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or (Botanical.com, A Modern Herbal, Mrs. M. Grieve)
Habergeon (Hauberk) - Properly, a short hauberk, but often used loosely for the hauberk. A coat of mail; especially, the long coat of mail of the European Middle Ages, as contrasted with the habergeon, which is shorter and sometimes sleeveless.
"...How an Habergeon or Coat of Arms is to be tempered..."
Hackle - One of the peculiar, long, narrow feathers on the neck of fowls, most noticeable on the cock.
"...And if a women with a child meets a Serpent, her fruit becomes abortive. Hence it is, that when a woman is in very Fore Travel, if she does but smell the fume of an Adder's Hackle, it will presently either drive out, or destroy her child. .."
Hack - A frame or grating of various kinds; as, a frame for drying bricks, fish, or cheese; a rack for feeding cattle; a grating in a mill race, etc.
"...And it is fit for to make wicks for candles. Yet that is stuck in with Hacks, until all the Membranes are pulled clean..."
Hadrian - Emperor of Rome (117-138) who sought to end distinctions between Rome and the Roman provinces. During his visit to Britain (122), he ordered the construction of Hadrian's Wall.
"... Galen says, it has purging faculties. And therefore it is given to drink for the Dropsies. And it will draw forth all the water of the belly. Lastly, I shall not pass by the error of Hadrian, concerning the Loadstone. For he says, that the Iron by its weight makes the Loadstone never the heavier..."
Haggard - Hag, a witch, influenced by haggard wild.] Having the expression of one wasted by want or suffering; hollow-eyed; having the features distorted or wasted, or anxious in appearance; as, haggard features, eyes.
"...So that he (Eutelides) seemed so beautiful unto himself, that falling in love with that wherewith he used to entrap others, he lost his former complexion, and died a sacrifice to his own beauty. So children often attract themselves, when their parents attribute it to Haggards and Witches..."
"... Isaac says, that a Peacock killed will be kept two days, and three in winter, that the hard flesh of it may grow soft. Haliabas hangs them up three days, hanging stones to their feet..."
"...Of old, they made a decoction of Sage leaves, the green husks of Walnuts, Sumac, Myrtle berries, Blackberries, Cypress nuts, rinds of the roots of the Halm tree, and such-like..." ("How the hairs are dyed black...")
"...For the rind of the root of Halm tree, boiled till it be soft, and consumed, and then smeered on all night, blacks the hair, first made clean with Fullers Earth..."
"...Corneile, or Hamberry may be kept in Lees. And if it be well preserved so, it will serve to be used in the stead of Olives. Ovid declares this in the eighth book of his Metamorphosis..."
Hammer - An instrument for driving nails, beating metals, and the like, consisting of a head, usually of steel or iron, fixed crosswise to a handle.
"...For when one is rubbed against the other, or is beaten off with a light blow of the Hammer, those small pieces being rubbed one against another, do not fall to the earth by their own weight, but are held up on the force of the stone..."
"...Set them in the fire and season them, and when they are cold, beat them with the Hammer into thin Rays..."
Hamper - A large basket, usually with a cover, used for the packing and carrying of articles; as, a hamper of wine; a clothes hamper; an oyster hamper, which contains two bushels.
"... If they be used after the like manner, namely, if you set them in Hampers or earthen vessels, and carefully look unto them, and use them as you would use Gourds and Cucumbers, to make them ripe before their ordinary season..."
Mill - A machine for grinding or commuting any substance, as grain, by rubbing and crushing it between two hard, rough, or intented surfaces; as, a gristmill, a coffee mill; a bone mill.
"... Stibium that Druggists call Antimony, is ground small in Handmills..."
"...Then dry them, and powder them in a Mortar, or a Handmill, until they are very fine, put them into a wide-mouthed vessel, full of rain water, and shake it well in your hands, for so the finest part will rise to the top, and the grossest will settle to the bottom..."
Hannibal - Carthaginian general, born in 247 BCE, son of Hamilcar Barca; traveled with his father to conquer Spain when he was nine; from age 18 to 25, Hannibal carried out his brother-in-law Hasdrubal's plan to consolidate Carthaginian rule on the Iberian Peninsula.
"...Junius Frontinus reports, that Hannibal being sent by the Charthagenians, against some rebels in Africa, and knowing they were a nation greedy of wine, mixed a great quantity of Mandrake with his wines..."
"...It is apparent, that Hannibal, as Polybius writes, when the people of Agrigentum were besieged by the Romans, by many and frequent fires by night, did show forth the intolerable fajine of his army, and for that cause many of his soldiers, for want of victuals, fell off to the enemy..."
Hards - The refuse or coarse part of fiax; tow.
See: Tow
"... Vegetius teaches, what combustible matter must be used. And he uses burning oil, Hards, Brimstone, Bitumen..."
"...Mingle Hards of Hemp, with whites of Eggs well stirred..."
Hare - A rodent of the genus Lepus, having long hind legs, a short tail, and a divided upper lip. It is a timid animal, moves swiftly by leaps, and is remarkable for its fecundity.
"...Hares feed upon herbs that have juice like milk, and therefore in their bellies they have a cream, whence shepherds have learned to make cream of many such herbs pressed together..."
