The Anatomy of the Elder: Anatomia Sambuci

By Martin Blochwich

This Handbook for medical practioners was written by Dr Martin Blochwich and first appeared as a collection of Latin manuscripts in 1644. Translated into English and German in 1655 and reprinted in 1677. The handbook was conceived as a reference guide for medical practioners who lived in the villages or countryside of Europe. It drew upon the existing traditional remedy works dating back to Pythagoras. Blochwich probably chose the elder tree for two reasons. Firstly, because its various components provided so many different recipes for treating so many illnesses. Secondly, the Elder Tree was one of the most commonly found trees in Europe.This is one of the earliest medical text books to be printed for educational purposes during a period in European history when witchcraft was still an offence and knowledge was still the protected right of the theologian, the rich and the powerful. The newly formed British Royal Society showed their progressiveness by recommending this book in 1677.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hillcrest Media Group
• Release date: Aug 1, 2010
• ISBN: 9781635051841

Book preview

Jacobs.

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Foreword

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Staff at Iprona AG, whilst searching for publications on the tradtional use of elderberry, noted references to a 17th century medical text book on the elder tree. The book titled The Anatomy of the Elder, was first written in Latin by a German Physician named Dr Martin Blochwich and the first English edition was published in 1655.

After many months of searching, we finally located a microfiche copy of an English edition published in 1677 at the University Microfilms International, a subdivision of ProQuest Information and Learning. The work had been translated from Latin into English in 1651 by a Scottish Medical Army Officer and the old English alphabet, spelling and grammar needed to be revised. The original English pocket handbook had 230 pages and measured 14 cm by 7.5 cm. We have taken care to translate the English 1677 edition into a more readable format whilst retaining the old medieval style and grammar wherever possible. There may be some minor differences to earlier editions including the original Latin manuscript from 1644.

From the first reading, we realised that this book was one of the earliest records of the tradtitonal use of elderberry. It also gives a rare historical snapshot of the lives and health issues of people during medieval times.

We have footnoted many words for your immediate reference and added a glossary at the end. Conversion tables and ingredient analysis of the various components of the elder have also been included in the Appendix. We also cross checked our translation with a German translation of the book located at the Dusseldorf State Library.

Our first hardcopy edition is now sold out and we have chosen the more accessibly eBook format for our second edition.

Please read and enjoy our new eBook edition of the Anatomy of the Elder, a historical work detailing the importance of elderberry for medical practices during the Middle Ages.

If you want more information about elderberry and its traditional uses, contact us by email, [e-mail]

Anthony Jacobs

Project Co-Ordinator

BerryPharma® Extracts,

Iprona AG

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Introduction

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There are few plants like the Elder that have been so mystified and glorified across so many continents for so many thousands of years. The Elder tree is an essential part of ancient healing and folklore. It still continues to be used by modern health science. During the Middle Ages, it was believed that a goddess lived in the elder tree and decided your luck, prosperity, happiness and health. Superstitions beliefs during former times even linked a dying elder tree to an approaching death. Amulets from elderberry twigs were worn to protect its wearer, ward off evil spirits and witches.

The Elder tree commanded enormous respect from people worldwide. It was an important plant for the treatment of many illnesses. People were respectful to an elder tree as you could always rely on its invaluable help in times of emergency. Today, we tend to dismiss these stories as medieval superstition. In previous times, people and doctors only had their observations, experience and folklore to help them treat illnesses. For example, it was known that animals never touched or ate the elder plant. This was interpreted to mean thath the Elder tree had been granted divine protection. However, we know that the high Sambunigrin content in the cortex of the Elder triggers nausea in animals.

The Elderberry tree was an important part of everyday life. It was either wild or under limited cultivation. Throughout the year, you could collect different parts of the plant for treating many common and serious ailments. The elderberry tree was one of the most valuable sources for medicine cabinets. Doctors, apothecaries and village herbalists used the flowers, berries, leaves, bark, twigs, stems and roots for all sorts of applications and treatments. They were made into ointments, tinctures, wines, vinegar, conserves, extracts,

syrups, salts, spirits and oils. Preparations from the elder were used for the treatment of many diseases including smallpox, plague, herpes, poisoning, fever, coughs, colds and flu. Even „melancholy" could be lifted with an early morning glass of elderberry wine.

