Common Rue; Herb-of-Grace/ Almindelig Rude

Ruta graveolens

Common Rue(Almindelig Rude) 
Ruta graveolens, commonly known as rue, common rue or herb-of-grace, is a species of ruta grown as an ornamental plant or herb. It is an aromatic half shrub with a loose, bushy growth and with yellowish-green leaves and small yellow flowers. The yellow flowers arrive in June-August; the fruits are capsules with many seeds. The root system has many heavy and deep roots with few side roots. It is native to the Balkan Peninsula; it grows in dry regions and has adjusted the Mediterranean climate. 

The name ruta comes from the Greek word yte, which means window (Danish: rude) and graveolens means strong smell.


It is grown throughout the world in gardens, especially for its bluish leaves, and sometimes for its tolerance of hot and dry soil conditions. It is also cultivated as a medicinal herb, as a condiment, and to a lesser extent as an insect repellent. Common rue was always valuated because of its ability to repel pests (like cucumber beetles). The species was earlier used as a medical plant and as a spice herb but today mostly used as a drought tolerant, ornamental plant. Rue has a bitter and sharp taste and is not usable in the kitchen, but the plant is good in making some low small hedges in the herbal garden, since it can withstand cropping.

The common rue (Ruta graveolens) is commonly cultivated in Denmark. Today is is preferred in many homes and gardens because of its strong scent and its ability to repel  insects from some crops. Rue grows wild in a few places in Denmark, feral from earlier cultivation as a medical and spice herb.


History.

Fresh rue was used in magical rituals since antiquity, and it is one of the earliest garden plants, which was cultivated for its magic abilities. Several  ancient civilizations used rue and worshiped its powers. During the Middle Ages rue was a very used medical plant, used against various diseases. The whole plant is rich in etheric oils and has a strong unpleasant smell. The Romans  and Greeks used it in antiquity as a spice and as a medicine, and it was later famous for attenuating the lust of the flesh in monks and nuns. In the year 795 king Ludwig the Pious ordered that rue had to grow in all kloster gardens and that nuns and monks had to eat it each day to keep their chastity. Evil tongues claimed that the plant was in the gardens of the nunneries because it was used as an abortifacient.  

The Romans cultivated rue and brought it with them when they visited prisoners, because they believed the plant would avert "the Evil Eye". The Chinese used it to counteract negative thoughts or wishes. The Celtic wizards said that rue was a defense against magic and could be used to promote healing. Rue was sacred to the early Jews, Egyptians and Caledonians; they believed it was a gift from the Gods. In the old America rue was used by the Indian societies for spells, and they claimed that they could win the heart of their love forever by placing a branch under the light of the moon, before giving it to their love.

Rue is also a common ingredient in witchcraft and spell making. During the Middle Ages it was a symbol of recognition between witches. The Catholic Church also used a branch of rue to sprinkle holy water on its followers during this time known as the "herb of grace."

Tacuinum handbook

The Tacuinum Sanitatis, a medieval handbook on wellness, lists these properties of rue:
Nature: Warm and dry in the third degree.
Optimum: That which is grown near a fig tree.
Usefulness: It sharpens the eyesight and dissipates flatulence.
Dangers: It augments the sperm and dampens the desire for coitus.
Neutralization of the Dangers: With foods that multiply the sperm.

The refined oil of rue is an emmenagogue and was cited by the Roman historian Pliny the Elder and the gynecologist Soranus as a potent abortifacient (inducing abortion).

 

 

Folk Medicine

rue

Harpestræng ab. 1300s: eliminates the desire for women; the juice to take for abscesses in the body; fresh plant to eat for purblind eyes; juice of rue and fennel mixed with chicken bile and honey for an ointment  which gives clear eyes; if someone drank the juice of the plant or had eaten it raw they could not be harmed by poison.   

1400s: crushed green rue and laurel mixed with earthworms and vinegar upon face against headache; the seeds mixed with pigeon shit and seethed syrup of vinegar and honey for dropsy; wine decoct or the seeds mixed with deer- or goat's horn to take against rhinitis.  

Christiern Pedersen, 1533: leaves, walnut cernels and figs to eat as an antidote against the plague; crushed leaves of rue mixed with honey and put upon the navel expel worms; juice mixed with honey or morning dew and the juice from the wine clear the eyesight; crushed rue mixed with dog shit to put upon plague abscesses.

Henrik Smid 1546: the plant resists all venom and poisons; the juice mixed with alum, saltpeter and honey heals "the bulky and shabby head."  

1624: Klog mand (healer) (+1624) in southwest Jutland treated fresh wounds with rue, plucked on Midsummer's Night and put into Rhine wine and mixed with horse manure.  

1693: in times of the plague has to be smoked with green rue and five other plants and chips from the billy goat's horn; rue and lovage mixed with honey for a patch upon snake bites.

1799: pulverized rue, feverfew and St. John's wort-oil used for an ointment upon the wrist-artery for stroke.   

Herb and seed were written into the Pharmacopoeia in 1772. 

 Livestock: Rue was used for various diseases in cattle, horse and swine.  

Superstition: 1300s: The weasel eats rue before fighting a snake, then it will not be hurt by the poison. 1774: Rue was plant close to Sage in order to prevent poisonous animals to be there. Some people believed that the smell from rue dispels the toad.  

