The Medicines of Katherine, Duchess of Norfolk, 1463–71

Abstract

This article discusses the medicinal remedies consumed at the court of the Yorkist kings of England in the light of a lawsuit in the court of common pleas (edited in an appendix) between John Clerk, king's apothecary to Edward IV, and Katherine Neville, Duchess of Norfolk, over the partial non-payment of the apothecary's bills. It argues that the consumption of apothecaries' wares in large quantities was not merely a direct result of the excessive diet of the late medieval aristocracy, but in itself represented a facet of the conspicuous consumption inherent in the lifestyle of this particular social class. The remedies supplied by Clerk over a period of several years and listed in the legal record are set in the context of contemporary collections of medical recipes, particularly a 'dispensary' in the British Library's Harleian collection generally attributed to the king's apothecary.

A Descriptive Overview of the Medical Uses Given to Mentha Aromatic Herbs throughout History

“…With the extended use of mints throughout Europe, several recipes began to appear among the royal apothecaries’ arsenals. For example, a recipe for a plaster made of wheat bread, cumin, wormwood, mint, and rose leaves figures in the long list of medicines to Katherine Neville, Duchess of Norfolk by John Clerk (15th century), king’s apothecary to Edward IV, which represents both the fear of epidemics and the need to correct the excesses of the aristocratic lifestyle [ 41 ]. Mint medicines also appear in the apothecary’s list for Anne of Bohemia, first wife of King Richard II.…”