An Anatomia Sambuci, first published in 1644, was one of the earliest comprehensive medical treatises dedicated to the virtues of the elder. It was originally written in Latin by the German born Physician, Martin Blochwich and then translated into English by C. De Iryngio in 1651, under the title, The Anatomie of the Elder, with several reprints thereafter. We think that Blochwich also translated the Latin edition into German around the same period. It is worth noting that the spelling of his name often varies e.g. Blockwich, Blochwitzius, Blockwitzj, Blochwitz. This Physicians Handbook was compiled from an array of historical Latin manuscripts, and most importantly, in the words of Blochwich, from Reason, Experience and History. The Anatomy of the Elder, was recommended reading by the British Royal Society. Dr Martin Blochwich had compiled the Physicians Medical Handbook on Elderberry and organised the translations as part of his life’s mission to bring the benefits of medicine to the common people. We need to remember that in the seventeenth century, helping the Commons was a radical and dangerous philosophy to practice. Blochwich not only translated into the common language, but also wrote instructions on treatments and procedures in simple format for the benefit of the village physicians.

The original book contains drawings and botanical notes of the plant, apothecary procedures, descriptions of diseases and the recommended treatments. You will note that Blochwich draws his Elder research from a 2000 year tradition of use. It is surprising how many illnesses and diseases were already defined and scoped in the 17th century. You should note how Blochwich used only his observational and deductional skills to match the many active ingredients of the Elder with correct treatments of many ailments.

For the interest of the readers, we have included a section in the Appendix on the latest laboratory analyses of active substances in the bark, flower, leaf and berry. This enables you to link the actual active ingredients to the Blochwich treatments and speculate about their virtues. There are of course, some sections, which will draw a smile and others maybe a gasp of horror. This book will give you an insight into the level of superstition, mysticism and ignorance that was part of many treatments. In the middle ages, microscopic worms were thought to be responsible for some ailments including dental caries! The Blochwich treatments for pain ailments, which used the elder bark and stems containing anaesthetising essential oils, could actually provide relief from pain. Today, we also know that the antibacterial, antiviral and oxidative stress properties of the polyphenols contained in elderberries would have been helpful for many of the treatments listed in the handbook.

Blochwich like most learned physicians in the middle ages still drew many of his treatments and theories from the teachings of Galen of Pergamum (129 AD) who taught that diseases resulted from an imbalance of the four humors which were assigned to the classical elements : blood (air), yellow bile (fire), black bile (earth) and phlegm (water). The physician had to find the responsible organ and bring the fluids of the organ back into balance. The procedure involved the use of medicines, bloodletting, purging or a combination thereof. This may help you understand why so many treatments started with the use of purgatives to eliminate the cause of the symptoms.

Blochwich often administered laxatives, emetics and diuretics to improve drainage so that the balance of the body fluids could be restored. Today we know that some of these ingredients at high dosages can be toxic and potentially fatal. We hope this revised historical treatise will inspire new ideas of combining traditional medicine with today’s wealth of analytical science, clinical research and pharmacology. Blochwich could not have imagined our

technologies to safely extract, standardise and optimise the active substances of the elder into herbal treatments. Health practitioners, students and people interested in apothecary and medical history will find this revised work a benchmark reference. This is a rare opportunity to look at health care in the middle ages and to appreciate the advances which we now enjoy. Please regard this book as an excursion into the Middle Ages through the eyes of a renowned practicing physician.

Section 1:

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OF THE NAME, KIND, FORM,

PLACE AND QUALITY

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As the Elder is a tree that even the most common people know, it seems superfluous to describe it in many words; nevertheless, and although this might make our treatise seem lengthy, some facts from ancient and modern botanists must be said beforehand.

The Name

The Elder tree is called by Dioscorides and other Greeks, because it often grows in shady spots and close to water, as described by Pena and Lobel in their Advers. of Plants, p. 434. This name was retained by Th. Paracelsus, in whose writings – and many other modern works of chemistry – granorumactes¹ (as well as medicines prepared from them) is frequently mentioned. In Latin, it is called sambucus, or chiefly, as pointed out by H. Frida, Val. 1. 2. de tuend. san. c. 26, sabucus, because its branches, when hollowed, resemble the musical instrument called sabuc, or sambuck; see Pena and Lob in the place cited above.

The Spanish call it sabuco or sabugo; the Germans Holunder or – by contraction – Holder (although some say its many positive attributes earned it this name, as if it were deduced from Hulder or Hulderich; however, we will not discuss this question here); the Italians have named it sambuco; the French Sufier, Suyn and Sufau; the Bohemians Bez, the English the Elder tree, the Scots Boor tree or Bore tree; the Low Dutch Ulie. See also tabernaemontanus² Herbal, part 3,

Reviews for The Anatomy of the Elder

[xyg6kypr45 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A well written explanation of the elder tree and its flowering companions for the time period in which it was authored.