 

Culinary use 

rue foliage

In Denmark it is advised not to use rue as a spice or culinary herb, since it has given liver damage on laboratory rats. It is also advised to avoid sun light and to  wash the skin thoroughly with soap water if the juice from the plant has touched the skin. 

Rue has a culinary use, but since it is bitter and gastric discomfort may be experienced by some individuals, it is used sparingly. Although used more extensively in former times, it is not an herb that is typically found in modern cuisine. Today it is largely unknown to the general public and most chefs, and unavailable in grocery stores. It is a component of berbere, the characteristic Ethiopian spice mixture, and as such is encountered in Ethiopian cuisine.

It has a variety of other culinary uses:
It was used extensively in ancient Near Eastern and Roman cuisine (according to Ibn Savyar-al-Warraq and Apicius).
Rue is used as a traditional flavouring in Greece and other Mediterranean countries.
In Istria (a region in Croatia), and in Northern Italy, it is used to give a special flavour to Grappa/Raki and most of the time a little branch of the plant can be found in the bottle. This is called grappa alla ruta.
Seeds can be used for porridge.
The bitter leaf can be added to eggs, cheese, fish, or mixed with damson plums and wine to produce a meat sauce.
In Italy in Friuli Venezia-Giulia, the young branches of the plant are dipped in a batter, deep-fried in oil, and consumed with salt or sugar. They are also used on their own to aromatise a specific type of omelette.
Used in world beers as flavouring ingredient. 

Other
Rue is also grown as an ornamental, both as a low hedge and so the leaves can be used in nosegays.
Most cats dislike the smell of it, and it can, therefore, be used as a deterrent to them. Caterpillars of some subspecies of the butterfly Papilio Machaon feed on rue, as well as other plants. The caterpillars of Papilio xuthus also feed readily on it.
In South India, rue is recommended for home gardens to repel snakes (however the effectiveness is unknown).

Toxicity

burnt skin from rue.

Rue extracts are mutagenic and hepatotoxic. Large doses can cause violent gastric pain, vomiting, systemic complications, and death. Exposure to common rue, or herbal preparations derived from it, can cause severe phytophotodermatitis which results in burn-like blisters on the skin.

The bitter taste of its leaves led to rue being associated with the (etymologically unrelated) verb rue "to regret". Rue is well known for its symbolic meaning of regret and it has sometimes been called "herb-of-grace" in literary works. It is one of the flowers distributed by the mad Ophelia in William Shakespeare's  Hamlet (IV.5):

"There's fennel for you, and columbines:

there's rue for you; and here's some for me:

we may call it herb-grace o' Sundays:

Millais: Ophelia

O you must wear your rue with a difference..."

It was planted by the gardener in Richard II to mark the spot where the Queen wept upon hearing news of Richard's capture (III.4.104–105):

"Here did she fall a tear, here in this place

I'll set a bank of rue, sour herb of grace."

It is also given by the rusticated Perdita to her disguised royal father-in-law on the occasion of a sheep-shearing (Winter's Tale, IV.4):

"For you there's rosemary and rue; these keep

Seeming and savour all the winter long."

It is used by Michael in Milton's paradise lost to give Adam clear sight (11.414):

"Then purg'd with euphrasy and rue

The visual nerve, for he had much to see."

Rue is used by Gulliver in "Gulliver's Travels" (by Jonathan Swift) when he returns to England after living among the "Houyhnhnms". Gulliver can no longer stand the smell of the English Yahoos (people), so he stuffs rue or tobacco in his nose to block out the smell. "I was at last bold enough to walk the street in his (Don Pedro's) company, but kept my nose well with rue, or sometimes with tobacco".
Rue is mentioned in the Bible, Luke 11.42: "But woe unto you, Pharisees! For ye the mint and rue and all manner of herbs".
In mythology, the basilisk, whose breath could cause plants to wilt and stones to crack, had no effect on rue. Weasels who were bitten by the basilisk would retreat and eat rue in order to recover and return to fight.
Rue is considered a national herb of Lithuania and it is the most frequently referred herb in Lithuanian folk songs, as an attribute of young girls, associated with virginity and maidenhood. It was common in traditional Lithuanian weddings for only virgins to wear a rue (ruta) at their wedding, a symbol to show their purity.
Likewise, rue is prominent in the Ukrainian folklore, songs and culture. In the Ukrainian folk song "Oi poli ruta, ruta" (O, rue, rue in the field), the girl regrets losing her virginity, reproaching the lover for "breaking the green hazel tree". "Una Matica de Ruda" is a traditional Sephardic wedding song.
Chervona Ruta—a song, written by Volodymyr Ivasyuk, a popular Ukrainian poet and composer. Pop singer Sofia Rotaru performed the song in 1971. More recently Rotaru performed in a rap arrangement.

