Wörterbuch der Pflanzennamen im Altwestnordischen

Heizmann, Wilhelm

doi:10.1515/9783110887686

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…There are, however, only 14 different plants referred to using vernacular names in this literature (Table 3). 28 Some of them are medicinal and utility plants; others we do not know for sure if or how they were used.…”

Section: Medieval Cultural Relict Plants and Botanical Investigationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Icelandic medieval monastic garden - did it exist?

Kristjánsdóttir¹,

Larsson²,

Åsen³

2014

Scandinavian Journal of History

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In the multidisciplinary project presented here, 12 known monastic grounds in Iceland were surveyed by a group of medievalists from different fields in the summers of 2009, 2010 and 2011. The aim of the survey was to increase knowledge of the Icelandic monastic garden and of the plants that were known and used there; to look for possible medieval cultural relict plants; to observe continental influence on the island; and to vitalize discussion and research. Landscape and plants were surveyed at the 12 monastic sites, and full botanical investigations made. Many of the plants found have a medieval past as medicinal and utility plants, and some of their properties may have been common knowledge to medieval Icelanders. An investigation of written sources and archaeological and archaeobotanical findings from excavated sites added to the investigators' knowledge. So were there monastic gardens in Iceland in the Middle Ages? The answer is a rather confident yes. With all the evidence combined, the investigators were able to trace the deliberate use of medicinal, food and utility plants in the monastic contexts. Whether they were cultivated, tended in situ, gathered growing wild or imported is another matter. Continental influence was more evident than has previously been observed.

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Section: Medieval Cultural Relict Plants and Botanical Investigationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Icelandic medieval monastic garden - did it exist?

Kristjánsdóttir¹,

Larsson²,

Åsen³

2014

Scandinavian Journal of History

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“…We focussed the data collection primarily on macrofossil finds; pollen data that rendered information on use or human migration were also included. Old Norse plant uses were traced in primarily medieval Old West Norse literature covering charters, biblical texts, sermons, legal texts, encyclopedic works and saga literature, following Heizmann [27]. In line with New-Philology strategies [28], we cross-checked with the actual mentions in medieval manuscripts digitally available through the Dictionary of Old Norse Prose [29].…”

Section: (B) Archaeobotanical Historical and Linguistic Data Collection And Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Historical, archaeological and linguistic evidence test the phylogenetic inference of Viking-Age plant use

Teixidor‐Toneu

Kool

Greenhill

et al. 2021

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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In this paper, past plant knowledge serves as a case study to highlight the promise and challenges of interdisciplinary data collection and interpretation in cultural evolution. Plants are central to human life and yet, apart from the role of major crops, people–plant relations have been marginal to the study of culture. Archaeological, linguistic, and historical evidence are often limited when it comes to studying the past role of plants. This is the case in the Nordic countries, where extensive collections of various plant use records are absent until the 1700s. Here, we test if relatively recent ethnobotanical data can be used to trace back ancient plant knowledge in the Nordic countries. Phylogenetic inferences of ancestral states are evaluated against historical, linguistic, and archaeobotanical evidence. The exercise allows us to discuss the opportunities and shortcomings of using phylogenetic comparative methods to study past botanical knowledge. We propose a ‘triangulation method’ that not only combines multiple lines of evidence, but also quantitative and qualitative approaches. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Foundations of cultural evolution’.

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Fern rhizomes as fodder in Norway

Alm

2016

J Ethnobiology Ethnomedicine

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BackgroundAlthough ferns are often known under collective names in Norway, e.g. blom, a substantial number of vernacular names for individual fern species are known, in particular for useful or poisonous taxa. In the past, the rhizomes (Norwegian: moldfôr) of selected species were collected for fodder. Only scattered records of such use are available from southern Norway, and the tradition’s core area is found in the two North Norwegian counties of Nordland and Troms, in accordance with the longer winters encountered in the north, frequently leading to fodder shortage in early spring. The tradition extends northeastwards into Finnmark, but is less well documented there. Although numerous sources mention the use of fern rhizomes for fodder, the fern species hiding behind the tradition are incompletely known. This paper aims at reviewing available data in terms of identifyng the species used for fodder, the history and geographical distribution of such use, and other relevant traditions, e.g. the timing and mode of collection, and the way the rhizomes were used.MethodsThe study is based on data extracted from a variety of archival and literature sources; the latter retrived from my database of more than 7500 publications providing information on plant names and plant uses in Norway.ResultsMore than 200 individual records mention the use of fern rhizomes for fodder in Norway. Only a fraction of these, typically made by botanist recording data on plant uses, provides information on the identity of the species used. Based on these, Dryopteris filix-mas and Matteuccia struthiopteris stand out as the most important species serving as sources of fern rhizomes for fodder. Locally, Dryopteris expansa was the preferred species, and this taxon may to some extent be overlooked in the records so far available. With a few exceptions, Norwegian folk tradition singles out Athyrium filix-femina as a harmful and poisonous species, causing livestock to go blind and lame, but whether this is true or not, remains unknown; the symptoms are in fact documented elsewhere as a consequence of poisoning due to Dryopteris filix-mas. In coastal north Norway, fern rhizomes were regularly collected for fodder, both in late autumn and early spring, and used to remedy a recurrent shortage of fodder in late winter and spring. Locally, the tradition of collecting fern rhizomes lived on until the 1940’s or 1950’s. Although mainly a tradition of the ethnic Norwegians, it had also been adopted by the farmers belonging to the Finnish and Sámi ethnic minorities.ConclusionFern rhizomes have a long tradition as an additional fodder for livestock in Norway. Preferred species were Matteuccia struthiopteris and Dryopteris filix-mas, locally also Dryopteris expansa. Athyrium filix-femina was considered to be poisonous, and usually avoided.

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Wörterbuch der Pflanzennamen im Altwestnordischen

Cited by 5 publications

References 0 publications

The Icelandic medieval monastic garden - did it exist?

The Icelandic medieval monastic garden - did it exist?

Historical, archaeological and linguistic evidence test the phylogenetic inference of Viking-Age plant use

Fern rhizomes as fodder in Norway

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