Sweet chestnut

Castanea sativa

Historical tradition – not medical advice, and no health or healing claims. more

Historical botanical drawing: Sweet — Sweet

Tradition (Hildegard's writings)

In Hildegard's tradition, sweet chestnut was associated with the heart and the liver.

Ingredients

The kernels (marrons) and the flour ground from them; the leaves, husks and bark are also part of the tradition.

Note

Sweet chestnut should not be confused with horse chestnut, which only spread through Europe from Vienna after 1575.

Botanical background

The sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa) belongs to the beech family. Its fruits are known as marrons, and in southern Europe they are also ground into flour. Besides the kernels, the tradition names the leaves, the husks, the bark and the wood of the tree, along with roots and young twigs as a bath addition. The chestnut appears in the third book of the Physica, the one given over to trees; Hildegard calls it very warm and presents it as an emblem of wisdom. Boiled or roasted, the nuts remain both a food and a fixture of household plant lore.

Sources & references

Hildegard von Bingen: Heilsame Schöpfung. Die natürliche Wirkkraft der Dinge (Physica). Hrsg. von der Abtei St. Hildegard, Eibingen. Beuroner Kunstverlag 2012 (4. Auflage 2024). Cap. 3-12.
Strehlow, Wighard: Die Hildegard-Naturapotheke. Heilmittel und Rezepte von A bis Z. Knaur Verlag 2014.
Strehlow, Wighard: Der Hildegard-Kompass. Die wichtigsten Heilmittel und Anwendungen. Knaur Verlag 2014.

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More preparations using Sweet

Sweet Chestnut Flour in Honey Sweet Chestnuts (Marroni)

Historical tradition. The above describes how this preparation was recorded and used in the tradition of Hildegard of Bingen. This is cultural-historical information, not medical advice and not a health or healing claim, and it is no substitute for advice from a doctor or pharmacist. If you have health complaints, please consult your doctor or pharmacy.

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