Culpeper's Complete Herbal

by Nicholas Culpeper

The definitive book on early English herbalism in cookery and medicine.

Genres: Reference, Nonfiction, Gardening, Herbs, History, Nature, Health

608 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1653

About the author

Nicholas Culpeper was an English botanist, herbalist, physician, and astrologer. His published books include The English Physician (1652) and the Complete Herbal (1653), which contain a rich store of pharmaceutical and herbal knowledge, and Astrological Judgement of Diseases from the Decumbiture of the Sick (1655), which is one of the most detailed documents we have on the practice of medical astrology in Early Modern Europe.

Culpeper spent the greater part of his life in the English outdoors cataloging hundreds of medicinal herbs. He criticized what he considered the unnatural methods of his contemporaries, writing: "This not being pleasing, and less profitable to me, I consulted with my two brothers, DR. REASON and DR. EXPERIENCE, and took a voyage to visit my mother NATURE, by whose advice, together with the help of Dr. DILIGENCE, I at last obtained my desire; and, being warned by MR. HONESTY, a stranger in our days, to publish it to the world, I have done it."

Culpeper came from a long line of notable people including Thomas Culpeper, the lover of Catherine Howard (also a distant relative) who was sentenced to death by Catherine's husband, King Henry VIII.

Reviews

[Shirley Revill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely brilliant. Highly recommended.

[Geraldine Dyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Due to the nature of Nicholas Culpepper's language/the era it was written, sometimes the information may seem sketchy to the untrained eye, but I own two copies of this book & my mother has owned a copy since I was very young (if not before I was born) and I swear by it or any information about healing attributes of herbs, vegetables and other things grown in uk hedgerows that have been long forgotten. Brilliant stuff :)

[Sam (Hissing Potatoes) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not so good on practical herbal advice, but great for historical information or astrological associations (I can see fiction writers using this book as a reference). The modern annotations don't do a complete job of confirming or refuting Culpeper's recommendations.

However, I appreciated the introductory note about Culpeper being dedicated to bringing medicinal knowledge to the masses, as is solidified by passages throughout. I adored Culpeper's personality throughout his descriptions, between his insistence that the rich look out for the poor and his scathing rants about such things as common herbal naming conventions. I never thought an herbal dictionary would be so entertaining.

It's also a very pretty edition.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating

Feels like an old store of information useful to healers, witches and wise women, I will need another colour book to help ID some of the plants though.

[Autumn Kearney · Rating 5 out of 5]

The descriptions are fulfilling and the line drawings are in black and white. It's a classic herbal, so it’s a must have for anyone even the sightlessly interested in such things.

[Clivemichael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good starting off point for the budding herbalist interested in historical reference- archaic language and misguided direction such as" a French physician called Hilarius once told that an acquaintance of his had smelled basil and as a result a scorpion grew in his brain..." and “Mizaldus affirms, that being laid to rot in horse dung, it will breed venomous beasts.”
Covers most useful common plants, has a some recipes.

[Rhiannon Futch · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a good book, but it is highly dated. I got my copy from a second-chance bookstore and I have referenced it for different things.

[Elisabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think the world has lost its touch with nature.

Nicholas Culpeper, a life of such wonder actually though short-lived was a wonder with herbs. But, as a person still learning, when he used the words like "it's so common everyone knows what it looks like, so I shall forego the detail on how it looks"

I didn't know what some of those plants were, so I lacked the detail to identify them. I think my favourite part was my grandfather owned this book and actually left checkmarks on information he found the most accurate.

Especially since he was very good with herbology.

This was a wonderful quick review on herbs and the charestics they help with!

[Sarah Winckler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating based on 2019 edition. This book is organized in alphabetical order by herb name. For about half the entries, the author states that the herb isn't worth describing because it's so common. In many cases the herb isn't so common in modern times on a different continent, so this is kind of annoying. The original author is from England in 1653. There are some interesting historical aspects, especially in the introduction. There are also long descriptions of the astrology of the herbs where they are associated with particular "planets." I'm finding myself skipping over a lot of this portion as it's pretty nonsensical to me. This edition also includes a modern usage section and warnings for herbs that may not be good for your health. Colored illustrations are included. It's interesting to look through, but there are probably better options to read.

