Herbal Research

Medicine for the everyday people throughout the Medieval period mostly consisted one’s herbal knowledge. The few medical practitioners that existed were rarely nearby when needed and cost more than most could afford on a regular basis. I am an herbalist, for North America anyway. I treat quite a few things through homemade remedies from my garden. I am not condoning getting rid of ones medical professionals. I use herbal remedies for ailments that we used to take over-the-counter medicine for such as headaches, cold/flu, sore muscles, aches and pains, eczema, cuts and scrapes, bug bites and so forth. In many cases, we have found that the herbal remedies work better than the chemical medications ever did.

So why am I suddenly talking about herbal remedies? As I was planning out my next scene to write, I began to determine what objects would be used in this situation and discovered I had some more research to do. I don’t think we can ever be done with research. I’m finding that as I write there are more things I need to look up, mostly regarding little details I need to make it more realistic. In this case, what herbal remedies are available to my characters? I know what grows in North America both native and those imported by Europeans, but I don’t know all of the wild plants that grow in Ireland. Some of them do overlap, but what plants, native to Ireland proved to be useful during history. This sudden realization interrupted my scene planning with another several hours of research. Hours of time dedicated to a very small detail that I feel could make or break the realism to my story. Not only do I need plants native to Medieval Ireland, but also those that grow naturally in the geographical area that my story takes place. I can’t have my character find a plant to use in a pinch that doesn’t actually grow any where near her location now can I?

#writing #historicalfiction #herbalmedicine #herbs #details #Ireland #medieval #fiction