This is part three and four of the Preparation of Compound Medicines.  For more background and to see Part 1 - Syrups, please check out the post HERE or part 2 on electuaries HERE, part 3 - Pills can be found HERE. This is my (rudimentary) translation from Latin the Pills section of John Mirfield's Breviarium Bartholomei, part 13, as found in Popular Medicine in the Thirteenth-Century England, by Tony Hunt.

​As with the previous translation of Syrups, headers that are in parentheses are notes from Tony Hunt, while parentheses contained within the copy usually contain my own notes, whether it is clarification of a term or uncertainty of the translation.

(Powders)

Of Powders in General

First of all, it must be understood that any medicine that is prepared in the manner of an electuary or in pills can be given as a powder, but if necessary, scammony (‘scamonia’, the plant scammony which is a purgative - need better translation for this as it comes up several times) is added in the proper portion. Some, however, are so disgusted with ready-made medicines that they do not want to take them in any way, to whom we give a powder that is strong for this purpose and perhaps a laxative, and we offer them unwary at the beginning of the meal in some food or drink. And when they have received the laxative powder, they must abstain from food, lest the power of the medicine be suffocated by an excessive quantity of it. And note that medicine given in powder is more effective against the vices of parts removed from the stomach than pills or suppositories. For dust penetrates deeply by its subtlety. Especially diuretics and the like need a fine powdering, so that they penetrate more quickly to the members. Therefore, whatever medicine has reference to the remote parts must be finely powdered; but, as some say, laxative medicine quickly loses its power when powdered. Wherefore it is better that they be made with honey or sugar, or at least with a juice of their own competence, to be bound together and formed into pieces. And when you wish to use them, they should be diluted with some liquid of sufficient strength and taken by mouth. But the laxative powder should be given to those who have a fever with water, not to those who have a fever with wine. For dust quickly loses its power because of its fineness. Therefore, at least the laxative powder should not be used for a fortnight or a month longer unless it is prepared as aforesaid. Moreover, when a bird or other animal is to be pulverized, they are first placed in a crude pot with a lid and lined with clay in a boiling oven - not to burn them, but to dry them so that they can be pulverized.

(Waters)

Of Waters in General

Against different diseases, they find different medicinal waters, some from leaves, some from flowers, some from roots, and from many other things in different ways, as will be evident from the inside, about some for example. And you must know that all herbal waters have the same virtues as the herb from which they are extracted.

(Preparation)

But when you want to draw water from flowers or leaves or the like, they are collected in the morning and thrown away with sticks, cut a little and are broken a little in a mortar. And from there the lower vessel of the distiller is filled up to the middle and covered with another part of the distiller. And then those vessels are bound well round the lip with clay, and then they are placed on an earthen furnace which has a narrow opening. And then the coals are placed without smoke, and the water drips through the mouth of the dropper, which is received in a glass vial, and reserved for use.

​
​

Before you read the entry below, understand that I am NOT recommending any use of plants with out further research on your part.  I assume no responsibility for what ever dumb mistakes someone else might make.  I know that I can safely consume all items mentioned below because I have researched them (and compared to my own list of allergies, as well as drug allergies) and have safely consumed all items in the past.  Please read this entry on safety HERE.

In my entry here on Mullein, I noted that I wanted to test out Hildegard's cure for soar throats "with pain in the chest".  After harvesting mullein leaves over the last several days, I decided to go ahead and play around with this.

The problem here is that I am fairly certain now that the intention is to use fennel seeds and dried mullein leaves.  My leaves are not yet dry and I did not have seeds here but was able to procure fresh fennel so I figured "what the heck".  

It called for equal measure of the two plant items to be cooked in "good wine" and consumed often.  It does not, however give quantities for any of those items.  I also wondered, when I first read this, if measure for apothecaries in period was more commonly by weight or volume.  Eventually came across some recipes that called for spoonfuls of various things and that at least let me know that in some cases it was by volume.

I opted to make a single cup of wine with a tablespoon each of the two plants.  I chose these proportions based on modern recipes for mullein tea that make use of fresh, rather than dried, plants.  I simmered the chopped fennel and leaves for 15 minutes and let continue to steep as it cooled for another ten.  I strained it through a damp linen cloth into a cup.  In the photos I show it in a clear cup so that the color can be seen as well.