"...Therefore to consider of animals, that have the quickest hearing, we must think of those that are the most fearful. Nor nature takes care for their safety, that as they have no great strength. Yet they might exceed others in hearing, and save themselves by flight. As the Hare, Coney, Hart, the Ass, Ox, and the like..."
Harelip - (the condition in which someone has) a top lip divided into two parts at the middle because it did not develop in the usual way before birth.
"...Many children have Hare-lips, and all because their mothers being with child looked upon a Hare..."
Harlot - A woman who prostitutes her body for hire; a prostitute; a common woman; a strumpet.
See: Whore
"...A Harlot is not only impudent in herself, but she also naturally infects therewith, all that she touches and carries about her, so that if a man does often behold himself in her glass, or put on her garments, it will make him as impudent and lecherous as she is..."
"...And Plutarch says, that when he (Alexander ) heard Antigenida playing melodies with a Pipe, that they called Harmatii, he was so inflamed, that he rose in his arms, and laid hold of him that sat next to him..."
"...Herodotus says, that Harpagus sent letters to Cyrus, put into the belly of a Hart whose entrails were taken out, by one that counterfeited a shepherd hunting. So..."
"...The like was done by Harpagus. He, as Herodotus says, being to discover to Cyrus some secrets, when the ways were stopped, that he could do it by no other means, he delivered the letters to a faithful servant, who went like a hunter, that had caught a Hare..."
Harp - A musical instrument consisting of a triangular frame furnished with strings and sometimes with pedals, held upright, and played with the fingers.
"...So if you cover it with a Bear skin, the sound thereof will make Horses run away. And if you make Harp-strings of all their guts severally, and put them together upon the instrument they will always jar, and never make comfort..."
"...The Harp has some properties in it, and things worthy to be observed, which I shall propound here..."
Harper - A player on the harp; a minstrel.
"...And Agamemnon departing from his country to go to Troy, doubting of the Chastity of Clytemnestra, left a Harper, who with Music did so incite her to Continency and Chastity..."
See: Kyranides
"...Many such compound medicines made of creatures living on earth, in the water, in the air, together with herbs and stones, you may find most wittily devised, In the books of Kyranides and and Harpocration..."
"...Whoever looks into the writings of the ancients, namely, Hermes, Orpheus, Zoroastres, Harpocration, and other such like skillful men as have invented and registered the secrets of this art, shall find that they gathered all from the likeness of seeds, fruits, flowers, leaves and roots, as also of the stars, metals, gems, and stones, that likeness, I say, which these things have to the diseases and parts of a mans body, as also of other living creatures..."
Hart - A stag; the male of the red deer.
"...When the Hart is wounded by the Cretians, they seek out the Herb Dittany, and presently the Darts fallout of their bodies..."
"...There is a kind of Spider which destroys the Hart, except presently they eat Wild Ivy, and whensoever they light upon any poisonous food, they cure themselves with the Artichoke, and against Serpents they prepare and arm them selves with Wild Parsnip, so do the Ring-doves, Coughs, and Blackbirds use Bay leaves..."
Bane - That which destroys life, esp. poison of a deadly quality.
See: Bane
"...Some venomous fish are found in Armenia. With the powder of them, they scatter Figs strewn with it, in places where wild beasts come. Beasts no sooner taste of them, but they die. And by this art are Harts and Boars killed. Aelian..."
"...Which a man may use after unclean women. Take a Drachm of Hartwort and Gentian, two Scruples of Sanders and Lingnum Aloes, half a Drachm of Powder of Coral, Spodium, and Harts Horn burned, a handful of Sowthistle, Scordium, Betony, Scabious, and a half of Mercury precipitate..."
"...Also, with red Coral, Cuttle Bone, Harts Horn, and such like, whereof everyone will well polish and wipe the teeth clean..."
Hart's Tongue - Botanical: Scolopendrium vulgare; Asplenium scolopendrium (LINN.) Family: N.O. Filices. Its broad, long, undivided dark-green fronds distinguish it from all other native ferns, and render it a conspicuous object in the situations where it abounds, as it grows in masses. It receives its name of Scolopendrium because its fructification is supposed to resemble the feet of Scolopendra, a genus of Mydrapods. The sori are in twin oblique lines, on each side of the midrib, covered by what looks like a single indusium, but really is two, one arranged partially over the other. In the early stages of its growth, the folding over of the indusium can be clearly seen through a lens. The fronds are stalked and the root, tufted, short and stout. (Botanical.com, A Modern Herbal, Mrs. M. Grieve)
"...The leaves of the herb Harts-tongue will make a man quite barren, if the herb itself be barren, for there is Harts-tongue that bears fruit, and this will make a man fruitful..."
Hartwort - A coarse umbelliferous plant of Europe (Tordylium maximum).
"...Which a man may use after unclean women. Take a Drachm of Hartwort and Gentian, two Scruples of Sanders and Lignum Aloes, half a Drachm of Powder of Coral, Spodium, and Hart horn burned..."
