts in October or November.  The fruit is used to make jams and preserves, and they are used to make sloe ‘gin’ – a liqueur made by infusing sloes and sugar in gin, vodka or neutral spirits.

        Straight blackthorn stems have traditionally been made into walking sticks.  Shillelaghs, blackthorn sticks, were favoured as weapons in faction fights in C19th. Ireland.  Commissioned officers of the Irish regiments of the British Army carry blackthorn sticks.

        Blackthorn is generally considered unlucky to bring indoors, and in some areas of Britain it meant a death would follow.

        The flowering of blackthorn is said to coincide with a spell of cold weather.  In areas it was considered wise to plant no tender plants outside until the blackthorn has finished flowering.   The best time for sowing barley was when the blackthorn flowered.  Two country rhymes follow, the first from North-East England and South-East Scotland, the second from Gloucestershire.

        When the slae tree is white as a sheet
        Sow your barley, wither it be dry or wet.

        When the blckthorn blossom’s white
        Sow your barley day and night.

        In Sandwich, Kent, each incoming Town Mayor is present with a blackthorn stick.

        In Herefordshire and Worcestershire, a wreath or globe of Blackthorn twigs would be scorched on a fire on New Year’s morning and then burned in a wheatfield in the furrows and its ashes scattered over the wheat. Then a new globe or wreath would be made and hung in the farmhouse kitchen ready for next year. It was believed that this ritual would rid the field of the devil. In a similar vein, Blackthorn would be scorched and hung up with mistletoe for good luck.

        1. Roy Vickery – Dictionary of Plant-Lore
        2. The English Cottage Garden Nursery

        Apples and Brambles

        Angela Porter6 Comments

        I’ve chosen apples and brambles for today’s blog as they always seem to go together.  I noticed the blackberries on the brambles ripening during my jolly around the Valley Lines last week.  I’ve not been blackberrying in years and years, most probably not since I was a child.  I remember the abundance of blackberry pies, blackberry and apple crumbles, blackberry jam, apple jelly and frozen blackberries in our home.  With six children, there were plenty of us to gather them!  There were also the trips to collect whinberries (blueberries), as well as visits to ‘pick your own’ farms to harvest strawberries, raspberries and loganberries.

        In later years, it would be my father who collected crab apples and blackberries to make his wines – along with sloes and young nettle leaves, young oak shoots, rosehips, rose petals, dandelions, and anything else he could brew.  I never appreciated his brews – all except the raspberry wine he made one year which was sweet and still tasted of the fruit – though others thought they were wonderful.  I do remember spending long hours writing out labels for his wine; I’ve always had nice handwriting and dabbled with calligraphy in the past too.  Now that’s something I’d forgotten about.

        A few years ago a friend suggested, quite strongly, that I should collect sloes and make sloe gin, as well as to harvest the fruits of nature.  Well, I’ve not done so yet…

        There are many recipes on tinternet and in books for blackberries, apples and so on, so I’ll not repost them.  Mind you, I could say the same about superstitions, myths, herbalism and the like, but I’m pulling together information for myself from many diverse sources, perhaps for future reference or just because I’m interested in it in the here and now, I don’t know.

        Crab Apple (Pyrus malus)

        (c)Angela Porter 1 Sept 2010The crab apple tree is native to Britain and is the wild ancestor of all the cultivated varieties of apple trees.  Apples of some sort were abundant before the Norman Conquest and were probably introduced into Britain by the Romans.  Twenty-two varieties of apples were mentioned by Pliny; there are now around two thousand cultivars.  In the Old Saxon manuscripts there are many mentions of apples and cider.

        The Encyclopedia of Bartholomeus Anglicus, printed in Cologne around 1470, has a chapter on the apple:

        Malus Appyll tree is a tree yt bereth apples and is a grete tree in itself…it is more short than other trees of the wood wyth knottes and rinelyd Rynde.  And makyth shadowe wythe thicke bowes and branches; and fayr with dyurs blossomes, and floures of swetnesse and lykynge,; with goode fruyte and noble.  And is gracious in syght and in taste and vertuous in medecyne…some beryth frute and harde, and some ryght soure and some ryght swete, with a good savoure and mery. [1].