Regarding wine, when I first started looking into these things and noticed that so many recipes called for wine (yay!) I was wondering out loud on Facebook about what type of wine was available.  Some folks chimed in that old wine was used for medicinal concoctions, but I notice that many recipes specifically call for "good wine".  Further research also showed me that depending on the resources that someone in 14th century England had, there was a wide variety of wine available, both white and red, in many types.  English produced wine was white, imported could be either, and I saw that sweet wines were also imported from Greece and elsewhere.

The wine was still clear after the addition of the herbs and only had a slight herbal smell.  The taste was not unpleasant, and as you swallowed it you got a better sense of the herbs in it.  I think, lol, that my wine was starting to turn as it was more sour than it should be and that only increased with cooking.  The concoction was interesting, and I wish I had thought of making this two weeks ago when I did, in fact, have a sore throat.  

I will be procuring fennel seed soon and can repeat this experiment with the dried plant matter as I believe was intended in period.

​The Old English Herbarium has Mullien having such properties as rendering someone carrying it fearless in face of terror or if approached by wild beasts (Medieval Herbal Remedies, p181).  Another use is as a cure for gout that is rendered by bruising the leaves and placing the plant on the sore spot whereafter the patient will be able to walk in a few hours.  


This leads me to something I have been wondering since the outset of this project.  Often there is nothing to distinguish whether a plant might be needed fresh or dried for it to be deemed useful. This has led me to wonder if some remedies were only available in the summer.  For this example, that the leaves need to be bruised is key.  That indicates a fresh plant.  Fortunately for medieval people, the leaves of the first year plants often remain green in the winter (second year will dry up after flowering).

n her work, Hildegard notes that Mullien cooked with meat and “no other seasoning” and eaten often will strengthen the heart and make one happy.  For a hoarse voice or soar throat with pain in the chest, cook the Mullien with an equal amount of fennel in good wine, straining through a cloth and drinking often. (p115)

As mentioned before, the book Leechcraft discusses possible confusion with this plan an a variety of others.  It notes that an early English plant named “molin” is another item that could be our modern Mullien, and that this plant had sedative properties and was used widely for centuries for coughs and diarrhea and as lamp wicks.  (P142)

That last is one thing that I have read over and over in folklore or entries online for this plant.  This fascinates me.  I have seen references to it being used by miners in the US as torches, by ancient Roman’s to light the way in funeral processions and it being supposedly used by witches.  None of these sources were particularly academic, but I still am very intrigued.  I have seen it mentioned that they are dipped in tallow, wax or oil to produce the Mullien torch.  I have collected some stalks and plan to test them with both beeswax and olive oil.  The hope is to test these out at some point this week.

I also have gathered some leaves and will be drying them to add to the apothecary that I am building.
​

Persona Summary:

• This plant existed in 14th Century England, though the English sources are ambiguous as to which plant is which where this is concerned.  It was used and noted elsewhere so it is quite possibly something that would have been known
• Plausible foraged or cultivated medicinal source (add to my personal apothecary)

Projects:

• Test out how well the flower stalks work as torches
• Test out Hildegard's recipes for both sore throat and as an additive to meat merely to see how the concoctions taste: COMPLETE.  You can see the post about this HERE. 

​

List of Resources can be found HERE

This year I finally managed to attend the Weed Walk!  It was lovely and very informative.  I knew many of the plants but got to learn about many new ones as well.  The tour of Pennsic plants included several types of clover, bird's foot trefoil, soapwort, broadleaf plaintain, wood sorrel, poke berry, crown vetch, thistle, golden rod, milkweed, coltsfoot, creeping charlie, elderberry, red dock, jewelweed, swamp vervain, boneset, white clover, iron weed, yarrow, golden rod, horsetail, heal all, skunk cabbage, Indian pipe and a few I am likely forgetting.

I love learning how to better identify plants in the wild, and hope over this next year to learn more about their uses in the Middle Ages.  I want to see these bits of nature as a 14th century person would have viewed them and better understand their value from that respect.  Hoping to start building out my own database of information from various sources that my persona might have studied in period.

I am trying to approach my Forestry project not just as "here is how to build a fire", but "how would this forester have lived in period".  What was this person's life like?  What was their day?  What did they live in and eat?

