Rosemary /Rosmarin

Spice Herb

Rosmarinus officinalis.

There's rosemary, that's for remembrance. Pray you, love, remember.” 

William Shakespeare, Hamlet 

Rosmarinus officinalis is an evergreen halfbush which is often sold and cultivated as if it was a perennial. It is cultivated for its aromatic leaves, used in various Mediterranean inspired dishes. The plant contains a strongly fragrant tacky rresin. The leaves are narrow and grey-greenish and the little flowers are pale blue to dark blue . tTe flowers arrive early spring (in Denmark often in March-April). The fruits are nuts, each with an Elaiosome. The roots go very deep with many fine side roots. It is a member of the mint family Lamiaceae, which includes many other herbs. The name "rosemary" derives from the Latin  "dew" (ros) and "sea" (marinus), or "dew of the sea" The plant is also sometimes called anthos, from ancient Greek, meaning "flower". Rosemary's natural habitat is in southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, where it prefers light-open, dry places with a calcareous and nutrient-poor soil. Rosemary is used as a decorative plant in gardens where it may have pest-control effects.


Rosemary in Denmark.

In Denmark rosemary is one of the oldest houseplants, it was cultivated around 1500s and maybe even earlier. In 1559 the king's gardener had to provide rosemary plants for the king's herb garden, and in 1618 were 60 rosemary plants provided for the royal garden at Rosenborg slot. It is told about one of Chr. 4's daughters that she did not tolerate the scent of rosemary since it reminded her of the death of her childhood friend. Rosemary is mentioned in the first Danish garden book from 1647. It was said that it should be planted and cultivated in "posh gardens" . The plant was also a part of the verse in some Danish psalms. Rosemary was used as a houseplant outside in summer and inside in winter, but the cultivation ceased almost completely around 1850, and in 1880 Rosemary was referred to as a rare plant.  


Medicine/Folk Medicine
Christiern Pedersen 1533: wine decoction to drink against various diseases; to smoke the crushed plant into the nostrils against headache and sneezing; a water- or beer decoction of rosemary and 
rue (herb-of-grace) -  or a wine decoction of rosemary against epilepsy. The leaves were eaten as an appetizer. The dry leaves to take with a drink against stomach pain. Crushed rosemary upon haemorroids. Rub black teeth with a powder of burnt twigs.
Henrik Smid 1546: wine decoction of flowers to drive out jaundice, to counteract shortness of breath, stimulate the digestion , this decoction was an antidote, it was cleansing the blood and it was diuretic.  Destilled water from the plant in order to regain a lost voice. Rosemary sugar strengthens the brain and heart and counteracts poison.
Simon Paulli 1648 said:  " this herb is one of the very best for the weaknesses of the head and extremely good to use against strokes, epilepsy, catarrh, weak eyes, dizziness, toothache, pain in the tongue and in the whole body, stitches in the chest, shortness of breath , vomitting, jaundice, colic, flatulence, diarrhea ". Malaria patients were cured with Rosemary oil. The pharmacy had a Rosemary balm, which was rubbed under the nose in times of the plague . 

The rosemary leaves and flowers were written into the Pharmacopoeia in 1772  and in a medical book in 1807.

In the 1700s and 1800s:  rub rosemary oil on the forehead against frenzy. Wine and rosemary for a weak heart ; rosemary as a component in snaps against gout. Tea of rosemary and lemon balm against various diseases; rosemary tea was a good help for the whooping cough. Old peope should bathe their weak eyes with rosemary in snaps; a decoction of rosemary against toothache and against hair loss.

Live stock: horses were smoked with rosemary for various horse-diseases. A decotoion of rosemary drove out lice, mange and scab of livestock.

Other use: Rosemary is used in the kitchen for both food and drink. The leaves are used to flavor various foods, such as stuffings and roast meats. The dry leaves in vinegar and for giving a steak a taste of game .Rosemary oil is used for purposes of fragrant bodily perfumes or to emit an aroma into a room. It is also burnt as incense, and used in shampoos and cleaning products.


Legend/Mythology
According to legend, it was draped around the Greek goddess Aphrodite when she rose from the sea, born of Uranus' semen.  The Virgin Mary is said to have spread her blue cloak over a white-blossomed rosemary bush when she was resting, and the flowers turned blue. The shrub then became known as the "Rose of Mary"

In the Middle Ages, rosemary was associated with wedding ceremonies. The bride would wear a rosemary headpiece and the groom and wedding guests would all wear a sprig of rosemary. From this association with weddings, rosemary was thought to be a love charm.

In myths, rosemary has a reputation for improving memory and has been used as a symbol for remembrance during war commemorations and funerals in Europe and Australia. Mourners would throw it into graves as a symbol of remembrance for the dead.

