Medders

A short list of common herbs & spices compiled by Brother Brendan of the Monks of Messah, including their common name, Gaelic name and type ( ) and the ailments or potions used for.

Absinthe
Was believed to ward off evil. Probably worn in a small sack on one's person. Also used in love potions.

Aconite
See Wolfsbane.

Agrimony
Also known as sicklewort or cocklebur. Mixed with honey and mulberry syrup it made a fine gargle for sore throats and coughs. Also said to heal warts, convulsions, poisonous bites, inflamed eyes and wounds obtained from iron made weapons. Thought to ward off evil and aid dreaming. To aid in urinary and intestinal infections.

Agnus-castus
Also known as chasteberry or monk's pepper. Used to aid women with their monthly cycles.

Almond (cno ghreugach - Greek nut)
Used in love potions. And as a cooking spice. Also used as soap and oil for moisturizing skin.

Aloe
Used in love potions. Internally to relieve constipation and benefit the liver. And still widely used to this day to treat minor cuts and burns.

Angelica (lus nam buadha - plant of virtues or powers)
Named after the archangel Raphael who it was said to have given it to a monk during the plague. Candied stems of angelica were often eaten, especially around holidays. Promotes circulation and warms the body. Said to relieve stomach discomfort.

Anise
Thought to unclog blocked livers and ease flatulence. Used as a remedy for digestive disorders, colds, and colic. One of the world's first perfumes.

Apple Blossoms
Used in love potions.

Aster
Used in love potions.

Balm of Gilead
Also called coltsfoot from the bud of the poplar tree. Used to treat coughs. Also used in love potions

Barberry (barbrag - brilliant shell leaf)
Used against throat, intestinal and urinary infections. Also good for gall bladder and liver problems. Note: Has side effects in high dosages.

Basil
Used as a ward against evil. As well as in love potions. Also used as a cooking spice.

Bay leaves
Used in love potions. And as a spice in foods.

Bear Berry
Also known as Uva-Ursi. A diuretic herb and natural tonic for the urinary system. In the body it converts to hydroxides, a urinary disinfectant.

Betony
Was good for head ailments and thought to protect one from bad dreams and visions.

Bistort
Also known as adder wort, dragon weed, and snake weed. Used to treat wounds and digestion.

Bittersweet
Used in love potions.

Black Hellebore
The roots were used to kill wolves and foxes. For people it was used to cure gout and scabies.

Butcher's Broom
Ointment thought to relieve pain and used to treat leg discomfort.

Cardamon
Used by Scandinavian and Middle Eastern cultures as a spice in cooking.

Cascara Sagrada
Also known as buckthorn. Used as a laxative.

Catnip
Thought to be helpful for fertility and virility. Also used in love potions. Combined with chamomile and lemon balm to relieve nervousness.

Chamomile
Used for stress and insomnia. Thought to relieve cramps, indigestion and back pain.

Chervil (costag)
Used in soups and spices.

Cinnamon (caineal)
Used in love potions. Also used as a spice in foods.

Cloves
Used to treat tooth aches and digestive disorders. Also used in love potions.

Columbine (lus a cholamain - dove's plant)
Used in love potions.

Comfrey (meacan dubh - dark plant)
Used to heal wounds. Note: Toxic if taken internally.

Coriander (coireiman, lus a choire)
Used in love potions. Used as a cooking spice.

Cuckoo pint
Dried in the sun in a bowl of rose water two to three times, created a powder that was good for the complexion.
Curry
Used as a cooking spice.

Cranberry (muileag - little frog, frog berry)
Used as a diuretic. Also used to treat internal infections.

Crocus (cr?, cr?dh, cr?ch)
Used in love potions.

Cumin
Used in love potions.

Damiana
Used in love potions, believed to be an aphrodisiac.

Dandelion
Used as a diuretic and liver tonic

Daisy
Used in love potions.

Dill Seed (dile ? dill)
Used to treat gas and colic. Also used in love potions. Used widely as a food spice as well.

Dittany (lus a phiobaire - pepper wort)
Was used to draw thorns or iron out of the body. Also was considered helpful in astroprojection.

Dragon's Blood
Used in love potions.

Elder (ruis ? wood)
Used mostly by Gypsy's to heal wounds and treat colds and flu.

Ephedra
Thought to be the world's oldest herbal remedy. Used to treat asthma and upper resperitory infections.

Eucalyptus
Used as a ward against evil.

Eye Bright (lus nan leac - hillside plant)
Used to treat eye aliments.

Fennel (lus an t'saiodh ? hayweed)
Also known as finocchio and carosells. A favorite of the Romans to treat digestive disorders. Also used in love potions

Feverfew
Thought to be helpful for headaches and childbirth. Today used to treat migraines.

Garlic (garleag)
Used to treat all number of ailments and as a ward against evil.

Geranium
Thought to be helpful for fertility and virility.

Gilly Flowers (lus leth an samrhaidh - half the summer plant)
These were thought to be good for childbirth and labor.

Ginger
Used as a digestive aid and in love potions. Used as a cooking spice.

Gingko Biloba
Also known as maiden hair is from one of the oldest trees on earth. Used to aid the aging.

Ginseng
Thought to be helpful for fertility and virility.

Hemlock (fealla bog - soft deceiver)
Amazingly enough this was thought to destroy lechery. Pretty funny when you consider the fact that it's fatal!

Hemp
Used in love potions.

Horsetail
A major source of Silica treats inflammation

Hibiscus
Used in love potions.