I am, of course, learning all sorts of things along the way, particularly regarding local plants (and how they were used in period).  One thing that has really struck home is the very narrow window of availability of many things.  

Weeks ago I envisioned crafting a pottage with young broadleaf plantain leaves, the last of the wild garlic mustard and turnips.  What I did not realize then is how quickly the garlic mustard would disappear.  Likewise with the cleavers.

I would have made this earlier, but I had intended to do it over a fire in a lovely clay pot I purchased for that purpose, and there simply has been no time.  I realized that the turnips are still sitting here, so I went out tonight and gathered young plantain leaves. Many of the plants have already developed their seed stalks, but there are still much younger ones a plenty.  You can see my documentation for use of this plant in this fashion HERE. 

So I gathered those leaves, a few leaves of kale from my garden as well as parsley and cooked up a pottage.  I started with a bit of butter and a shallot.  Onions and shallots could be stored and were available for use at times other than "in season". I started this way because I am allergic to undercooked onion and I wanted to be dead certain this was fully cooked.  

Turnips also could be stored, and early spring turnips could be available at this time of year as well.  I parboiled these as mentioned in Forme of Cury and drained them. 

I used a store bought chicken stock as my base.  My goal here is not peasant food, but rather, less formal food, and I feel stock would not be unreasonable if a chicken formed part of a former meal.

Parsley I have in abundance in my garden, and kale... well, I am pretty sure this stuff never dies and would survive a nuclear war and I have excess so chose to make use of it as part of this dish.  I opted for the older, tough leaves that would be less pleasant in a salad. 

The only other thing I added was a little salt.  I have to say that this is quite delicious, and very "comfort food" in a way.  I wish that I had a nice loaf of bread to consume with it (which I might go obtain for when I have this for lunch tomorrow).

When I did the research on Cleavers (awanderingelf.weebly.com/a-wandering-elf-in-the-woods/wild-plants-cleavers-galium-aparine), I noted that I had pulled plenty to dry to attempt to stuff a cushion for the wooden chair I use at events.  The plant is completely dry and I made the cushion from scrap linen in my stash last night.  Tonight I stuffed it and discovered that it takes quite a bit more than I expected and it only filled the pillow halfway.  The dried plant smells quite delightful, but I did spend a bit of time picking the little hitchhikers off my clothing after stuffing.

This was fine because I also have in my stash a bin of junk wool fibre.  This is wool that is the byproduct from combing and also some that felted too much when I washed it.  I added a layer of that on top of the cleavers and it seems about perfect (and Layla agrees).  I look forward to testing it out myself when she is finished.
​

wood This one is always a favorite of mine in the spring and I have been consuming these delights since I was a kid so I needed no expert method of identification from a book.  Even The Herbalist note that it is “so well known in the United States it requires no description” (p138). Some years the yard here is blanketed with them that the grass appears to have a pattern of red dots.  When we first got this place there were so many that I saved and dried a number of them and when I made tea that winter I would add a spoonful of them to my black tea to add sweetness and spring flavor.

Wiki kindly supplied me with a link documenting this plant as far back as the Mesolithic period (LINK) and beyond (and also, incidentally documents it to the British Isles for me).  This is listed in Peterson’s Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs and the entry confirms that in addition to leaves and fruit, the roots are useful as well (p52).  One of the uses includes the root being used as a chewing stick (toothbrush), which is something I find fascinating and plan to look into further.  A tea of the plant can also be used as an external wash for sunburn.


At this point, I want to be clear that the point of this journal is not to collect information on modern usage for plants.  This project is directly related to the SCA and, more specifically, to a Forester persona I am developing.  Beyond that, I do not consider myself an expert and it is not, in my opinion, relevant to discuss modern medical usage to any great extent within the context of the SCA (in fact, this is wisely even forbidden at some events).  So while I am reading all of that information as I work through the weeds in my yard, I am only noting modern things that I find particularly interesting and will be focusing largely on historic uses that are applicable to my persona’s life.


I did not realize until today that there are two variants of this plant, the common strawberry and the wood strawberry.  The one that covers my yard is wood strawberry, based on the large central leaf tooth as described by the US Forest Service (LINK). 

There is a warning in the Lesley Bremness’s book, Herbs, notes that that leaves must first be dried before being brewed into a tea to avoid toxins, but I have not seen this elsewhere (p172).  If I were to save this plant for future use, it would be dried anyways, but I would still do further looking into this caution were I to do so.

