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Storyology - Plant Lore by Benjamin Taylor, 1900 page 137 – 148 (edited)
High medicinal properties were ascribed to the rosemary, so much so that old Parkinson herbalist writes: 'Rosemary is almost as great use as bayes, both for outward and inward remedies, and as well for civil as physicall purposes; inwardly for the head and heart, outwardly for the sinews and joynts; for civil uses, as all do know, at weddings, funerals, etc., to bestow among friends; and the physicall are so many that you might as well be tyred in the reading as I in the writing, if I should set down all that might be said of it.'
The virtues of the plant are celebrated in a curious wedding sermon quoted by Hone:
‘The rosemary is for married men, the which by name, nature, and continued use, man challengeth as properly belonging to himself. It overtoppeth all the flowers in the garden boasting man's rule; it helpeth the brain, strengtheneth the memory, and is very medicinal for the head. Another property is, it affects the heart. Let this rosmarinus, this flower of man, ensign of your wisdom, love, and loyalty, be carried not only in your hands but in your heads and hearts.'
The medical properties may have been over-rated by old Parkinson the herbalist (John Parkinson 1567–1650), but some are recognised even to this day. Thus rosemary is used as an infusion to cure headaches, and is believed to be an extensive ingredient in hair-restorers. It is also one of the ingredients in the manufacture of Eau-de-Cologne, and has many other uses in the form of oil of rosemary. It is said that bees which feed on rosemary blossoms produce a very delicately-flavoured honey. Perfumers are greatly indebted to it. According to De Gubernatis, the flowers of the plant are proof against rheumatism, nervous indisposition, general debility, weakness of sight, melancholy (a feeling of pensive sadness), weak circulation, and cramp. Almost as comprehensive a cure as some of our modern universal specifics!
It is as an emblem of remembrance that rosemary is most frequently used by the old poets. Thus Ophelia:
‘There is rosemary for you, that's for remembrance; I pray you, love, remember.'
And in The Winter's Tale:
‘For you there's rosemary and rue ; these keep Seeming and savour all the winter long; Grace and remembrance be with you both.'
And thus Drayton:
‘He from his lass him lavender hath sent, Showing her love, and doth requital crave; Him rosemary his sweetheart, whose intent Is that he her should in remembrance have.'
Quotations might be easily multiplied, but the reader will find in Brand's Popular Antiquities numerous references to the plant by writers of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
Rosemary
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In the 17th century, Nicholas Culpepper wrote in his herbal that rosemary helps “diseases of the head and brain, as th giddiness and swimmings therin, drowsiness or dulness, the dumb palsy, or loss of speech, the lethargy, the falling sickness… It helps a weak memory and quickens the senses.”
Culpepper recommended not only drinking rosemary tea, but also rubbing rosemary leaves on the temples. This idea is still being promoted today. According to modern aromatherapy, which studies the effects of fragrance on physical and emotional well-being, the smell alone of rosemary can stimulate the brain. Contemporary aromatherapist Robert Tissard uses rosemary to clear the mind of confusion and doubt.
Besides its use as a memory enhancer, rosemary is a classic remedy for headaches and fainting. It helps normalize low blood pressure while strengthening capillaries in the brain and the rest of the body (Kiangus, Encyclopedia of Chinese Drugs, 1977). Because it improves nerve function, rosemary is also commonly used to relieve debility and depression associated with nervous disorders. Vegetarian Times April 1988 page 67-68.
A randomized controlled trial found that dried rosemary leaf powder helps to boost brain performance. Taking 750 mg of dried rosemary daily helped improve memory performance in elderly people. (44)
