Friday, July 27, 2012
Both edible and medicinal plants were classified by their qualities in the Middle Ages. A given plant might be heating, cooling, moistening, or drying in its action on human bodies; the intensity of this action was expressed in degrees. An herb or foodstuff that was a little cooling was “cold in the first degree,” while a very cooling plant was classed as “cold in the fourth degree.” Above, left: Strawberry (Fragaria vesca) was a mildly cooling fruit, being cold and moist in the first degree. Pear (Pyrus communis) was more refreshing, being cold in the second degree and moist in the first.
The medicinal model inherited by the Middle Ages, based largely on humoral theory, was essentially a “cure by contraries” rooted in the idea that illness was the result of an imbalance of the humors???blood, choler, bile, and phlegm???within an individual. Plants and other substances were either warming, cooling, moistening, or drying in their action on human bodies, which were sanguine, phlegmatic, melancholic, or choleric in complexion. Read more »
Tags: Fragaria vesca, Galen, Hippocrates, humors, Mentha x piperita, mint, pear, peppermint, Portulaca oleracea, purslane, Pyrus communis, Rumex acetosa, sorrel, strawberry, Tacuinum Sanitatis, Tillyard, William Turner
Posted in Medicinal Plants | Comments (1)
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Robert Campin and Workshop (South Netherlandish, Tournai, ca. 1375???1444). Triptych with the Annunciation, known as the “Merode Altarpiece,” ca. 1427???32. Made in Tournai, South Netherlands. Oil on oak. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Cloisters Collection, 1956 (56.70a???c). See Google Art Project for an in-depth look at this work.
A great many things have changed during the twenty years that I’ve been working at The Cloisters, but its special atmosphere remains constant. One of the most unique aspects of the Museum is the way in which the gardens are integrated into the collection. From the Museum’s inception, the curators envisioned the artwork and gardens as a whole, where the plants were not merely aesthetic elements, but also of great educational value. Many of the galleries either open directly onto or provide views into one of the three interior gardens (see floor plan). This arrangement encourages visitors to experience the gardens as part of medieval culture, to make connections between the plants and the objects, and to understand both within the historical context presented in the galleries. Read more »
Tags: Antonites, Bellis perennis, Claviceps purpurea, corn poppy, Cuxa Garden, English daisy, ergotism, fungus, Galen, grain, hermit, ignis sacer, Isenheim, mandrake, Matthias Gr??newald, monasticism, Niclaus of Haguenau, plantain, poppy, sage, Saint Anthony Abbott, Saint Anthony's Fire, Saint Vinage, Tau cross, verbena
Posted in Gardening at The Cloisters, Plants in Medieval Art | Comments (1)
