Aqua Alexiteria
In this brief paper I will discuss a recipe that was published in Sir Charles Scarborough's 1665's Practical Method as Used for the Cure of the Plague in London. This will be an informal paper, cribbed from notes I have gathered over the years about cordials, and written over the course of a week. And while it will be presented as a plague paper for Lady Mary's, I do not intend this to be a full fledged research paper, but more for the entertainment of any readers. While Scarborough's book was published outside of the SCA time period, I feel that it is a good fit for these trying times of our modern plague. I will be discussing Aqua Alexiteria, a "cure" for plague.
"In the giving this Medicine, you are to consider the Age and Strength of the Patient; the Dose is from Ten Grains, or half a Scruple, to half a Dram, or a Dram, as you see Occasion. Take it dissolved in Sack, White Port, or some other convenient Vehicle; as the Aqua Alexiteria, or some such like. When the Sick takes it for the Plague, or any malignant Fever, let them be in their naked Bed, that they may Sweat well upon it, and so continue for Five or Six Hours; after which they will lie in a kind of breathing Sweat, at which Time moisten their Mouth with the Juice of an Orange, or some other pleasant Cordial, made gratefully Acid, with some few Drops of Oils of Sulphur, Vitriol and Salt, mixed equally alike together."
I will not be making this cordial, just discussing the recipe. First of all, gathering all of the ingredients would be cost prohibitive. Secondly, the amount of time it would would take to prepare, steep, and distill this cordial might end up being a months long project. In addition, some of the ingredients are linked to some dangerous medical problems.
To begin with, allow me to define what a cordial is. A cordial is a flavored alcoholic beverage, normally wine, that has been distilled, mostly for medicinal purposes. The majority of cordial recipes date to the end of the SCA period but there are enough recipes that we can conclude that they were well known. Some modern cordials, such as Benedictine and Frangelico, date back to the 16th and 17th Century. The theory of distilling itself dates back to the 4th Century BCE when Aristotle wrote Meteorology in which he details the specifics of the process.
The earliest European records of flavored alcohols were written by a Spanish alchemist by the name of Arnold de Vila Nova. In 1240 he wrote the Boke of Wine in which he details methods for flavoring alcohol and proposed the restorative and life giving properties of these beverages. One of Arnold’s students, Raymond Lully, proclaimed that their production was “a divinely inspired gift from Heaven.” Legal documents dating to 1411 mention the distillation of wine into brandy in the Armagnac region of France. Most of the surviving recipes offer cordials for medicinal use rather than recreational use, and most of these recipes are listed along side of those for liniments, surfeits, poultices, and other medicinal tonics.
The Oxford English Dictionary defines a cordial with regard to medicine, food or beverage, as “any invigorating and stimulating preparation that is intended for a medicinal purpose.” Particularly in regards to one’s health, especially for one’s heart: cordial derives from the Latin for heart: cor. Spirits, distillations of alcoholic beverages (wine and ale) were considered to be good for one’s health all on their own. Whiskey (or whisky) is derived from the Gaelic uisge beatha, or “water of life”: aqua vitae, in Latin. Medieval doctors and alchemists claimed that it could: preserve youth; improve memory; treat diseases of the brain, nerves and joints; revive the heart; calm toothache; cure blindness, speech defects and paralysis and even protect against the plague. (Pssst! It can't.) By adding additional ingredients, the spirit of alcohol would enhance the medicinal properties of those ingredients, like a super hero team up.
With that in mind, here is Scarborough's Aqua Alexiteria.
R Mithridate, Nine Ounces; Virginia Snake-Root, an Ounce; Contrayerva, Zedoary, Winters-Bark, Cinnamon, Bay-berries, Six Drams; Mace, Cloves, Nutmegs, Cardamoms, Juniper-Berries, Jamaica Pepper, Ginger, of each Three Drams; Saffron, Cochineel, Limon-Peels, Orange-Peels, of each Two Drams; Rue, Rosemary, Bawin, Mint, Peniroyal, Sage, Savory, Mother of Thyme, and Lavender-Flowers, Angelica, of each a good Pugil; Spirit of Wine Three Pints; bruise what are to be bruised, and digest all together for a Fortnight, then put thereto White Wine Two Quarts; Distil all in an Alembick, with a Refrigeratory, and draw off Three Pints of Spirit, which reserve; then change the Receiver, and draw off a Quart more, which with treble refined Sugar, make into a Syrup, to which put thereunto the first distilled Spirit, and let them stand until they are clear.