[Cherie · Rating 3 out of 5]

One budding herbalist recommended this as a go-to book; I personally wouldn't use it as that, as I found many of the plants not really common or the descriptions not helpful (multiple times Culpeper would say he didn't need to describe a plant bc it is so common - but to me, many of these were not common). Still, fascinating at how much he knew so many years ago.

[Diana McNamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic, historical and still useful after so many centuries - the man who started it all - a must have for any serious herbalist.

[Randhir Chaudhari]

Fhj

[S.J. Reisner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disappointed in lack of detailed illustrations. A few pages with colored plates. But that's it. Otherwise, a classic in herbs and herbal preparations. I have the small 5 x 7.5 hardcover version.

[Jules · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic reference book.

[IE · Rating 4 out of 5]

Didn’t have a chance to read in entirety, I would revisit it again at whg library if I get the chance.

[N. Sakr · Rating 4 out of 5]

classic guide to traditional herbal medicine, full of remedies and old-world wisdom.

[Diane Kistner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good historical reference

I wanted something to help me plan medicinal herbs for my permaculture food forest project, for edibles, blending into teas, and the like. This book isn't that but it's well done for what it is. It has a number of culinary fruits and herbs plus a lot of once-used herbs that aren't much used anymore. The illustrations are more charming than precise for purposes of identification. The cautionary materials are helpful, and a few herbs were mentioned as worthy of more research.

[Fraser Sherman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very much a specialty item, which makes it hard to review. Culpeper discusses the virtues of various plants, and their names (Christ's Eye, Clown's Woodword, Dead Nettle, the Melancholy Thistle and Piss-a-Bed among them) and healing properties, while emphasizing that he's researching this stuff, not just regurgitating the classics (of course his idea of research includes looking at the astrological ties of each plant).

[Juli Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful version of Culpeper's classic herbal with updated scientific information. There are some ways in which it is obvious that this is the first edition of this volume: some of the illustrations don't seem to match, and there's some consistency issues with some of the headings for various plants. I'm sure these will be cleaned up in subsequent printings. But the combination of the classic text with useful modernization is pretty golden.

[Emma Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much of the herbal information used during the 16th/17th Century has been forgotten in favour of pharmaceuticals.
Many a herb or remedy from this book are unlikely to be written into modern western herbal books, either because the information has been lost over time or because additional research was never done.

This is the only book that holds a treatment for Skeeter Syndrome. Dozens of other books don't even mention the plant and those that do don't list the use in question.

[Rhianna Schoonover · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read for anyone who wants to understand the history of the medical field in England & Europe. While many uses of herbs are no longer supported, it does help to understand where we have the ideas of what herbs do in a written form. Culpepper is one of the better known authors of medicinal tomes of his era and quite worth reading.

[Amy Wolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

An invaluable guide to 17th-century "medicine" and its herbal "cures." I used this extensively for research of my own novels. If you want to know how they dealt with pregnancy, morning sickness, the Plague, gunshot wounds, and just about anything else, I highly recommend Culpeper, but, please, don't try any of these remedies at home!

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thorough and detailed reference book containing information on a wide variety of herbs including medicinal properties and how to prepare and use them. The botanical information is useful and precise and can be used by anybody to identify each herb

[S · Rating 2 out of 5]

A lot of info is not trustworthy, names were based on looks, nothing more, and there was also mixing of what the herbs actually did according to certain 'authorities', i.e. apothecaries, natives, etc. it's unreliable and ill informed.

[Val · Rating 5 out of 5]

The original and best reference book for anyone interested in herbal remedies was written in the mid-C17th by Nicholas Culpeper. He also wrote several other books for medical practitioners, and together they give a good insight into treatments of the time.

[Eris Varga · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really delightful to see ye olde beliefs about plants and then have them immediately debunked with the editor's modern uses sections. It's also incredible to see the accuracies - and very prettily arranged and usefully indexed for research too.

[David Chmelik · Rating 1 out of 5]

The information about herbs may or may not be helpful, but it also lists astrological 'information' about them, which I think is nonsense.

[Saleris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this book. I have 2 copies. This one, bought at a book fair (Got to have a hardback of this book) and a paperback to flip through and mark when needed.

[John]

reference

[B. Justin Shier · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yea, I read all of it. Yea, I'm strange.