House leek
Used in pulous form it was believed to drive infection out of wounds. Some thought it would ward off lightning.

Hyacinth
Used in love potions.

Hyssop (isop)
This was used as a wormer on humans and to cure evils of the mouth.

Jasmine
Used in love potions.

Juniper Berries (aiteil, ailtinn, aitiol)
Used in love potions. Trees were planted outside homes to scare away witches.

Laurel (cran laoibhreil - tree with rich foliage)
Used in love potions.

Lavender (lus-na-t?ise - incense plant)
Used in love potions and as a perfume. Also used to aid sleep and to soothe fears.

Lemon (crann limoin)
Used in love potions.

Lemon Balm
Thought to be a magic elixir that could cure serious illnesses. It was used for fevers and colds because it causes sweating.

Licorice
Used in love potions.

Lily of the Valley (isop)
Distilled it was used to make a liquor by soaking the flowers in wine for four weeks to treat apoplexy. Also was believed to grace the user with common sense when mixed with lavender and peppercorns and smeared on the forehead! (how attractive!)

Lotus Flowers
Thought to be helpful for fertility and virility.

Lungwort
Used to treat chest disorders.

Magnolias
Used in love potions.

Maidenhair Fern (failtean fi?nn - resplendent hair)
Used in love potions

Mallow
Gout was eased by a mixture of mallow and sheeps' tallow. It was also believed to keep witches away when mixed with vinegar and linseed.

Mandrake
Was used to dull pain. It would knock someone out for a few hours if one knew the right dosages or it would be fatal. It was also used in the cures of evil and in love potions. Also thought to be helpful for fertility and virility.

Marjoram (oragan - delight of the mountain)
Used in love potions. And used to make healing poultices to place on bruises and swellings.

Marigold (a chorrach shod - clumsy one of the marsh)
Looking at marigold flowers was enough to banish bad thoughts and strengthen eyesight. They were used against poisoning and intestinal disorders.

Marshmallow (leamhad ? insipid)
A soothing, healing plant, useful in treating inflammation and ulceration soothes urinary and respiratory tracts.

Mint (mionnt gh?raidh - garden mint)
Used in love potions.

Mistletoe (Druidh-lus - Druid's weed)
Used in love potions.

Monkshood (fuath mhadhaidh - wolf's aversion)
See Wolfsbane.

Mugwort (liath lus - gray weed)
Thought to be helpful for fertility and virility.

Myrtle (rideag ? fragrant)
Thought to be helpful for fertility and virility.

Orchids
Used in love potions.

Paprika
Used as a cooking spice.

Patchouli
Used in love potions.

Pennyroyal
Thought to ease itching, boils, bellyaches, headaches, stuffiness and congestion.

Periwinkle
Worn on the person to ward off evil and witches, and laid around the house for the same purpose. Also believed to ease toothaches and cold fevers. Used in love potions.

Raspberry (preas s?bh chraobh - sappy sprout bush)
Used to assist women in labor and used in love potions.

Rose
Used in love potions.

Rosemary (r?s Mhuire - sea dew)
Kept under one's bed it was believed to ward off evil dreams. Boiled in wine it was good for the complexion when washed on the face. Also used in clothing trunks as a pomander and moth repellent. Used in love potions. And used by as a cooking spice.

Rue (rugh, r?, ruigh ? rue)
Considered the penicillin of the middle ages. It was also believed to ward off all manner of evils from witches to headaches. Used in love potions.

Saffron (cr?, cr?dh, cr?ch ? crocus)
Used by Spain as a cooking spice.
Sage (slan lus - healing plant)
Used in love potions.

Sarsaparilla
Thought to be helpful for fertility and virility.

Savory (garbhag gh?raidh - coarse garden plant)
Used as a cooking spice.

Spurge (spuirse - wart-wort)
Used as a laxative. Believed to prevent bad dreams. Used to empty the stomach and for melancholia and cholera.

Strawberry (subh, s?th - earth's delight)
Used in love potions.

Sweet Violet
Medicinally used to cure drunkenness, achy eyes, and clumsiness. It was used more for cooking in such things a fritters, custards and sauces. Also was used as a plate garnish.

Tansy (lus na Fraing - french weed)
Thought to be helpful for fertility and virility.

Thyme (lus an righ - king's plant)
Believed to aid respiratory and digestive disorders. And used in love potions. Used as a cooking spice.

Turmeric
Used as a cooking spice.

Vanilla
Used in love potions.

Vervain (tronbhod ? woody)
Also known as Herb of the cross. Used against fevers and poisons such as bites. Thought to ease the ills of the lungs, liver, and stomach. It was carried into battle for luck.

Violet (fail chuach - scented bowl)
Used in love potions

Watermelon
Also known as Aconite & Monkshood. The root used as a pest killer by being baked into cakes and left for the household vermin to eat. Used in oil or liniment form to aid bruises, strains, sprains, and swellings. Note: This is a highly toxic herb and should not be taken internally under any circumstances.

Wormwood (buramaide - bitter plant)
Added to spikenard, was thought to ease flatulence. Used in love potions. Also used to rid the digestive system of worms and in clothes to repel fleas.

Ylangylang
Used in love potions.

Yarrow (lus chosgadh na fola - plant that stops bleeding)
Also known as bloodwort, miliaire, staunchgrass, and thousand seal. Used for headaches and to staunch the flow of blood from wounds.

Yohimbe
Thought to be helpful for fertility and virility.

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