Banner of Saxony with rue./wikipedia

source:  
Brøndegaard, Dansk Etnobotanik, Folk og Flora ,bd. 2
Anemette Olesen, Danske Klosterurter, Aschehoug 2001,
Wikipedia, dansk og engelsk, 2017.


photo from wikipedia

The Viking from Fregerslev

The Viking Period
The Viking period is dated to ab. 750-1060 AC. The word Viking means "sea warrior" or "warfare at sea". Many strong men went on Viking expeditions which were often lootings and assaults, but most Vikings lived a more quiet life with farming, fishing and hunting. The Realm formation and the formation of cities and a new religion had a great impact on the development in Denmark. The Society was sharply divided and the differences of rich and poor, free and unfree were significant. The Fregerslev find is - from the golden brackets - dated to the middle of the 900s. The royal power was well founded in that period , although dependent on the aristocracy which supported the king. The aristocracy had an important role in the king's maintenance of the power, and they enjoyed the privilegies from this. 

 

 You can see the first photos from Skanderborg Museum of objects from the Fregerslev grave at their website:

 http://www.vikingfregerslev.dk/

Bayeux tapestry

The Find at Fregerslev.
In 2012 a unic grave site emerged in an archaeologic excavation at Fregerslev near Skanderborg.(Jutland) It was a complex of chamber graves, several from a younger part of the Viking period, the time of the Jelling Kings. A small investigation in one of the graves showed a magnificent decorated horse bridle, lavishly decorated with gilt bronze brackets and a silver plated trense.Supposedly the Viking from Fregerslev had a funeral with all the equipment necessary for his travel to Valhalla. The find from Fregerslev is probably one of the richest graves from the Viking period ever found in Denmark, and the scientific potential is  invaluable.The excavation of the fascinating grave ended 11 May 2017 but the adventure is not yet over. Many years ahead is a massive work with excavation and interpretation of many earth blocks, which were taken in from the grave. Some X-rays reveal something hidden in the blocks, like metal pieces from the harnes of the Viking's horse.

Chamber Grave.
Some of the Viking Age's wealthiest people were buried in chamber-graves. A chamber-grave consists of a wooden chamber, which is either dug down into the earth or placed in a mound. From Denmark and the old Danish area we know of around 60 chamber-graves. Most of the burials have been found in the area south of the Danish-German border. But they can also be found in Jutland, as well as on Funen, Langeland and Lolland. Such chamber-graves are yet to be found on Zealand. The grave type comes into use at the end of the 800s – perhaps to counter the advancing Christianity?

A chamber grave (Kammergrav) was a grave form reserved for the elite. It was a wooden chamber with enough place for the deceased, grave gifts and personal equipment. Chamber graves with a horseman's equipment are rare, they are only known from 45 finds from the Viking period in the old Danish region: the present Denmark, Skaane, Halland , Blekinge and Schleswig-Holstein. Few of these graves are well documented, especially because of old unfinished excavations or just old clearings of  grave hills. The latest excavated grave with horseman's equipment appeared in 1983 in Grimstrup at Esbjerg.

Viking Ship Museum, Oslo,B

ridle, Viking horse,wiki

In few welldocumented graves are few fine parallels. In Schleswig upon the grave sites Thumby, Bienebeck and Lanballigau are horseman's graves with objects which- as for shape and decoration - are contemporary to the decoration brackets in the Fregerslev grave. A few objects are almost identical and must be considered made in the same workshop. Maybe the king has ordered several identical set of bridles which he could give as an alliance gift to his faithful subjects.

The grave site in Fregerslev consists of a large grave chamber complex and two lesser graves. The two small graves are excavated, one grave measured at surface 267x172 cm, length north-south. The grave was only 38 cm deep and had no preserved objects. The other grave measured 265x170 cm at surface and was oriented west southwest. This grave was 120 cm deep - and in the fill were two layers of giant stones. In the bottom of the grave were traces of an oak coffin which had been lightly burned before the laying.

Bayeux tapestry

The Viking from Fregerslev
 At the same time were traces of a skeleton of a person 165-170 cm tall. The person lay on his back with head west. The skeleton was much dissolved, but it was however possible to see a strange crack upon the shine leg. The leg had possibly been broken, but it is uncertain if this happened before or after death. In this grave were not found any preserved objects, except a single iron nail, which probably was a part of the construction of the coffin. Around the grave was built a hedge or a small building. It is unusual to find constructions around the graves from the Viking period. With a broken shine leg and two layers of giant granite boulders above and a possible fence the person must have been something special - someone who should not rise from his grave. 

The Top of the Hierarchy.  
Based upon the richly decorated bridle for theViking's horse there is no doubt that this is a man from the top of the hierarchy in the Viking period. The uppermost power was the king, and his role depended on personal alliances military strength and foreign contacts. The Viking from Fregerslev might have had the title of Jarl (earl). He might have been an army chief administering a large piece of land, and one of his duties was to be a host for the king on his travels in the country. If - after the excavation - it would be possible to identify him as a known historic person or legendary figure depends on whether there are unic finds, like objects with runic inscriptions or other special finds, which might tell us,who this Viking was.

Jelling stones, Jelling, photo:gb 



The research project is a cooperation between Skanderborg Kommune, Slots- og Kulturstyrelsen, Nationalmuseet, Aarhus Universitet and Museum Skanderborg with appropriations from Augustinus Fonden and Den A.P.Møllerske Støttefond as well as funds from Slots' og Kulturstyrelsen and Skanderborg Kommune. The first part is to secure the find by excavation and following conservation of the grave equipment and performance of scientific examinations. Later come part two and three with respectively research and publication and exhibition and communication.

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Source: Skanderborg Museum and National Museum.

