Leechdoms, wortcunning, and starcraft of early England. Being a ...

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xn
PREFACE.
mony the Saxons must be concluded to be very far
removed from that pasturage upon the lierb of the
field whicli was the regale of human innocence, and
that feeding upon grass which was the doom of an
arrogant Oriental king. They seem to dine like Englishmen.
The Saxon imported purple palls, and silk, precious
gems, gold, rare vestments, drugs, wine, oil, ivory, orichalclium
(a very fine mixed metal of gold and silver),
brass, brimstone, glass, and many more such articles.^
Tin came by water from Cornwall. Their enterprise by
sea was distinguished ;
the}^ pursued the dangerous
whale, and were known for their adventurous hostile
landings upon the Gallic coasts before they had settled
in this country.^
When the Saxons got possession of Britain, they
found it, not such as Julius Cesar describes it, but
cultivated and improved by all that the Romans knew
of agriculture and gardening.
Hence rue, hyssop, fennel,
mustard, elecampane, southernwood, celandine, radish,
cummin, onion, lupin, chervil, flower de luce, flax
probably, rosemary, savory, lovage, parsley, coriander,
olusatrum, savine, were found in their gardens and
available for their medicines. Among the foreign drugs,
or the like, which are mentioned in this
mastich, pepper, galbanum, scamony, gutta
volume, we find
ammoniaca,
cinnamon, vermilion, aloes, pumice, quicksilver, brimstone,
myrrh, frankincense, petroleum,'* ginger.
The Saxons and Engie for the supply of their tables,
thus, as we have seen, abundantly supplied,
kept herds
of cattle. The agriculture was in great measure, with
alterations adapted to the moister climate, and with
improvements from lapse of time and
from other coun-
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Col. Mon. p. 27.
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Ainmianiis Marcellinus, xxviii.
^ Ynneleac has for its first element
a Latinism, unionem, onion.
'Lb. pp. 53, .'iT, 01, 101, 125
289,297.