Walafrid Strabo (808-849 CE) from The Wonder of Numbers in Strabo's Hortulus
Walafrid Strabo, was a Benedictine monk, a Carolingian Imperial Tutor, gardener, & theological writer who lived on Reichenau Island, & who left one of the very few first-hand descriptions of an early medieval garden. As a child, Walafrid was sent to the island monastery of Reichenau located in Lake Constance, north of the border between Germany & Italy. A gifted student & writer, at the age of 18 Walafrid went to Fulda to study.
From there, he was called to the court of King Louis, son of Charlemagne, to tutor 6-year-old Prince Charles. When young Prince Charles reached adulthood, in 842 Strabo returned to the monastery at Reichenau, where he was made abbot. There, for the next 7 years he lived, he encouraged the production & exchange of manuscripts which made the library famous.
Among Walafrid's writings, renowned throughout the Middle Ages for their distinguished Latin is the poem Hortulus, an account of a little garden that he tended with his own hands. Written in Latin verse, it begins with an explanation of how Walafrid gained his knowledge of gardening: "I myself learned this, not solely from opinion, common report, nor from searches of books & early writings, but by work & hands-on study to discover proven methods - which considerably postponed my leisure at the end of each day!"
The poem Hortulus begins in his monastery garden in early spring, listing the plants in his little garden. A drawing in the Plan of St. Gall, a manuscript created at Reichenau at about the time that Walafrid arrived there as a boy, shows 2 monastery gardens there.
The poem Hortulus begins in his monastery garden in early spring, listing the plants in his little garden. A drawing in the Plan of St. Gall, a manuscript created at Reichenau at about the time that Walafrid arrived there as a boy, shows 2 monastery gardens there.
Plan of Saint Gall. Simplified view of structures & garden areas.
A drawing in the Plan of St. Gall, a manuscript created at Reichenau at about the time that Walafrid arrived there as a boy, shows 2 monastery gardens. One, the physic garden, lies just beyond the door of the monastery infirmary. It is laid out in orderly rows of rectangular beds, each labeled in the manuscript. The Plan of Saint Gall is a medieval architectural drawing of a monastic compound dating from 820–830 AD. It depicts an entire Benedictine monastic compound, including churches, houses, stables, kitchens, workshops, brewery, infirmary, & a special house for bloodletting. It is theorized that the complex was meant to house about 110 monks, 115 lay visitors, & 150 craftmen & agricultural workers. The Plan was never actually built.
Walahfrid Strabo only lived to be 40. He wrote everything in poetry. After the fall of Rome, the knowledge of the ancients was preserved by Catholic monks, mainly in the area we now know as Poland & Germany. He wrote a manual of herb gardening Hortulus which means "little garden." He writes a first-hand description in his early medieval garden in Latin verse.
Walafrid's Hortulus begins in early spring, when Walafrid is dismayed by rampant nettles "pushing up everywhere in my small plot." After hours of weeding, he carefully "surrounds the oblong beds with planks, slightly raised" to keep the rain from washing away the soil. He grows some plants from seed, some from cuttings. He hauls water in a bucket, pouring it "drop by drop, careful not to float the seeds away." One part of his garden is beneath the edge of the roof where it gets little rain; another is deeply shaded by a high wall. But even so, "the garden traps no plant beneath its soil" & soon new growth pokes through.
"Winter, image of age, who like a great belly, eats up the whole year's sustenance & heartlessly swallows the fruits of our unstinted labor".... "Some plants we grow from seed, some from old stocks.. We try to bring back the youth they knew before."
In the Hortulus, Walafrid describes 25 of these plants. Walafrid also kept a journal in which he documented the medicinal uses of plants. For every plant in his garden except the rose, he provided at least one therapeutic use. The materia medica of early medieval times were primarily botanical, & many of our modern drugs are still derived from plant materials. Walafrid studied the medicinal uses of plants, & for all of the plants he described, except the rose, he provided information on their uses in healing. His translated Latin comments are summarized below.
Agrimony, Agrimonia eupatoria: Mashed & taken in drink, Walafrid tells us, it sooths the stomach; made into a poultice with vinegar, it heals wounds from steel weapons.
Ambrosia, probably mugwort, Artemesia vulgaris: When taken as a drink, Walafrid tells us, “tantum quae sanguinis hausta absumit, quantum potus ingesserit almi” it removes as much blood from the body as it has added in liquid. (In other words, it balances the humors in the body).
Betony, Stachys betonica: Fresh or dried, it is an excellent tonic to prevent ill health; you can heal a septic wound by applying crushed fresh betony.
Catnip, Nepeta cataria: Mixing its juice with oil of roses creates a salve that closes wounds & reduces scarring; it also smoothes skin & restores hair lost due to infection.
Celery, Apium graveolens: Ground celery seed is good for painful urination; eating the plant & its roots will speed digestion; taken in water with vinegar can cure nausea.
Chervil, Anthriscus cerefolium: Used in moderation, prevents inflammation; a poultice of this with pennyroyal & poppy leaves eases belly pain.
Clary sage, Salvia sclarea: In hot water sweetened with honey, it is like a potion of strong spices.
Costmary, Tanacetum balsamita: Its roots help digestion & ease constipation.
Fennel, Foeniculum vulgare: Eases gas & relieves constipation, & is also good for coughs.
Gladiola, Iris germanica: Dried, pulverized iris roots in wine are good for bladder pain; they are also used to stiffen linen cloth & make it smell sweet.
Horehound, Marrubium vulgare: Good for chest pains, & as an antidote for aconite poisoning.
Lily, Liliam: As a remedy for snake venom, macerate lilies & mix with Falernian wine; rubbing mashed lilies on snakebite, & on bruises, is healing.
Lovage, Levisticum officinale: Seeds & leaves are thought to cause eye injury, but seeds blended with other herbs are apparently safe.
Melon or cucumber, Pepones: The shining white flesh is easy to chew, & cools the body when it is eaten.
Mint, Menta: One kind is a remedy for hoarseness; another, harsher tasting, & larger, resembles ebulus, danewort.
Pennyroyal, Mentha pulegium: Used as a drink or as a poultice can heal a sick stomach; & to turn to local folklore, Walafrid tells us, stick a twig of pennyroyal behind your ear & the hot sun won’t make you dizzy.
Poppy, Papaver somniferum: Can relieve the pain of a stomach ulcer; poppies, he tells us, take their name from the sound the seeds make as they are chewed.
Radish, Raphanus sativus: Radish root eases heavy coughing, as do crushed radish seeds.
Rue, Ruta graveolens: Relieves pain caused by poison & expels harmful toxins.
Sage, Salvia officinalis: Provides a tonic drink. Walafrid calls sage Lelyfagus, from elelisphakos, the Greek name for cultivated (as opposed to wild) sage.
Southernwood, Artemisia abrotanum: Heal fevers, stitches, & gout.
Gourds, Lagenaria siceraria: The inner flesh can be eaten, or if the fruits are allowed to dry, the gourds can be used as containers for wine.
Wormwood, Artemisia absinthium: Can lower fevers; relieves headaches & dizziness when made into an extract used to rinse the hair & cool the scalp, & the head should also be wreathed in fresh leaves.
