Feverfew

Chrysanthemum parthenium

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

Historical botanical drawing: Feverfew — Feverfew

Tradition (Hildegard's writings)

In Hildegard's tradition, feverfew was associated with the abdomen and the monthly cycle.

Ingredients

The herb is used; it also yields the mother tincture.

Note

Use is advised against during pregnancy and where an allergy to feverfew is known.

Botanical background

Feverfew carries shifting names in the older sources: the Physica lists it as Metra, and its botanical placement wavers between Chrysanthemum and Pyrethrum parthenium. Hildegard describes it as warm and possessed of an agreeable juice, and names a soup prepared with water, fat or oil and the finest flour. She recommends the same soup to women during menstruation. Elsewhere the herb appears together with tansy and mullein in a warm steam bath. In the more recent Hildegard literature a mother tincture is drawn from the herb and stirred into butter or goat fat to make an ointment, the goat fat giving the ointment a firmer body.

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. 1-116.
Strehlow, Wighard: Der Hildegard-Kompass. Die wichtigsten Heilmittel und Anwendungen. Knaur Verlag 2014.

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More preparations using Feverfew

Feverfew Mother Tincture Soup Feverfew Salve

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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