Culpeper's Complete Herbal: Over 400 Herbs And Their Uses

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In 1640, Culpeper married Alice Field, the 15-year-old heiress of a wealthy grain merchant, which allowed him to set up a pharmacy at the halfway house in Spitalfields, London, outside the authority of the City of London, at a time when medical facilities in London were at breaking point. Arguing that "no man deserved to starve to pay an insulting, insolent physician" and obtaining his herbal supplies from the nearby countryside, Culpeper could provide his services free of charge. This and a willingness to examine patients in person rather than simply examining their urine (in his view, "as much piss as the Thames might hold" did not help in diagnosis), Culpeper was extremely active, sometimes seeing as many as 40 patients in a morning. Using a combination of experience and astrology, he devoted himself to using herbs to treat his patients. Culpeper attempted to make medical treatments more accessible to lay persons by educating them about maintaining their health. Ultimately his ambition was to reform the system of medicine by questioning traditional methods and knowledge and exploring new solutions for ill health. The systematisation of the use of herbals by Culpeper was a key development in the evolution of modern pharmaceuticals, most of which originally had herbal origins. [8] receive as much benefit by this, as by my Dispensatory, and that incomparable piece called, Semiotica

Robert Hartle, 2017, The New Churchyard: from Moorfields marsh to Bethlem burial ground, Brokers Row and Liverpool Street, Crossrail: London, p. 177. Affordable, witty and highly practical, Culpeper's herbal went on to become one of the most popular and enduring books in publishing history, so much so that it is still in print today. To add insult to injury, Culpeper’s text was rife with funny and insulting remarks directed towards the Royal College, highlighting the failings of the original text. McCarl, M. R. (1996). "Publishing the works of Nicholas Culpeper, astrological herbalist and translator of Latin medical works in seventeenth-century London". Canadian Bulletin of Medical History. 13 (2): 225–376. doi: 10.3138/cbmh.13.2.225. PMID 11620074.

POYNTER, F. N. (January 1962). "Nicholas CULPEPER and his books". Jornal de historia da medicina. 17: 152–167. doi: 10.1093/jhmas/xvii.1.152. PMID 14037402.

Anemone, as a juice applied externally to clean ulcerations, infections and cure leprosy; or inhaled to clear the nostrils Influenced during his apprenticeship by the radical preacher John Goodwin, who said no authority was above question, Culpeper became a radical republican and opposed the "closed shop" of medicine enforced by censors of the College of Physicians. In his youth, Culpeper translated medical and herbal texts for his master, such as the London Pharmacopaeia from Latin. During the political turmoil of the English civil war, the College of Physicians was unable to enforce its ban on the publication of medical texts, and Culpeper deliberately chose to publish his translations in vernacular English as self-help medical guides for use by the poor, who could not afford to consult physicians. He followed them up with a manual on childbirth and with his main work, The English Physician, which was deliberately sold cheaply. It became available also in colonial America and has been in print continually since the 17th century. I] command all and singular Apothecaries, within this our realm of ENGLAND or the dominions thereof […] do not compound, or make any Medicine, or medicinal receipt, or praescription; or distil any Oil, or Waters, or other extractions [...] after the ways or means praescribed or directed, by any other books or Dispensatores whatsover [...] not otherwise &c. upon pain of our high displeasure."Bedstraw, boiled in oil and applied externally as a stimulant, or consumed as an aphrodisiac; also applied raw externally to stimulate clotting Cottonweed, boiled in lye as a treatment for head lice or infestations in cloth or clothing; inhaled for headaches and coughing a b c d Culpeper, Nicholas (2001). "The English Physician (1663) with 369 Medicines made of English Herbs; Rare book on CDROM". Herbal 1770 CDROM. Archived from the original on 14 August 2007 . Retrieved 31 October 2007. Jones, D. A. (August 1980). "Nicholas Culpeper and his Pharmacopoeia". Pharmaceutical Historian. 10 (2): 9–10. PMID 11630704. Enjoy our books. Much more information and our a huge short story collection can be found on the frames version of

Written in informal, accessible language, it provided a handy index of ailments, making it easy to find the correct herb for a cure. The tone of the book added to its success and popularity: it was funny, rude, and full of anger. Also, it was very cheap compared to other herbals of the day; Culpeper's was priced at only three pence, the same amount it would have cost to buy a pound of almonds. The price made the text accessible to those with little money, who previously would have relied on the service of expensive physicians. When asked why rival herbals were sold at such a high price Nicholas answered: are so clear to every eye? but that Scripture shall be verified to them, Rom. i. 20: “ The invisible

A Physical Directory, or a Translation of the London Directory (1649) – translation of the Pharmacopoeia Londonesis of the Royal College of Physicians.