 

Valerian/ Læge-Baldrian/ Baldrian

Valeriana officinalis


Valerian (Valeriana officinalis, Caprifoliaceae) is a perennial flowering plant, with heads of sweetly scented pink or white flowers that bloom in the summer and can reach a height of 1.5 metres (5 ft). The fruits are nuts and the root system is a rhizome with numerous root tufts. Valerian flower extracts were used as a perfume in the 16th century. The flowers are frequently visited by many fly species, especially hoverflies and consumed as food by larvae of some lepidoptera, butterflies and moths.

Valeriana means "strong against diseases". The word valens means strong or fresh. The name might refer to a Roman herbal doctor named Valerianus who used the plant as a medicine. Other names used for this plant include Garden Valerian (to distinguish it from other Valeriana species), Garden Heliotrope (although not related to heliotropium Setwall and All-heal (which is also used for plants in the genus Stachys. Red Valerian, often grown in gardens, is also sometimes referred to as "valerian", but is a different species (Centranthus ruber) from the same family and not very closely related.

The valerian is spread in Minor Asia, Caucasus, Iran, Central Asia , Sibiria, East Asia and Europe. Valerian has been introduced into North America.  In Denmark it is spread in the eastern section but not seen in West- and North Jutland. The plant is found in shadowy or lightopen places with moist till wet or flooded soil - and is often seen in meadows or along water streams.

The plant and especially the rhizome contains several active substances: an etheric oil which together with valeren acid and isovalerian acid promote the very strong scent which is typical for valerian.  The plant contains also valepotriat and several alcaloids. The content of the valerian oil varies immensely in relation to the species, the age of the pant and the harvest time.



Folk Medicine

The rhizome contains valerian oil which is tranquillizing. The plant has been used against headache, muscle cramps, irritable colon and against wounds and exemia. Valerian tincture was used against bomb chok and other nerve strains during WWI.

The Valerian drops are used as a calming and somnolent means  and is sold as an OTC medicine. Laboratory studies point out that the plant might have anticancer effects. The root works calming and cramp loosening and can be used in nervous diseases and inner cramps.

Old herbal books recommend  to drink a glass of wine with valerian drops each day in order to maintain the health of the eyes and keep a sharp sight in old age; therefore the plant was named Eye root in the old days, which was due to observations of cats who had extended pupils when they had been rolling in the herb. An unusual feature of valerian is that valerian root and leaves are a cat attractant similar to, and as safe as, catnip. Valerian contains the cat attractant actinidine.  Stories describe the Pied Piper of Hamelin using both his pipes and valerian to attract rats.

Valerian has been used as a medicinal herb since at least the time of ancient Greece and Rome. Hippocrates described its properties, and Galen later prescribed it as a remedy for insomnia. In medieval Sweden, it was sometimes placed in the wedding clothes of the groom to ward off the "envy" of the elves. In the 16th century, the reformer  P. Marpeck prescribed valerian tea for a sick woman.


John Gerard's  Herball states that his contemporaries found Valerian "excellent for those burdened and for such as be troubled with croup and other like convulsions, and also for those that are bruised with falls." He says that the dried root was valued as a medicine by the poor in the north of England and the south of Scotland, so that "no broth or pottage or physicall meats be worth anything if Setewale [Valerian] be not there".

The seventeenth century astrological botanist Nicholas Culpeper thought the plant was "under the influence of Mercury, and therefore hath a warming faculty." He recommended both herb and root, and said that "the root boiled with liquorice, raisons and anisseed is good for those troubled with cough. Also, it is of special value against the plague, the decoction thereof being drunk and the root smelled. The green herb being bruised and applied to the head taketh away pain and pricking thereof."

                                         



From wikipedia:
Although valerian is a popular herbal medicine used for treating insomnia, there is no good evidence it is effective for this purpose, and there is some concern it may be harmful. There is no good evidence that valerian is helpful in treating restless leg syndrome or anxiety. There is insufficient evidence for efficacy and safety of Valerian for anxiety disorders.

The European Medicines Agency EMA approved the claim that valerian can be used as a traditional herbal medicinal product in order to relieve mild symptoms of mental stress and to aid sleep. The EMA stated that although there is insufficient evidence from clinical studies, the effectiveness of the traditional use of valerian is considered plausible when it has been used safely for this purpose for many years.

Because the compounds in valerian produce central nervous system depression, they should not be used with other depressants, such as ethanol, benzodiazepines, barbiturates, opiates, kava, or antihistamine drugs. Moreover, non-pregnant adult human hepatotoxicity has been associated with short-term use (i.e., a few days to several months) of herbal preparations containing valerian and scutellaria (commonly called skullcap). Withdrawal after long-term use in a male has also been associated with benzodiazepine-like withdrawal symptoms, resulting in cardiac complications and delirium.

The very limited animal and human data do not allow a conclusion as to the safety of valerian during pregnancy. Moreover, as a natural, unregulated product, the concentration, contents, and presence of contaminants in valerian preparations cannot be easily determined. Because of this uncertainty and the potential for cytotoxicity in the fetus and hepatotoxicity in the mother, the product should be avoided during pregnancy.


