Herbs and Healers from the Ancient Mediterranean through the Medieval West

Anne Van Arsdall is a research associate in the Institute for Medieval Studies at the University of New Mexico, USA and Timothy Graham is Professor and Director at the Institute for Medieval Studies, University of New Mexico, USA.

'This volume is a festschrift for the eminent historian of medieval medicine John M. Riddle. It especially honors Riddle's innovative and pioneering studies of herbal medicine in the pre-modern West.' The Medieval Review '... the volume makes plain the profound impact Riddle has had on this discipline, and it is very successful as a celebration of that work... these essays will open up new corners of the territory for readers who already have some background in ancient or medieval pharmacy.' Bryn Mawr Classical Review 'The editors of this volume have included a bibliography of Riddle’s contributions from 1964 to 2010, in itself a handy resource, but it also allows one to monitor the trajectory of Riddle’s research interests over time, and see how chasing certain questions led from one field of enquiry to another, often boldly into unknown territory, highlighting Riddle’s pioneering role in the field of premodern pharmacy.' Bulletin of the History of Medicine 'The papers here act as both homage to and commentary on [Riddle’s] intellectual journey, moving chronologically from the eastern Mediterranean in antiquity towards medieval western Europe.' Medical History '... a clear demonstration of how valuable historical information can be, especially when critically evaluated, for a greater knowledge of medicinal plants.' HerbalGram 'The level of scholarship throughout the volume is extremely high. All authors display immense knowledge of their own field, and do not hesitate to convey it in a technical - yet clear - manner.' Social History of Medicine '... the collection’s unifying factor is the individual texts’ resonance with aspects of Riddle’s work, and as such it is wide-ranging, perhaps dauntingly so. But its breadth speaks to the flourishing of scholarship in the history of medicine, attested to by the appearance of new book series such as the one to which this volume belongs.

• List of Figures, List of Tables and Boxes, List of Contributors, Introduction, 1. Pharmacology and Toxicology at the Court of Cleopatra VII: Traces of Three Physicians, 2. Quid pro Quo: Revisiting the Practice of Substitution in Ancient Pharmacy, 3. Speaking in Tongues: Medical Wisdom and Glossing Practices in and around Salerno, c. 1040–1200, 4. The Ghost in the Articella: A Twelfth-century Commentary on the Constantinian Liber Graduum, 5. “I will add what the Arab once taught”: Constantine the African in Northern European Medical Verse, 6. A Problematic Plant Name: elehtre. A Reconsideration, 7. Herbs and Herbal Healing Satirized in Middle English Texts, 8. “Kurze versuochte dinge.” Ein mährisch-schlesisches wundärztliches Rezeptar des 15. Jahrhunderts, 9. Saint John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum L.) in the Age of Paracelsus and the Great Herbals: Assessing the Historical Claims for a Traditional Remedy, 10. Revisiting Eve’s Herbs: Reflections on Therapeutic Uncertainties, 11. Modding Medievalists: Designing a Web-based Portal for the Medieval Plant Survey/Portal der Pflanzen des Mittelalters (MPS/PPM), The Publications of John M. Riddle, 1964–2010, Index of Manuscripts, General Index