        The apple has been used as a symbol for sin, sexual seduction, beauty, love, sensuality, love between two men.  In art, Venus is often shown holding an apple as a symbol of love.    Apples also feature in many fairy tales, Snow White perhaps being the best known example where a poisoned apple puts Snow White into a deep sleep.

        In the Old Testament of the Bible, it represents man’s fall; in the New Testament it represents man’s redemption from that fall.  The phrases ‘the apple of one’s eye’ and ‘a word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver’ both come from the Bible.

        The larynx in the human male is called the ‘Adam’s Apple’ because of the folk-tale about the Forbidden Fruit sticking in Adam’s throat and causing a bulge.

        Heracles, the Greek hero, as part of his Twelve Labours had to travel to the Garden of the Hesperides.  His task there was to pick the golden apples growing on the Tree of Life that could be found at the centre of the garden.

        Eris, the Greek goddess of discord, was disgruntled after she was excluded from the wedding of Peleus and Thetis.  To retaliate, she tossed a golden apple that was inscribed with ‘Kallisti’ – for the most beautiful one – into the wedding party.  Hera, Athene and Aphrodite, three of the goddesses attending the party, claimed the apple.  Paris of Troy was chosen to select the recipient of the apple.  After being bribed by both Hera and Athena, Aphrodite tempted him with the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen of Sparta.  He awarded the apple to Aphrodite and in doing so indirectly caused the Trojan War.

        Another Greek myth concerns Atlanta who raced all her suitors in an attempt to avoid marriage.  She outran all but Hippomenes (also known as Melanion) who defeated her not by cunning but by speed.  Hippomenes knew he could not win in a fair race, so he used three golden apples, which were gifts from Aphrodite, the goddess of love, to distract Atlanta.  It took all three apples and all of his speed, but Hippomenes was successful, winning the race and Atlanta’s hand.

        In Norse mythology, Iduna, the goddess of Spring and youth, nurtures an apple orchard in Asgard.  Every evening she would feed an apple to the gods and goddess in order to keep their youthfulness.

        In Celtic mythology, Conle receives an apple which feeds him for a year, but alsogives him an irresistible desire for fairyland.

        The mystical Isle of Avalon, the famed placed of eternal rest for Celtic heroes, including King Arthur, literally means ‘apple land’ or ‘apple island’.

        Isaac Newton, according to popular legend, came up with the theory of universal gravitation after observing an apple falling from a tree.

        Wassailing the orchard trees on Christmas Eve, or the Eve of the Epiphany, is still practiced in Britain.  Herrick mentioned it among his ‘Ceremonies of Christmas Eve’:

        Wassaile the trees, that they may beare
        You many a Plum and many a Peare:
        For more or lesse fruits they will bring,
        As you do give them Wassailing

        The Wassailing ceremony consisted of the farmer, his family and labourers going out into the orchard after supper, bearing with them a jug of cider and hot cakes.  The latter were placed in the boughs of the oldest of best bearing trees in the orchard, while the cider was flung over the trees after the farmer had drunk their health in some such fashion as the following:

        Here’s to thee, old apple-tree!
        Whence thou may’st bud, and whence thou may’st blow.
        Hats full!  Cap full!
        Bushel – bushel bags full!
        And my pockets full too! Huzzah!

        The toast was repeated three times, the men and boys often firing off guns and pistols, the women and children shouting loudly.

        Roasted apples were usually placed in the pitcher of cider and were thrown at the trees with the liquid.

        A mixture of hot spiced ale, wine or cider with apples and bits of toast floating in it was known as ‘lamb’s wool’.  The name is derived from the Irish ‘la mas nbhal‘ meaning ‘the feast of the apple gathering’ (All Hallow’s Eve), which is pronounced something like ‘lammas-ool’ and this became corrupted into ‘lamb’s wool’.  Each person who drank the spicy beverage would also take out an apple, wish good luck to the company, and eat it.

        It was believed that if an apple tree blossomed out of season then misfortune or death was foretold.

        If the Sun shone through the branches of apple trees on Christmas Day, or Old Christmas Day, then there would be an abundant crop of apples.

        Peel an apple so that the peel remains in one long strip.  Throw the strip over the shoulder to form the initial of a potential husband on the ground.  This is an activity that is performed particularly at Hallowe’en.