Source: Anemette Olesen Klosterurter, 2001, wikipedia 2017 
images: wikipedia

 

 

Valerian: Mechanism of action  (read information on wikipedia )

Danish information:
 Brøndegaard, Etnobotanik, Folk og flora bd. 4
Læge Baldrian/ Valeriana officinalis

Navne: Læge-baldrian, velandsurt (1546-1870) var vel opstået med allusion til sagnfiguren Vølund Smed; "katteurt" (1533-1789); "katterod" (1600t.) og "katteglæde" (1820), øjenrod (1648-1821), venderod/ vendelrod (1700t) den stærkt lugtende rod værnede mod hekseri, Danmarksgræs (1700t) plantens stængel med blomsterkvaster blev brugt af børn som slagvåben.

Saft af baldrian og pileblade blev brugt til salve på hævet strube, (begyndelsen af 1400t.)
Christiern Pedersen (1533): saft indgives mod epilepsi; vin- eller ølafkog af rødder var urindrivende, dekokt med fennikel og opiumvalmuefrø i vin eller øl drikkes mod lændesmerter.
Henrik Smid (1546): mellem de to fruedage 15/3 - 15/8 blev rødderne taget op og skyggetørret, den pulveriserede rod drukket med vin var urindrivende og hjalp mod gift og pest. Den friske urt knust og lagt på hoved stiller hovedpine. Øjne badet med vinafkog af rod og blomster bliver klare.
Simon Paulli 1648: den knuste rod indtaget med vin anbefales mod svagsynethed , heraf tilberedes også et øjenbadevand der blev solgt på apoteker. Nogle forfattere hævdede at planten eller en klud dyppet i dens saft kunne trække jern ud af hug- og stiksår.

Roden blev anført i farmakopeen in 1772. Den styrker senerne, er sveddrivende, fordeler svulster, lægges knust på sår og tørret i pose mod svage øjne. Roden har krampestillende, nervestyrkende, sved- og urindrivende og opløsende egenskaber, den modvirker hysteri og forrådnelse og anvendes mod indvoldsorm.  Den pulveriserede rod indgives for epilepsi. Mod hovedsmerter gnides panden med baldrianblade og krusemynte. Klog kone på Rømø gav den tørre, knuste rod som middel mod kvinders søvnløshed - eller de tørrede blade under hovedpuden. En te af bladene mod nervøsitet.
Roden indgik i en beskyttende pest-akvavit og et råd mod bl.a. feber og hjælper mod hudløshed. Indgik i øjenbadevand og "Herr Niels' dråber" = urteudtræk i brændevin

Husdyr

Baldrianrod er komponent i råd for oksens ondartede lungesyge og et røgemiddel mod kvægpest. Afkræftede kreaturer gnides med baldrian og tjære, "tjærespån og vendelrod - giver din ko god helsebod." Efter kælving skulle koen have baldrian. Roden af "katteurt" indgik i middel for hestens sygdomme. Får fik øldekokt af baldrian og stinkende kamille. Rod af baldrian, løvstikke og alant blev givet til syge svin. Baldrianrod blev brugt mod hundesyge. .  




Overtro
Baldrian eller St. Buldrian nævner ni andre helgener i flere signeråd fx "hil  dig San wenis urt = (Velands?) du er kommet af Jesu blod" (1692 og 1793) i lægeråd for at fremmane tyve , eller mod gæssenes forhekselse.  Hvis køerne omkring Mortensdag 11/11 fik baldrian i foderet, kunne de ikke forhekses. Rod af baldrian og mesterrod spises med kerner af pæon og nyserod mod trolddom.

"Mand og kone at forene som altid kives og trættes, giv dem begge et krus Valeriana, så bliver de straks gode venner."


Danish source: Brøndegaard, Dansk Etnobotanik, Folk og flora bd. 4: Læge Baldrian. 
images: grethe bachmann and wikipedia

The Famous Cat Maru

I AM MARU....


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZR_6K03gWk

Ebeltoft - one of the loveliest little towns in Denmark.........

Ebeltoft (earlier Æbeltoft) lies at Djursland in East Jutland - it is a popular tourist city, not least because of the old timbered houses in the middle of town. The old market town atmosphere reflects a piece of Denmark's history through centuries . It has a colourful shop- and museums life and the inhabitants are doubled in the summer period. Close to Ebeltoft is the Nationalpark Mols Bjerge with many fine beaches and summer houses.

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Ebeltoft was probably established around year 1200, and the name Ebeltoft is seen the first time in king Erik Menved's letter of 21 January 1301, where he gave the town its municipal rights. In the beginning the place was a village or a fishing village and an annex to the village Draaby up till the reformation. On  25 August 1317 the king issued a new letter where he gave the citizens laws and regulations like the cities Viborg and Aarhus.

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In 1558 was established a Latin school in Ebeltoft.The town suffered much during he  plague 1619-1620 and was damaged during the wars of the 17th century. The main business of the town was maritime trade, espcially in the second half of the 17th century with large merchants- and warehouses, ship buildings and profitable traffic, especially from Norway.  The large timber transport from the royal forests in the neighbourhod brought much life to the town.  In 1672 the town had 817 inhabitants, after Den Store Nordiske Krig 562 inhabitants in 1769. The latin school was abolished in 1739. The town developed little in the 19th century because of the wars. At the census in 1930 Ebeltoft had 1897 inhabitants , in 1945: 2.104 and in 1965: 2.485 inhabitants. Now in 2017: 7. 430.