Now regarding period usage, Hildegard noted that they grow too close to the ground and are not good for healthy or sick persons and that both the herb and fruit bring on mucus (p147).  Would someone living in an area where this amply grows have stopped using this useful, tasty and nutritious food source?  I think not given that it appears to have been known in the Tudor period as a delightful dessert.  (LINK)  Further, the Old English Herbarium lists the fruit as having laxative properties and an infusion of the leaves being a remedy for dysentery, which is a rather interesting paradox (p156).

Persona Summary:

• This plant was likely known to a 14th Century Forester in England
• The understood properties in period might have been something that person had come across
• Plausible foraged food source, could be gathered for cooking or just to eat as one comes across them

Projects:

• Consume on sight (ongoing while they last)
• Dig up a root to see how it can function as a 'chewing stick'
  

List of Resources can be found HERE

​Disclaimer: I am an amateur at woodscraft and herblore.  Nothing below should be taken as advice or recommendations.  I am merely experimenting.  Please do your own research before consuming or using any plant for medicinal purposes.
 
When I was young we called the fruit of this plant Hitchhikers because they would hitch a ride on your pant legs. This plant has also been called Goosegrass, Cleaverwort and Catchweed.  Another term for it is Bedstraw and it is related to both Lady’s Bedstraw and Madder which produce red dyes.

The plant is native to Europe, North Africa and Asia, and has been naturalized in North America and elsewhere.  

I can honestly say, that despite being very familiar with Lady’s Bedstraw as a dyeing agent, I never actually made the connection between the name and the historic use of using these plants as stuffing in mattresses and cushions.  But while walking in part of the yard that was completely full of this plant, I realized that the loftiness that it creates when locked together would be pretty brilliant for that purpose.  I read in a few online sources that it was believed that the Virgin Mary used this plant as bedding for her son in the manger.  I cannot find anything to verify how long people have believed that, but did discover that the plant is native to that region so I guess it is plausible?  I have already gathered a fair amount of this from the yard and coiled it into small nests as I pulled it and plan to stuff a cushion with it once they have died out.
 
Peterson’s Guide to Edible plants states that this plant is edible, preferably the young shoots added to salads or boiled for 10-15 minutes. (p50)  The most impressive part though is that this plant is related to coffee.  Those pesky seeds (once they are dry on the stem) can apparently be roasted and ground to create a very coffee-like brew that even has some caffeine.  While I have found nothing to suggest that that is period at all, I do plan to test it out later this summer once the seeds have matured.  The guide for medicinal use (p50) states that among other things, it was historically used for kidney inflammation and stones and that it was used for scurvy as well (which makes sense given that there is citric acid in it).

​The warnings I most often see for this one is that some individuals can get contact dermatitis from this juice of the plant.

​The Old English Herbarium (10-11th Century) recommends mixing the juice from this plant with wine to cure spider or snake bites and to drip the juice in the ear for an earache. 

Turner’s Herbal (1551CE) as well as other sources mention this plant’s use as a strainer for milk in the country, to clear it of straw or other items that might fall into it.  THAT has a very viable possibility as a future project as well. 
 
Knowing that this comes from the madder family, and seeing the numerous sources online that claim the older roots do indeed serve as a source of red dye, I immediately thought that that could become another project for this plant.  Sadly, as I was pulling this plant in the yard I discovered that not a single one brought up the roots when pulled.  The base of the stem is thin and weak and just pulled off.  To obtain roots one would have to dig for them and I don’t know that really would make it a reasonably period source for the dye given that it is supposed to be much weaker than Lady’s Bedstraw.  If I can collect some, I might still try it, but I am no longer eyeing that up as a possibility.
 
Despite the numerous historic or modern uses, I am convinced that this plant actually only serves one purpose in the universe, and that is for me to spend over half the year pulling those hitchhikers off of this guy’s undercarriage.