Hawk - One of numerous species and genera of rapacious birds of the family Falconidæ. They differ from the true falcons in lacking the prominent tooth and notch of the bill, and in having shorter and less pointed wings. Many are of large size and grade into the eagles. Some, as the goshawk, were formerly trained like falcons. In a more general sense the word is not infrequently applied, also, to true falcons, as the sparrow hawk, pigeon hawk, duck hawk, and prairie hawk.
"...Hawks are exceeding hot in lust, and though there be diverse kinds of them, yet they all couple together among themselves without any difference, as Aristotle writes, they couple with Eagles, and thereby engender bastard Eagles..."
"...If you give a Hawk a Hen fed with Snake or Lizard's flesh, or with Barley boiled in the broth of them, it will make him Mew his feathers betimes..."
Hay - Grass cut and cured for fodder.
"...For it is dryer and hardest, and an enemy to Mice. But if not then Bean Straw, or such Pulse. But if none of these, then dry Hay cut small..."
"... Columella would have dry Figs cast into a pitched vessel with dry Hay in it and upon them..."
Hazel - A shrub or small tree of the genus Corylus, as the C. avellana, bearing a nut containing a kernel of a mild, farinaceous taste; the filbert.
"...As for example, that the Fig tree may be incorporated into the Plane tree, and the Mulberry tree, and likewise the Mulberry tree into the Chestnut tree, the Turpentine tree, and the White Poplar, whereby you my procure White Mulberries, and likewise the Chestnut tree into a Hazel, and an Oak, and likewise the Pomegranate tree into all trees, for that it is like to a common whore, ready and willing for all comers, and likewise the Cherry tree into a Turpentine tree.."
"...For with a knife they cut the Hazel tree, which they say is the fittest of all to find out veins, especially if the Hazel comes upon any mineral vein. Others use diverse trees, as the metals are diverse. For they use the wands of Hazel for veins of Silver, Ash for Brass, wild Pilch tree for Lead, chiefly White Lead, or Brass, or Gold..."
Hazelnut - The nut of the hazel.
"...Anoint the fore part of their heads with the ashes of the shells of Hazelnuts and Oil. It will make the white eyes of children black, if you do it twice..."
Head - . The uppermost, foremost, or most important part of an inanimate object; such a part as may be considered to resemble the head of an animal; often, also, the larger, thicker, or heavier part or extremity, in distinction from the smaller or thinner part, or from the point or edge; as, the head of a cane, a nail, a spear, an ax, a mast, a sail, a ship; that which covers and closes the top or the end of a hollow vessel; as, the head of a cask or a steam boiler.
"...Take a Lily Clove or Head, and when you have opened it well, pour into it some Sinoper, or any other coloring, and the Lily flower that grows out of the Clove so dressed, will be of the same color..."
Headache - . Pain in the head; cephlalgia.
"...Pliny has gathered into his books, many things out of the ancient works that were extant in his time. We will relate some of them. He says, that an herb which grows in the head of an image, being wrapt in a cloth, is good for the Headache. .."
Hearn - A heron; esp., the common European heron.
See: Hern
"... In the Diomedian Isles, now called Tremity, in the Adriatique Sea, there are birds, commonly called Hearns. Who breed there, and continue there, and are to be found nowhere else..."
Heathcock
(Heath grouse)
Heathcock - Heath cock , the blackcock. Heath grouse (below). -- Heath grouse, Heath game , a European grouse (Tetrao tetrix), which inhabits heats; -- called also black game, black grouse, heath poult, heath fowl, moor fowl. The male is called, heath cock, and blackcock; the female, heath hen, and gray hen. -- Heath hen.
"...Pheasants, Partridges, Heathcocks, and Turkyhens, will fat being shut up..."
"...Fed thus, they will grow as fat as great Sappers in Fig time, and so tender, that they will melt in your mouth, and they taste better by far then Pheasants, Heathcocks, or Thrushes. .."
Heaven - . The expanse of space surrounding the earth; esp., that which seems to be over the earth like a great arch or dome; the firmament; the sky; the place where the sun, moon, and stars appear; The dwelling place of the Deity; the abode of bliss; the place or state of the blessed after death.
"...Yes, even in Heaven itself, as Jupiter and Venus love all Planets save Mars and Saturn, Venus agrees with Mars, where no other plant agrees with him..."
"...seeing that forms come from Heaven, they must needs be counted divine and heavenly things, for such is the pattern and the most excellent cause of them, which Plato, that chief Philosopher, calls the Soul of the World, and Aristotle, Universal Nature, and Avicenna calls it Form-giver..."
"... Hecateus says, that the Egyptians grind Barley to make a drink, and that the Macedonians drink Brytum made of Barley, and Parabia made of Millet, and Rice, says Athenaus...."
Hedgehog - A small European insectivore (Erinaceus Europæus), and other allied species of Asia and Africa, having the hair on the upper part of its body mixed with prickles or spines. It is able to roll itself into a ball so as to present the spines outwardly in every direction. It is nocturnal in its habits, feeding chiefly upon insects.
"...The Ancients made their hair grow again with these remedies. With the ashes of a land Hedgehog, or of burnt Bees or Flies, or the powder of them dried, also with man's Dung burnt, and anointed