Along the beach road and by the Fregat Jylland are still seen the rest of the old seaweed dikes. They were built as a protection of west-facing gardens against intrusion of sea water. The dikes are now listed.

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In the various shops in Ebeltoft are arts and crafts in a class of its own, lifestyle and fashions shops etc. In the streets are often music and entertainment in the summer period. Ebeltoft is a lively tourist town with several restaurants and cafés - and walking the old cobblestoned streets there is suddenly a wonderfull scent from the waffle bakery where they sell the most delicate ice cream cone, named Molbo Vaffel. In another old street is a sweet scent of sugar and fruit from the little Bolsjekogeri (candy factory Mols Bolsjer) ) where they make candy in various tastes and looks in the backyard.In Ebeltoft is one of Denmark's largest concentrations of small studio glass work shops.

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Glass Museum and the Fregat Jylland.  The fregat lies in the water and is connected to a museum on land, here is the history of the old fregat told in a factual and entertaining way. The Glass Museum lies nhttp://glasmuseet.dk/

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earby, it has various local and international exhibitions and its own glass workshop - and the museum arranges various activities for children and adults. The children can borrow a children's suitcase and go exploring the many halls of the glass museum. Ebeltoft houses numerous galleries and several renowned glass blowers are working in the town. 

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A large part of the medieval streets are listed, and Ebeltoft was in 2015 at the top of a list of the best preserved medieval towns in Denmark. It is one of the  most popular holiday towns with cobblestoned, narrow streets and crooked old houses with roses and hollyhocks.

The old town hall is a charming attraction. Many couple choose a wedding at the picturesque town hall, in 2017 have already been celebrated 300 weddings in Danish, German and English . It is is a small building with a tower and with a rich history since 1576, and here is also an old dungeon.

Close to the town hall is a funny little museum Siamese Samling. The museum was established by Rasmus Havmøller, who worked and lived in Siam (today Thailand) from 1914-1933. He opened in 1940 the exotic museum with lots of objects from his life in the East.

The vægterne (watchmen) of Ebeltoft walk the old streets in the summer period .They call in the night each night walking and singing the watchmann's song through the streets . They start at the old town hall at 20.00, 21.00 amd 22.00.


Since the 1890s Ebeltoft was a seaside resort for better-off people from Aarhus, and the fine holiday houses along the coast remind about a time where people went to the resort to bathe and take their vacation. From the 1960s common people could gradually afford to build summer houses -  and today are many large areas with lovely summer houses in and around Ebeltoft. Many can be rented in the summer period.

The name Ebeltoft comes from apple/abel/abild. The apple tree is seen in the oldest seals of the town (Latin: pomagrina and pomagrium).The first "Ebelfestival" (Apple Festival) started in 2004, and it has since become an established part of the cultural life of Ebeltoft. It is held each year in week 42. The vision is to give some good experience and knowledge about appless and about the history and culture of Ebeltoft.
http://ebelfestival.dk/

Den europæiske Filmhøjskole in Ebeltoft is one of the world's best basic film schools and it takes students from all over the world (always 50 % Danish). Among the most famous former students in the Nordic countries are actor Pilou Asbæk ('Borgen'/'The Fortress', 'Lucy'), director/screenwriter Nikolaj Arcel ('A Royal Affair', 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo'), director Joachim Trier ('Reprise', 'Louder Than Bombs'), cinematographer Charlotte Bruus ('The Hunt', 'Far From the Madding Crowd'), director Michael Noer ('R' and 'Northwest'), cinematographer Magnus Nordenhof Jønck ('The Killing', 'A Highjacking') and cinematographer Sturla Brandth Grøvlen ('Victoria', 'Rams').
http://kurser.hojskolerne.dk/hoejskoler/hoejskole-soeg/den-europaeiske-filmhoejskole

Safari Park/photo:gb

The big animal park : Ebeltoft Safari is finansed by the Karsten Ree.
http://www.reepark.dk/

photo: 
grethe bachmann
and from wikipedia.
Source: 
Danmarks købstæder, Søren Olsen, 2000
Politikens Danmarksbog , Søren Olsen, 2003

The Huldremose Woman

Huldremose Woman, or Huldre Fen Woman, is a bog body recovered in 1879 from a peat bog near the village Ramten in Jutland. Analysis by carbon 14 dating revealed the woman had lived during the Iron Age, around 160 BCE to 340 CE. The mummified remains are exhibited at the National Museum of Denmark (in Copenhagen). The elaborate clothing worn by Huldremose Woman has been reconstructed and displayed at several museums.

                                                                                                                                                            

Huldremose dress, front/wikipedia

Over 2000 years ago the body of a woman was put into an old peat bog in Huldremosen at Ramten village on Djursland, Jutland. The special oxygen poor conditions in the bog meant that the woman was preserved as a bog body with skin clothes and stomach contents. She was found in May 1879 by a worker, Niels Hansen, who was digging turf for a schoolteacher in Huldremose. In one meters depth he hit the body with his shovel and cut off its right hand. The schoolteacher was interested in archaeology and stopped the digging, and he kept guard by the body for the next couple of days until the district-medical from Grenaa arrived with a pharmacist and a police chief. The first theory was that the body had been the victim of a crime. At that time there was little knowledge about how to handle a situation like this, and the body of the woman was brought to the nearest farm where she was undressed and got a good bath! In connnection to this cleaning her hair fell off.  The criminal proceedings were given up and the body of the mysterious woman was buried in the church yard by the parish church Ørum nearby.