This Water may be given from half a Spoonful, to Two Spoonfuls, upon any emergent Occasion: As, in the Morning, a little before Dinner, and at Night going to Bed.
This is such shopping list that I can only conclude that if an apothecary were to make this, they would charge thousands of dollars, in modern money, per dose, like epinephrine. Sir Hugh Plat’s recipe “How to make the ordinarie spirit of wine, that is solde for five shillings & a noble, a pinte” shows how costly these beverages were. A noble was the first gold coin minted in Medieval England and was worth 80 pence. Or 6 shillings and 8 pence. So, Plat's cordial could be sold for 11 shillings and 8 pence per pint. According to MeasuringWorth.com, this would be worth between $142 and $2400 in 2018 dollars, depending on the method of calculation. Cordials were not cheap. In London, in 1609, the year Plat published this particular recipe book, a barrel, 36 gallons, of the best ale was sold for 3 shillings and 8 pence, and a barrel of the best beer was sold for 4 shillings. This works out to 3 to 3.5 pennies per gallon. Cordials were too expensive to be consumed as a social beverage.
Ingredients:
R Mithridate, or Royal Mithridate. This is a all purpose remedy made up of 70 ingredients. It was reported to have been concocted by Mithridates VI in the 1st century BC.
"Mithridate takes its name from its inventor, Mithridates VI, King of Pontus (134 to 63 BC) who is said to have so fortified his body against poisons with antidotes and preservatives, that when he tried to kill himself, he could not find any poison that would have an effect, and, according to some legends, had to ask a soldier to run him through with a sword. The recipe for the reputed antidote was found in his cabinet, written with his own hand, and was carried to Rome by Pompey. It was translated into Latin by Pompey's freedman Lenaeus, and later improved upon by Nero's physician Andromachus and Marcus Aurelius's physician Galen. It likely underwent considerable alterations since the time of Mithridates."
In the Middle Ages, and into the Reneance, mithridate was used as a cure-all for all sorts of plauge, and was proscribed, in London, up the 18th century. According to Simon Kellwaye (1593), one should "take a great Onyon, make a hole in the myddle of him, then fill the place with Mitridat or Triacle, and some leaues of Rue".
Aulus Cornelius Celsus details one version of the antidote in De Medicina (ca. AD 30). A recent translation is as follows: "But the most famous antidote is that of Mithridates, which that king is said to have taken daily and by it to have rendered his body safe against danger from poison". It contained:
costmary, 1–66 grams
sweet flag, 20 grams
hypericum, 8 grams
Natural gum, 8 grams
sagapenum,[12] 8 grams
acacia juice, 8 grams
Illyrian iris (probably I. germanica),[13] 8 grams
cardamom, 8 grams
anise, 12 grams
Gallic nard (Valeriana italica),[14] 16 grams
gentian root, 16 grams
dried rose leaves, 16 grams
poppy-tears (Papaver rhoeas, a wild poppy with low opiate content),[15] 17 grams
parsley, 17 grams
casia, 20–66 grams
saxifrage, 20–66 grams
darnel, 20–66 grams
long pepper, 20–66 grams
storax, 21 grams
castoreum, 24 grams
frankincense, 24 grams
hypocistis juice,[16] 24 grams
myrrh, 24 grams
opopanax, 24 grams
malabathrum leaves, 24 grams
flower of round rush, 24–66 grams
turpentine-resin, 24–66 grams
galbanum, 24–66 grams
Cretan carrot seeds, 24–66 grams
nard, 25 grams
opobalsam, 25 grams
shepherd's purse, 25 grams
rhubarb root, 28 grams
saffron, 29 grams
ginger, 29 grams
cinnamon, 29 grams
The ingredients are then "pounded and taken up in honey. Against poisoning, a piece the size of an almond is given in wine. In other affections an amount corresponding in size to an Egyptian bean is sufficient." Of these ingredients, Illyrian iris, darnel, and rhubarb were not commonly found in other versions of the antidote. However, Celsus' formulation, written 100 years after the death of Mithridates, was one of the first published. Galen called the antidote "theriac" and presented versions by Aelius (used by Julius Caesar), Andromachus (physician to Nero), Antipater, Nicostratus, and Damocratis. The Andromachus formulation closely resembles that of Celsus.
The manufacture of antidotes called mithridate or theriac (English "treacle") continued into the nineteenth century. Ephraim Chambers, in his 1728 Cyclopaedia, says "Mithridate is one of the capital Medicines in the Apothecaries Shops, being composed of a vast Number of Drugs, as Opium, Myrrh, Agaric, Saffron, Ginger, