Lavender

Lavandula angustifolia

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

Historical botanical drawing: Lavender — Lavender

Tradition (Hildegard's writings)

In Hildegard's tradition, lavender was associated with the airways and the liver.

Ingredients

The flowers and the flower buds are used; the buds hold the essential oil.

Note

True lavender and spike lavender are difficult to tell apart botanically, and their hybrids are traded as lavandin.

Botanical background

Lavender is a member of the mint family (Lamiaceae); its deep blue flowers and characteristic scent make it unmistakable. The name goes back to the Latin lavare, to wash, probably because the fragrant plant was once added to bath water. Hildegard distinguishes two plants in her Physica: wild spike lavender and true lavender, of which she writes that it is of no use as food but carries a strong scent. In antiquity and in the Middle Ages it counted for little as a medicinal plant; it was known above all as a fragrant herb, and sachets of it are still hung in linen cupboards today. The flower buds hold one to three per cent essential oil, of which thirty to sixty per cent is linalyl acetate, alongside camphor and tannins. The flowers belong to the herb mixture of Provence.

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. 1-25 und Cap. 1-35.
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 Lavender

Lavender Mask Lavender Oil Lavender Wine

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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