Huldremose woman, wikipedia

The doctor washed her clothes and dried them in his yard - and he wrote to the National Museum in Copenhagen from where they sent a telegram that they wanted both the body of the woman and her clothes - so the body was dug up and sent with her clothes on steamship to Copenhagen. In spite of the rough treatment of the 2000 year old clothes they hadn't suffered any damage - and they belong to the best preserved Danish textiles from antiquity.   Like most mummies found in Denmark the woman from Huldremose was fully dressed. Her dress is incredibly well preserved although it is 2000 years old.

She was more than 40 years old when she was  placed in the bog which was a high age at that time, in fact an old woman of Iron Age. The find has brought nutrition to various discussions and interpretations during times. A possible interpretation is that she was killed and following this sacrificed in the bog.The body was found with the legs bent behind the back, with a nearly severed right arm. Supposedly the arm was damaged by a shovel during excavation. Apart from this, the corpse was well intact.The dead lay with head west. The body was identified as a grown woman, probably rather slender built. The left thighbone had been broken and grown crookedly. She must have been limping.  

spergula arvensis/ wikipedia

According to science exist many informations about what had happened to people who later became bog bodies. The stomach contents can reveal the person's meal before death. It is known from the Huldremose woman's stomach contents that her last meal was rough grinded ray with a big content of seeds from the weed spergel (spergula arvensis). In her stomach were also animal hairs and rests of animal tissue. This indicated that she also had meat in her dish.

She wore a dress with a checkered skirt and a checkered scarf in sheep wool and two skin capes. The skirt was held around the waist with a narrow leather strap woven into a waistband. The scarf was tied around her head and fastened under the left arm with a needle from a bird's bone. On the upper body she wore outermost a cape made from several dark brown sheep skin with a collar of light sheep skin, the curly fur turning out. Under this she wore another cape with the fur side inwards. This was made from 11 small dark lamb skin. The cape was well used and had 22 sewn on patches. They did not cover a hole but contained a finely made bone comb, a narrow blue hair band and a lether strap, all wrapped in a bladder. This was obviously not a pocket, since the patches had to be cut up to get out the things. The insewen things possibly functioned as  amulets.

Huldremose woman, exhibition, National Museum/ wikipedia

Around the woman's long red hair was bound a woolen strip, winded several times around her neck. around the neck she wore another woolen strip with two amber pearls.  An imprint upon her left hand revealed that she had worn a finger ring, but there is no trace of a ring today - it was probably removed in connection to the finding of the body in 1879. Deep inside she wore a cloth made of plant fibres, maybe nettle or flax. There are only a few traces of this on her skin and the main part of the material was decomposed in the bog. The checker of the skirt and the scarf was alternately light and dark wool, and the long stay in the bog made the fabric brown. Colour analyses have shown that the skirt originally was dyed blue and the scarf dyed red.

Huldremose, Djursland, photo:gb

When the Huldremose Woman was killed more than 2000 years ago and was put into a bog/moor at Djursland, the moors were important ressources for people of Iron Age. In the moors were dug turf which was used as a building material and as fuel. Some moors contained bog iron ore, a raw material, which after processing could be made into iron.  The moors had a great importance for the daily life,  but the moors and wet areas were also a gate between two worlds -  the world of humans and the world of the gods. Humans sacrificed to the gods by putting gifts down into the water. The gifts were killed livestock, clothes, jewelry, tools and clay pots filled with food. The sacrifical gifts were meant to secure a good and abundant harvest. The greatest sacrifice was another human.

Tollund man, photo: stigbachmannnielsen, Naturplan foto

It is not known what happened in connection to the death of the Huldremose woman. She was fully dressed, had a ring on her finger, amulettes in one skin cape and two amber pearls around her neck, so she was not robbed of her possesions by her killers. Across her breast was a staff of willow wood. These features more reminds about care for the dead like in a funeral and not about a simple getting rid of a body after a crime. Maybe she died as the part of a ritual and was then placed in a sacred moor. Or she had abused the laws and had to fine for this with her life. But her burial was not a usual burial like a funeral pyre or a burial service of the Iron Age people. 

Forensic analyses have shown that the Huldremose woman had got a violent cut in her right upper arm. The theory was earlier that the cut of the arm was the reason for her death, and that she died from blood loss. Later investigations could not verify this theory, and it is possible that the damage might have happened later, fx in the turf digging of the bog. While she was alive she broke her right leg, but this fracture healed before her death. Her hair was bound with a long woolen cord laid several times around her neck. There are no marks on the neck which might indicate strangulation. Maybe the cord had a symbolic meaning. Strangulated people are known from other Danish bog bodies, like the bodies from Elling and Borremose and the famous Tollund Man.