        To indicate the direction of a lover’s home, flick an apple pip into the air while reciting  ‘North, south, east, west, tell me where my love does rest‘.

        Children were warned that Awd Goggie and Lazy Lawrence were nursery bogies that protected orchards and unripe fruit.

        The proverb ‘An apple a day keeps the doctor away’ seems to have been first recorded in the form ‘Eat an apple on going to bed and you’ll keep the doctor from earning his bread’.

        Bramble or blackberry (Rubus fruticosus)

        Blackberry (c)Angela Porter 31 Aug 2010The shoots of bramble have the ability to root where they touch the ground thus forming an arch.  Sufferers from boils, rheumatism and hernia were passed through the arch formed in this way.  Sometimes, a child suffering from whooping cough was passed under the arch seven times.  The cough was then thought to leave the child and stay within the bramble.

        In the Highlands of Scotland, people used a length of bramble shoot entwined with ivy and rowan to ward off evil spirits.

        Eating blackberries after the first frost was considered unlucky. In the UK, superstition says that blackberries should not be picked after Michaelmas (29 September), or the 10 October (Michaelmas by the old calendar).  It is said the devil has claimed them by urinating over them, spitting on them, stamping on them or wagged his tail over them and so leaving his mark on the leaves.  The link with Michaelmas is because this feast celebrates the battle when Archangel Michael drove Satan out of Heaven and hurled him down to Earth; perhaps the joke is that he landed in a bramble bush, but this is not clear.

        Note to self…and other reflections

        More art to do!  Yay!  Got some ideas … maybe … need to work on my more stylised, black-line and colour work …using acrylic inks or paints for the vibrancy of colour …

        I’m so glad I started a blog, regardless of whether anyone reads it or not.  It’s given me a focus to both research, write and be inspired to create art.

        If I’m honest I’ve been seriously lacking that focus and impetus for a long while thanks to my emotional state … I do tend towards depression, though I do my best to ameliorate it by engaging in activities that give me pleasure, but lately nothing much has done that … I’ve felt like I’ve been going through the motions, with no real purpose to them.  Not that everything needs a purpose, and doing something for the sake of the joy or contentment it brings is purpose enough.  However, I’ve been struggling with allowing myself to do pleasurable things, to feel the joy they bring … and perhaps the recognition of this this morning will help me move forward with my therapy, and in allowing myself to feel joy and pleasure.

        As I look back at earlier entries, I can see how my approach is slowly evolving in terms of how I present information.  I’ll eventually work out a consistent ‘format’ that suits me in terms of colours of ‘quotes’, illustrations, references, hyperlinks.

        1. Botanical.com
        2. Apple symbolism on Wikipedia
        3. Roy Vickery – Plant-lore
        4. Bramble on HubPages
        5. Steve Roud – The Penguin Guide to the Superstitions of Britain and Ireland.
        6. Jacqueline Simpson and Steve Roud – A Dictionary of English Folklore.

        Beech and Sycamore Plant-lore

        Angela PorterLeave a comment

        A bit more trolling round the world weird web, as well as my reference books, for information on some of the plants I saw on my travels on Friday.  I get lost far too easily in the search for knowledge and information, but it’s always an enjoyable journey.

        Beech (Fagus sylvatica)

        Around the UK wishes can often be seen tied to beech trees.  This custom has it’s origins in Celtic tree mythology where the beech is known as the tree of wishes.  Fallen beech branches were seen as invitations to make a wish by writing it on a beech twig and then pushing the twig deep into the ground.  The wish would then be taken by the wishing fairies to the Fairy Queen who would consider it. [1] Rods of beech are often favoured by water diviners. [2]

        The Greek deities Apollo and Athena were said to have sat, as vultures, in the branches of an oak or a beech tree to watch the war between the Trojans and the Greeks. [3, 4]

        Beech nuts are known as mast [5].

        Norse tradition says that tablets of beech were used to make the very first writing tablets for the runes.  It is also a sacred wood of the Summer Solstice [10].

        Sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus)

        The Sycamore is also known as the Great Maple [5].  The winged seeds of the sycamore are called helicopters and were used in flying competitions by children.  The sycamore was the favoured wood for making love spoons in Wales, which are made from a single piece of wood [6].

