Teachers' Notes Plague Bag Activity

Teachers’ Notes
Plague Bag Activity
This cross curricula activity is designed
to introduce concepts of medicine and
healthcare in the past and the selfsufficiency
of an estate like Llancaiach
Fawr, where the plants in the garden were
grown for many different reasons.
Gardens in the 16 th and 17 th centuries became more ornamental
and elaborate as times became more peaceful and settled.
Formal gardens, knot gardens and privy gardens (where rare or
special plants were grown and where the family, especially the
lady of the house, sat in quiet enjoyment) became a feature of
many gentry houses.
However, gardens in this period also served a more practical
purpose, yielding plants and herbs not just for decoration but
also for cooking and for the making of perfumes and “cures”.
The Mistress of the house was expected to have some skill in
creating ointments and salves as herbal remedies for her
family and the wider household of servants. Frequently, it
was only the very wealthy who could afford to pay doctors, who
could often only be found in the larger towns and cities.
The Plague struck regularly throughout the 16 th and 17 th
centuries before the mass outbreak of the Great Plague in
1665. In the 17 th century, it was widely believed that plague
was generated by foul vapours from the earth which created a
“miasma” of bad air. Scented herbs with refreshing smells were
thought to be able to prevent infection from this miasma.
“Plague Bags” filled with herbs and nosegays of sweet scented
plants became popular. They were carried around and pressed to
the nose, in the belief that inhaling the goodness contained
within the herbs would prevent infection from the foulness
contained in any surrounding bad air. The herbs within the
bags could also be
used to treat a range of other ailments. It
was not until the late 19 th century that it was
discovered plague had been passed on by the
fleas of the black rat.
Nicholas Culpeper (1616-54) was an astrologer-physician whose
publications of “The English Physician” and “Complete Herbal
” in 1652 and 1653 respectively helped to widen knowledge of
herbal remedies. In these works, he aimed to teach the common
man and woman how to treat themselves. By cataloguing the uses
and medical virtues of a range of herbs, Culpeper hoped to
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Teachers’ Notes
make such knowledge more widespread so that even the poor
could have access to good, simple medicines.
Listed below are examples of some of curative purposes
attributed to various herbs by Culpeper and others.
Curative properties of herbs,
as used/ believed in the 17 th century
Lavender
• Thought to relieve pain from headaches.
• Also used to calm the nerves and promote sleep.
• Was also used to perfume a room and to scent clothing.
Rose
• Used to help cure colds and coughs.
• A tincture of rose used to help strengthen the stomach
and prevent vomiting.
• Used also for perfumes.
Cowslip
• Thought to help to take away spots, wrinkles and
freckles.
• Also used to assist in the prevention of nightmares.
• Thought to help cure trembling and convulsions.
• Also thought to be good for calming the nerves and
preventing insomnia.
Rosemary
• Thought to be especially useful to stave off pestilence
and to help a poor memory.
• Rosemary oil rubbed on the head believed to prevent hair
loss.
• Also used as a strewing herb – strewed on floors so that
its scent was released when it was walked over.
• Also used in cooking to disguise the taste of rotting
meat.
Sage
• Used to help cure throat pain.
• Used to help wounds heal, especially those in the mouth
like ulcers.
• Used to induce sweating in feverish colds.
• Though to help cure boils and ulcers.
• Also used in cooking to disguise the taste of rotting
meat.
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Teachers’ Notes
Cloves
• Thought to cure pain from stomach ache.
• Used to relieve pain caused by toothache.
• Also used to spice breads, puddings and meats.
Camomile
• Thought to calm the nerves.
• When used in water was rubbed on a swollen or bruised
limb to lessen the swelling and relieve the pain.
• Also thought to relieve itching.
Cornflower
• Cornflower was used to help cure eye ailments.
• According to Culpeper, cornflower was also useful for
removing poison from scorpion stings.
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