User:Nonsenseferret/sandbox/Scottish herbal medicine

Scottish herbal remedies have been used in Scotland since at least the Bronze Age according to archaeological evidence, and written evidence has been found dating back to the fifteenth century AD - a Gaelic manuscript - “Regimen Sanitas, the Rule of Health”. In the 17th century physicians being trained in Europe, Robert Sibbald and Andrew Balfour, began to take an interest in indigenous herbs, and to study them systematically. This brought about the establishment of the Edinburgh Physic Garden. The head gardener, James Sutherland, published Hortus Medicus Edinburgensis, cataloguing the plants in the physical Garden at Edinburgh in 1683. A copy of this text is still in existence, and is kept in the National Library of Scotland. Many herbal and folk remedies have survived in Scotland through oral tradition.

Important aspect in development of Scottish herbal science was that Soutra Aisle was a home to one of the largest medieval hospitals in the country. It was founded by King Malcolm IV in 1164. Recent archaeology has revealed evidence of some herbs such as Henbane, Hemlock and Opium Poppy. Given the powerful actions of these herbs, it is thought that they were used as a form of anesthetic for any surgical procedures that were carried out.