About one hundred Danish bog bodies are preserved up till today because of the special good preservation conditions in the peat bogs. The mummified bog bodies where skin, hair and stomach contents are preserved count about a fourth, while the rest of the bog bodies are only skeletal parts. The most well preserved bodies like the Huldremose woman,  the Grauballe man and the Tollund man are found in raised bogs, where the necessary sour and oxygen poor condition is present.


source: National Museum, museumsinspektør Flemming Kaul
source: wikipedia

photo: grethe bachmann/ stig bachmann nielsen, Naturplan foto.
photo: wikipedia

Dill / Dild - a useful and pretty spice herb

Anethum graveolens

Dill is an annual herb in the celery family apiaceae, and it is the only species in the genus Anethum. Dill is widely grown in Eurasia where its leaves and seeds are used as a herb or spice for flavouring food. Dill is related to fennel and parsley and its leaves are very similar to fennel. The Danish name Dild comes from a Nordic word meaning pjalt (rag), which might indicate that the plant has a Nordic relation from origin, contrarily to all other spice- and kitchen herbs.

Dill originates from Central Asia and the plant grows wild in the Middle East. It was known in ancient Egypt, and from here it spread to Greece, Rome and the rest of Europe. Today dill is first of all used in northern, middle and eastern Europe while it used to a minimum in the Mediterranean.

Dill grows up to 40–60 cm with slender hollow stems and alternate, finely divided, softly delicate leaves.  The flowers are white to yellow, in small umbels. Fresh and dried dill leaves (sometimes called "dill weed" to distinguish it from dill seed) are widely used as herbs in Europe and Central Asia.

Culinary

Dill is a commonly cultivated spice herb and medical plant. It is a magnificent  culinary spice and also used in tea. The young fresh leaves are used in salads and fish dishes and as a ganiture. Later in summer the ripe dill umbels are used as a spice in fx cucumber pickling. Like caraway, the fernlike leaves of dill are aromatic and are used to flavor many foods such as gravlax (cured salmon) and other fish dishes, borscht and other soups, as well as pickles. Dill is best when used fresh as it loses its flavour rapidly if dried; however, freeze-dried dill leaves retain their flavor relatively well for a few months.

Dill seeds, having a flavor similar to caraway but also resembling that of fresh or dried dill weed, is used as a spice. Dill oil  is extracted from the leaves, stems and seeds of the plant. The oil from the seeds is distilled and used in the manufacturing of soaps.

In central and eastern Europe, Scandinavia, Baltic states, Russia and Finland dill is a popular culinary herb, used in the kitchen along with chives or parsley. Fresh, finely cut dill leaves are used as topping in soups, especially the hot red borscht and the cold borsht mixed with curds, kefir, yoghurt, or sour cream, which is served during hot summer weather and is called okroshka. It is also popular in summer to drink fermented milk (curds, kefir, yoghurt, or buttermilk) mixed with dill (and sometimes other herbs).In Scandinavia dill is a common spice/kitchen herb.

In the same way, prepared dill is used as a topping for boiled potatoes covered with fresh butter – especially in summer when there are so-called "new", or young, potatoes. The dill leaves can be mixed with butter, making a dill butter, which can serve the same purpose.


The etheric oil is used in the perfume industry and in some liqueors.

Folk Medicine

Dill was recommended for breastfeeding women, since it stimulates the milch production and secures that the baby will get a better sleep. Dill seeds were often used as a laxative, and dill-water was drunk against nausea, acid reflux, flatulence and other stomach trouble. Henrik Smid warns against the use of dill since it makes people lazy and incapable of sex.  If the flower umbels were hung up by the bed they worked somnolent. Dill in oil was said to be effective against ear ache - and it was recommended as the best means against hickups. The etheric oil has a driving and calming effect. Abscesses from the plague were rubbed with dill.

Dill Snaps

The dill seeds were written in the pharmacopoeia in 1772.

Medicine for livestock:
Dill was used as a prevention against rinderpest. Calves with tympania were given dill-tea. Dill was also used in diseases of the horse.


Superstition:
A young girl should wear dill, when walking in the woods. At her wedding the bride should have dill seeds in her shoes, and the groom should have dill seeds in his pocket. This would make a happy wedding. Valborg-evening 30/4 or Midsummernight 24/6 the cattle was given dill with garlic as a protection against witchcraft. If the dill plant was placed upon the brewing tub the beer was not bewitched. On Christmas night dill and honey were given the cows as a protection against witchcraft. 


History:

Dill has a long history and  is mentioned already ab. 1500 BC in the Egyptian papyrus-rolls . Dill was also used in the Roman Empire and is mentioned here in a collection of recipes Apicius from ca. year 400 BC. The Romans brought the plant with north - later it was also spread with the monks up to Scandinavia.

In Anglo Saxon England, as prescribed in Leechdoms, Wortcunning, and Starcraft of Early England (also called Læceboc, many of whose recipes were borrowed from Greek medicinal texts), dill was used in many traditional medicines, including those against jaundice, headache, boils, lack of appetite, stomach problems, nausea, liver problems, and many other ills. Dill seeds can also be used to prepare herbal tea. In ancient Greece fragrance was made from the leaves of dill. Also, athletes used to spread essence of dill all over their body, as muscle toner.

In 1967 were at the market of Copenhagen sold 1.125.375 bundles of dill.


images from wikipedia 

Source: Klosterurter, Krydderurter i haven, Køkkenurter, Brøndegaard: Folk og flora.