        In Montgomeryshire there was a belief that sycamore trees kept the fairies away and stopped them from spoiling the milk [7].

        In Scotland the feudal lairds used sycamore tress, known as dool or joug trees, as their gallows.  Further south, in Wiltshire, sycamores had unlucky associations, perhaps because they were also sometimes known as ‘hanging trees’ [8].

        The Sycamore is sometimes called the Martyrs’ tree after the Tolpuddle Martyrs who first met beneath a sycamore tree in 1843 and formed a secret society to fight starvation and poor wages.  Unfortunately, they were caught and sentenced to seven years transportation to Australia.  They were pardoned after two years and returned home [9].

        1. Tumbling Woods
        2. Oaken Woods
        3. Mystical World Wide Web
        4. messagenetcommresearch.com
        5. Botanical.com
        6. The Woodland Trust
        7. members.multimania.co.uk
        8. Roy Vickery – Plant Lore
        9. Forest of Leeds
        10. Spiritual Forums

        Rosebay Willowherb and Fern Plant-lore

        Angela PorterLeave a comment

        Rosebay Willowherb (Epilobium angustifolium)

        The genus name of Epilobium comes from two Greek words: epi meaning upon and lobos meaning a pod which alludes to the fact that the flowers seem to sit upon the top of long, thin pod-like seed vessels that look rather like thick flower stems.  The name willowherb refers to the leaves which look rather like the leaves of the willow tree.

        Rosebay willowherb was restricted in its habitat to clearings in woodland, until the advent of the railways.  The disturbance of the ground by the construction of the railways and the corridors of movement which they provided allowed the rosebay willowherb to spread far and wide

        Rosebay willowherb, known as fireweed in the USA and greater willowherb in Canada, rapidly colonises burnt ground.  During the bombing of London during WWII, this plant often colonised derelict sites giving a much needed splash of colour during this grim time.  In the later months of summer it produces lots of pollen and nectar which bees turn into a rich, spicy honey.  It is the main food source for the caterpillar of the Elephant Hawk-moth.  In Russia it is used as a substitute for tea, and is called kaipor tea.  The leaves of rosebay willowherb can be fermented just as the leaves of tea can.

        ‘The willowherb will stop bleeding, heal wounds and drive away snakes, gnats and flies’ [1]

        Picking the flower would mean your mother would die.[2]

        Thunderstorms ensue from picking the flowers.[2]

        Boys in the Thteford area used to smoke the fluffy down from the plant, but it was a very hot and strong smoke.[2]

        Ferns

        In Elizabethan times, fern seed was believed to be invisible, expect for a few moments around midnight on Midsummer Eve when it could be seen falling to the ground.  Anyone who could catch some in a pewter plate would be invisible while they carried it (the seed not the plate!). [2]  Shakespeare, in Henry IV, wrote ‘we have the receipt of fern seed, we walk invisible’.

        In 19th century Lancashire, young people would go to Clough, near Moston, to silently gather the seeds of ‘St John’s Fern’ on the Eve of St John’s Day.  They would do this in order to gain the affections of those maidens who would not accept their attentions.  In Lincolnshire, St Mark’s Eve was called ‘the Devil’s Harvest’ because ferns were said to bud, blossom and release seed all between midnight and 1 a.m. and it would be the Devil that would harvest it.  If anyone managed to catch some of the seed between two pewter plates, then they would become as wise as the Devil. [2]

        In the 17th century it was believed that the burning of bracken – either in the preparation of potash (used in the manufacture of glass or soap) or for its control – would lead to rain.  [3]

        If you cut a fern stall horizontally you will see a significant letter, supposedly the initial of the person you will marry. A less common superstition, but one that was more serious, was the idea that the initial is always a ‘C’, signifying Christ, and for this reason witches are said to detest the plant. [2]

        Another version is that the shape is a representation of an oak tree, the clearer the shape the better your luck will be [1].

        The Druids classified ferns as sacred trees.  At Midsummer, uncurled fronds of Male Fern were gathered, dried and then carried as good-luck charms.  Fern leaves also have the reputation of preventing evil from entering one’s home.

        1. E Radford and M A Radford – Encyclopaedia of Superstitions 1949
        2. J Simpson and S Roud – A Dictionary of English Folklore
        3. R Vickery – Dictionary of Plant-Lore