In Shakespeare's Hamlet, Ophelia says, "There's rosemary, that's for remembrance." (Hamlet, iv. 5.) In Australia, sprigs of rosemary are worn on ANZAC Day and sometimes Remembrance Day  to signify remembrance; the herb grows wild on the Gallipoli Peninsula. Hungary water was first prepared for the Queen of Hungary Elizabeth of Poland to " ... renovate vitality of paralyzed limbs ... " and to treat gout. It was used externally and prepared by mixing fresh rosemary tops into spirits of wine. Don Quixote, (Part One, Chapter XVII) mixes it in his recipe of the miraculous balm of Fierabras.


Music/ TV 
The song "Scarborough Fair " (popularised by Simon and Garfunkel) has the refrain "Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme" which is also the title of their third studio album.

Rosemary and Thyme is the name of a British TV detective series, starring Felicity Kendal and Pam Ferrim.
Rosemary song by Suzanne Vega, first published 1998 on her album Tried and True. 



Source: Brøndegaard, Dansk Etnobotanik, folk og flora, bd. 4. / Dansk wikipedia /British Wikipedia
photo: wikipedia
sketch: gb

Prince Hamlet's Grave, Kongshøj, Ammelhede

The Viking church. Moesgård. Museum,

Hamlet's grave is one of few preserved hills at Ammelhede. Inside 1 km distance were 15 others, now disappeared. The hills were on the top of a hillside along an old sound, which in Stone Age was a fjord. A long arm of the fjord stretched from the village Auning to Ammelhede, and south of Hamlet's grave the flat sea bottom is still visible. A brook has its spring in the moors downside Hamlet's grave. When the hill was built, big parts of the surrounding land were fertile meadows. They were an extremely important ressource for the agricultural expansion in Bronze- and Iron Age and the associated settlements.  A setttlement like this was found by Kulturhistorisk  Museum in Randers at a place named Stavnsager, only 1,5 km south of Hamlet's grave. This settlement delivered some rich and valuable material, like house sites, sunken roads and more than 2.500 metal objects from especially late Iron Age. The area had a special high status in the antiquity, which has been proved by the finding under the present Hørning church of the wooden church from Viking period 2,5 km to the south and the finding of the Hørning grave, one of Denmark's finest Viking graves at the same place.

south of the hill

The hill was in 1950 excavated by the National Museum, which noted that it had been digged out and plundered several times, but in the middle of the hill were traces after a stone-lined coffin. Beside some claypot pieces were no significant findings. However is the local story that a guy from a nearby farm "Ammelhedegård" earlier had found urns, bronze-jewelry, weapon and amber pearls. Besides this the archaeologists have nearby found a Frisian rune stick from ab. 700 with an inscription: "Upon a hill Amled defended himself " ("På en klint satte Amled sig til værge").


The reason why Hamlet's grave was known, is the name of the hill which it achieved in the beginning of the 1930s via Shakespeare's play Hamlet, who had the inspiration  from the Danish chronicle Gesta Danorum, written down by Saxo about year 1200, after having been handed down orally through centuries. In this chronicle is also the legend about Amled, who according to Saxo ruled Denmark in the 6-7. century AC (Iron Age) . Saxo describes that King Amled after many internal feuds had regained the throne, but was killed in a battle against the King of Lejre Rørik's successor Viglet upon a "campus" (field/heath) by his name. The place name Ammelhede north of Hamlet's grave is the only place name in Denmark, which can be transferred to the legend. Kronborg at Elsinore cannot -  like 6 other places which through times have claimed the story -  document such a connection to a local place name. The story of Ammelhede was the reason why a 10 tons heavy memorial stone was raised on the hill on the initiative of Randers Turistforening in 1933. This is a place for memory, no one knows for sure where the real Amled was buried.

Here is a shortened version of Saxos story about Amled:

