Oils of rosemary, lavender, thyme, marjoram, hyssop, rue, oranges, lemons …. Wait a minute, what is this doing in my ca. 1660 manuscript of country dance steps? Paper was scarce, and I frequently discover odd things written into the margins of early printed and manuscript books and scores. People doodled, tested their quills, and jotted down appointments, just as many of us do today. But this is the first full-blown recipe that I’ve ever encountered. Noted upside down on the back flyleaves, the balsam sounds entirely possible until you get to the “ambergreeze” which might be a bit hard to come by nowadays. Still, in these trying times, thought I would share one person’s remedy for apoplexy, epilepsy, and a variety of stomach complaints. Simply click image to enlarge.
[Thanks to Andrea Cawelti, Ward Music Cataloger, for contributing this post.]
Another wonderful post! I love it when an item connects to real life; having the recipe in there is priceless. And some of these dances are danced today. Yup, real people, real books, just a couple of centuries later.