Persona Summary:

• This plant was likely known to a 14th Century Forester in England
• The understood properties in period might have been something that person had come across
• Plausible foraged food source, potentially used in pottages and the like
• It is possible that home goods such as cushions or mattresses could have been stuffed with this plant matter

Projects:

• Dry the plant and stuff a cushion with it to test out (Completed and can be seen HERE )
• Add the greens to a pottage
• Craft a sieve for straining liquids
• Roast the seeds when dry to make ‘coffee’ (modern, but I have to try it, lol)

​List of Resources can be found HERE

My list of resources for plants, plantlore and medicine for this project is below.  I will keep this sheet updated, and add the link to each blog post as needed. (UPDATED: September 19, 2022.)


Anglo-Norman Dictionary, University of Aberystwyth. https://anglo-norman.net/anglo-norman.net/
 
Arsdall, Anne Van. Medieval Herbal Remedies: The Old English Herbarium and Anglo-Saxon Medicine, Routledge, 2010.

Backx-de Groot, Githa. "Historical overview of herbal medicine from ancient to modern times", Utrecht University, 2013.

Biggam, Carole. "Magic and Medicine - Early Medieval Plant-Name Studies", Leeds Studies in English, University of Leeds, 2013.
 
Black, Maggie. The Medieval Cookbook, The J. Paul Getty Museum, 2012.

Blunt, Wilfrid and Sandra Raphael. The Illustrated Herbal (Manuscripts), Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1979.
 
Bremness, Lesley. Herbs, Dorling Kindersley, 1994.

Burnett, John. "The Giustiani Medicine Chest", Medical History, Cambridge University Press, 1982.

Cholmely, H. P. John of Gaddesden, Clarendon Press, 1912.
 
Collins, Minta. Medieval Herbals: The Illustrative Tradtions, The British Library, 2000.

Cogliati Arano, Luisa. The Medieval Health Handbook – Tacuinum Sanitatis, George Brazukker, Inc, 1976.
 
Dave’s Garden, Plant Files, davesgarden.com
 
Dictionary of Old English Plant Names, 2007-2022. http://oldenglish-plantnames.org/preface
 
Dean, Jenny. A Heritage of Color, Search Press, 2014.
 
Dendle, Peter and Alain Touwaide. Health and Healing from the Medieval Garden, The Boydell Press, 2008.
 
Everett, Nicholas. The Alphabet of Galen, University of Toronto Press, 2012.

Fitch, John G. On Simples, Attributed to Dioscorides, Brill, 2022.
 
Frantzen, Allen J. Food, Eating and Identity in Early Medieval England, The Boydell Press, 2014.

Getz, Faye M. Healing and Society in Medieval England, University of Wisconsin Press, 2010.
 
Hoffman, David.  The Complete Illustrated Holistic Herbal, Element, 1996.
 
Kiple, Kenneth F. The Cambridge World History of Food, Volume 1, Cambridge University Press, 2000.
 
Kiple, Kenneth F. The Cambridge World History of Food, Volume 2, Cambridge University Press, 2000.

Galen (translation by P.N. Singer). Galen, Selected Works, Oxford University Press, 1997.

Getz, Faye. Healing and Society in Medieval England: A Middle English translation of the pharmaceutical writings of Gilbertus Anglicanus, University of Wisconsin Press, 2010.
 
Greco, Gina L and Christine M. Rose. The Good Wife’s Guide, Cornell University Press, 2009.

Green, Monica H. The Trotula: A Medieval Compendium of Women's Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, 2001.

Hall, Alaric. "Madness, Medication - and Self-Induced Hallucination? Elleborous (and Woody Nightshare) in Anglo-Saxon England, 700-900", Magic and Medicine: Early Medieval Plant-Name Studies, University of Leeds, 2013.
 
Henisch, Bridget A. The Medieval Cook, The Boydell Press, 2009.
 
Hoffman, David.  The Complete Illustrated Holistic Herbal, Element, 1996.
 
Hozeski, Bruce W.  Hildegarde’s Healing Plants from her Medieval Classic Physica, Beacon Press Books, 2001.

Hunt, Tony.  Popular Medicine in Thirteenth-Century England,  Boydell & Brewer, 1990.

Hunt, Tony. Plant Names of Medieval England, D.S. Brewer, 1989.

Hunt, Tony. Three Receptaria from Medieval England, The Society for the Study of Medieval Languages at Oxford, 2001.

Landsberg, Sylvia. The Medieval Garden, University of Toronto Press, 2003.