Amled

Laurence Olivier

A son of the chief Ørvendel was by King Rørik employed as guard of Jutland together with his brother Fenge, and ørvendel marrried a few years later the king's daughter and had with her the son Amled. Ørvendel's marriage and prestige awoke the envy of Fenge, and some day he murdered his brother and forced his widow to marry him. The murder could not be held secret, and Fenge had to spread the rumor that he could not stand witnessing this beautiful mild woman to be the slave of her husband's tyranny. The young Amled knew that his days were also numbered, if Fenge feared that he would avenge his father's death. Amled chose to play mad. He lay by the fireplace, rummaging in the ashes, smeared dirt in his face  - and what he said was just as crazy as his actions. He cut hooks from wood, hardened them in the fire and told that these hooks were weapons meant to avenge his father with.
Fenge was however insecure about this crazy Amled, and he tried repeatedly to find out what was going on with him. Since Fenge presumed that Amled would be honest to his mother, he arranged that one of his people had to secretly watch a conversation between mother and son, while Fenge was away. The spy hid under a heap of hay in the room, but as soon as Amled saw the heap, he suspected the mischief. He crowed like a cock and jumped around in the pile, until he felt where the guy was hidden, and he stuck through the hay with his sword and killed the spy. He hacked up the corpse, cooked the pieces and threw them to the pigs. Not until then his mother entered the hall, and she reproached him loudly of his foolishness, but now Amled could talk freely: "Shameful woman! You married your husband's murderer and threw yourself affectionately in the arms of the man, who killed your son's father. I play dull with good reason. He, who murdered his brother, would also kill his brother's son. The role of stupidity hides me untit better times come. You, my mother, should be shedding tears, not because of my dullness, but because of your own disgrace". These words made a great impression on Amled's mother, who now felt shame over her marriage to Fenge.

When Fenge returned, he asked for the guy , but no one knew where he was. Amled was asked too, and he replied that he had seen him being eaten by the pigs. Everyone laughed at the idiot. Fenge's fear of his stepson grew, and he decided to send him to England to visit the king. Fenge's intention was to instruct the Anglo-Saxon king to kill the young man at his arrival. Amled accepted in going to England, but agreed secretly with his mother that she one year after his departure should keep a wake for him as if he was dead  - and that the walls on that occasion should be covered in blankets.

Christopher Plummer - Hamlet,  Michael Caine - Horatio, Kronborg 1964.

Fenge pointed out two trusted men to accompany Amled.  The message to the Anglo-Saxon king about letting Amled kill had the form of a rune-stick. En route Amled succeeded in finding the rune-stick, while his companions were asleep and changed the message into a request to the king of England to give Fenge's clever nephew his daughter as wife and let his two companions hang. Amled was well received in England; he submitted his dullness and distinguished himself by so much cleverness that the king did not hesitate to give him his daughter as wife. Fenges' two men were hanged. Amled felt no sorrow about this of course, but he however required penance from the king. He got some gold and melted it into two hollow sticks.

After almost a year Amled spread a rumor in Denmark that he was dead, but a year after his departure he was back on the Jutland castle, as agreed with his mother. They had begun his wake. When he entered the hall, he was alone with his two golden sticks in his hands. And now he was again acting as crazy as ever. When they asked where his two companions were, he said happily "one here the other there" and pointed at the two sticks. During the drinking he fumbled with his sword and cut his finger. In order to prevent the idot from repeating this they drove a nail through the sheath of his sword so it was impossible for him to draw it. Finally everyone was so drunk that they tumbled about and fell asleep on the floor. Amled fetched his old wooden hooks, tore the blankets down from the walls and fastened them to the sleeping men with the hooks, so they could not get free. Then he put the hall on fire, and all the men were all burned.

Jude Law, Kronborg 2009.

King Fenge had gone early to bed in his chamber, and he was now being contacted by Amled. Ealier that evening Amled had replaced his own nailed sword with Fenge's. He cried to his stepfather that he had returned with his wooden hooks and that Fenge's housecarls had burned. Fenge grabbed for his sword, but could not draw it from its sheath and he was cut down by Amled. When people the next morning gathered around the downburnt castle, where they found the charred rests of Fenge and his men, Amled announced what had happened and how he for many years had been forced to pretend in order to get his revenge. People felt that Amled had acted correctly, and they elected him chief instead of Fenge. When King Rørik died and was succeeded by King Viglek, a big fight broke out between him and Amled. In one of these battles Amled was killed, and Saxo tells that his gravehill was situated upon a heath in Jutland which is named after him - Saxo meant probably Ammelhede in Virring parish, southeast of Randers.



  Front page of edition 1605:

       

Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh as Hamlet and Ofelia, Kronborg 1937.

Shakespeare built his story on Saxo Grammaticus' story of the Jutland prince Amled which origins from the work Gesta Danorum which was finished ab. 1200. Today Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet is the most cited play in the world, and it is said to be the most performed play world wide. Some say that Shakespeare has made Hamlet the most famous Dane in the world.

But who was the original Hamlet whom Saxo describes? He wrote 16 volumes and in the past the first 9 volumes were considered legends, they were almost considered free imagination, but not any more. The opinion today is that Saxo told real stories, especially from volume 3, added something tendensious and  some embracing of the stories, since he himself was a Christian, who wrote about heathens. Hamlet in Saxo's version is named Amled, and he's from volume 3 and 4 - thereby he is today considered a real person by serious scholars. It was Shakespeare who came up the version about Hamlet living at a castle in Elsinore, but the real Amled lived in Jutland, probably between year 400 and year 600 A.C. He was the son of a chief who became king of Jutland and had his castle at Kongslund nearby his gravehill at Ammelhede south east of Randers.

Inscription on the stone:
Amled Ypperste
Oldtids-snille
Teed sig taabe
Til Hævnens time
Kaaret paa ting
Af jyder til konge
Højsat han hviler
Paa Ammel Hede








 

photo Ammelhede November 2012: grethe bachmann. 

Hanklit and Feggeklit, Mors in Limfjorden

Hanklit: stig bachmann nielsen, Naturplan Foto


Hanklit, 55 million years old.

I often get mails from Danish-Americans or Americans with Danish roots, mostly via my other blogs. I got a mail from a helpful American with a Danish name. One of his family lines came from the island Mors near Hanklit. I have found some old photos from Hanklit and Feggeklit.

The protected cliff Hanklit is Denmark's largest moler cliff. It is placed on the northwestern coast of the island Mors in Limfjorden. It rises to a height of ab. 60 m from the beach. From the top is a fantastic view. The contents of Hanklit is a mix of volcanic ash and moler, and the layers are visible as dark volcanic ash stripes, alternating with moler stripes. In the moler layers are fossils of fish, snails, insects and plants.



My son photographing the view to Limfjorden by the big red stone on the beach.


Two boys looking for interesting stones on the beach.

An old legend from Mors says that when God was about to create Jutland, he first made a small test-model. It was so beautiful that he couldn't bear to throw it away, so he made the waters of Limfjorden a little broader to the west and placed the model here. The model was later named Mors!


In a field close to the Hanklit-parking place a goose seemingly was watching the cattle on the hill. When we approached the fence to take some photos, the goose became absolutely heated and was hissing until it lost its breath!


Feggeklit


Cattle an swans with young ones at Feggesund (the sound)

Feggeklit is another protected moler cliff at the northern tip of Mors. It is about 24 m high, ab. 1 km long and 300 m broad. It was an island in Stone Age. From the narrow beach can be noticed geological layers from the childhood of Earth. The layers are alternating like at Hanklit. The dark stripes are in numbers 146, which corresponds to the number of volcanic eruptions. Like at Hanklit are here many fossils.

Southwest of Feggeklit are pretty beach meadows with a rich bird life, i.e. avocet, big plover, lapwing, common snipe and a few yellow wagtails. Upon Feggeklit itself and the beach meadows are rare plants like Vår-potentil (Potentilla tabernaemontani) and Liden Snerre ( Galium sterneri).

A little south of Feggeklit is the moler museum in Sejerslev, open in the summer season. Here is a rich collection of 55 million year old fossils of plants, trees, birds, fish and insects. Near the museum is a gravel pit, where people can go fossil-hunting and thengo to the museum to have their finds examined.

From the parking place it is possible to go up on the steep cliff to enjoy the view or walk along the cliff. At extreme high tide and strong western wind it is not possible to walk along the beach.this usually happens in the winter season.

It is not allowed to dig for finds or cleave stones in the cliff.



Beach meadows with cattle at Feggesund.


The memorial stone by "King Fegge's grave" at Feggeklit.

The northern part of Mors with Hanklit, Skarrehage and Feggeklit is part of the moler landscape of Limfjorden. According to legends was Feggeklit created, when the sorceress from Dybhav had to visit her family in Thy. She filled her apron with earth in order to get across the waters without getting her feet wet. The apron broke and the cliff rose high above Limfjorden.

The legend about king Fegge and prince Hamlet.
According to legend a royal castle was situated at Feggeklit. In the castle resided two kings. They were the brothers Fegge og Horvendil. Since the kingdom was too small for two kings, they ruled by turns three years at a time; he, who did not rule the land, went sailing as a pirate and stayed away for three years. Horvendil was married to the beautiful Geruth, with whom he had the son Hamlet. King Fegge fell in love with Geruth. When Horvendil came back after three years as a pirate, king Fegge killed him. Now Fegge was sole king, and he married Geruth. Prince Hamlet was sent away, but one day he came back and killed king Fegge, revenging his father.

King Fegge was buried at the western side of Feggeklit with his golden sword. At present has been raised a memorial stone. The legend forms the basis of Shakespeare's tragedy about prince Hamlet. He has placed his scene at Kronborg castle, but the legend origins from Feggeklit.

Source: Politikens store Danmarksbog ; Feggeklit og Skarrehage molerværk, Feggeklit Færgekro.


photo 2002: grethe bachmann