Lang, S. J. "The 'Philomena' of John Bradmore and its Middle English Derivative: A Perspecitve on Surgery in Late Medieval England", University of St. Andrews, 1998.
 
Lonicer, Adam. Kreuterbuch, kunstliche Conterfeytunge der Bäume, Stauden, Kreuter, Getreyde, Gewürtze, was printed in Franfort by Christian Engenolph, 1587.  (Additional versions of this book were still being printed into the 18th century.)
 
Mabey, Richard and Michael McIntyre. The New Age Herbalist, Collier Books, 1998.

Mäkinen, Martii. "Between Herbals et alia: Intertextuality in Medieval English Herbals", University of Helsinki, 2006.
 
Matterer, James L. Tacuinum Sanitatis in “Gode Cookery”, 2009.  http://www.godecookery.com/tacuin/tacuin.htm
 
McKerracher, Anglo-Saxon Crops and Weeds, Archaeopress Publishing, 2019
 
Meyer, J. E. The Herbalist, Meyer, 1960.

Middle English Compendium, University of Michigan, 2022. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/middle-english-dictionary

Mirrione, Claudia. "Theory and Terminology of Mixture in Galen", University of Berlin, 2017
 
Mount, Toni. Medieval Medicine, Amberley Publishing, 2016.
 
Mortimer, Ian. The Time Traveler’s Guide to Medieval England, Touchstone, 2008.
 
National Audubon Society.  National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers, Knopf, 2001.

Norri, Juhani. Dictionary of Medical Vocabulary in English, 1375-1550, Ashgate, 2016. 

Obaldeston, Tess Ann (Editor), Pedanius Dioscorides (Author), Dioscorides: De Materia Medica, Ibidus Press, 2000.

Paavilainen, Helena M. Medieval Pharmacotherapy: Continuity and Change, Brill, 2009.
 
Pavord, Anna. The Naming of Names, Bloomsbury USA, 2005. 

Peterson, Lee and Roger Tory Peterson.  A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants of Eastern and Central North America, Houghton Mifflin, 1978.
 
Petrides, George A. and Janet Wehr.  Peterson Guides - A Field Guide to Eastern Trees: Eastern United States and Canada, Houghton Mifflin, 1998.
 
Pettit, Edward Thomas.  A critical edition of the Old English Lacnunga in BL MS Harley 585, King’s College London, 1996.
 
Plantnet.org.  Plant identification application.
 
Pollington, Stephen.  Leechcraft: Early English Charms, Plantlore and Healting, Anglo-Saxon Books, 2011.
 
Pseudo-Apuleius Platonicus (4th Century CE), 1428-1500, Publisher - Johannes Philippus de Lignamine, 1428-1500.  Metropolitan Museum of Art: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/365881
 
Pseudo-Apuleius Platonicus (4th Century CE), Bodleian Library MS. Ashmole 1431, 1070-1100, Canterbury, Digital Bodleian. https://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/98127ed0-4bde-41e0-a93a-98a185b01de8/surfaces/3ec57965-769e-4ed2-8573-16fe862c7d49/ 

​Redon, et. al. The Medieval Kitchen – Recipes from France and Italy, University of Chicago Press, 1993.

Reed, Zsuzsanna Papp. "'Other Plants I Can't Name for You in English': The Plant Composition of Monastic Herb Gardens in Late Medieval England".

Singer, P.N. and Philip J. van der Eijk. Galen: Works on Human Nature - Volume 1 - Mixtures, Cambridge University Press, 2018.

Di Gennaro Splendore, B. (2021). The Triumph of Theriac, Nuncius, 36(2), 431-470, Brill.
 
Sullivan, Karen. The Complete Family Guide to Natural Home Remedies, Element, 1997.
 
Touwaide, Alain and Peter Dendle. Health and Healing from the Medieval Garden, 2008.

Trease, G. E. and J. H. Hodson. "The inventory of John Hexham, a 15th Century Apothecary", Medical History, Cambridge University Press, 2012.
 
The Tudor Pattern Book, Bodleian Library MS. Ashmole 1504.
 
Wildflower.org. Plant Database, The University of Texas at Austin.

Zupko, Ronald Edward. "Medieval Apothecary Weights and Measures: The Principal Units of England and France", Pharmacy in History, Volume 32, Number 2, University of Wisconsin Press, 1990. JStore Link.

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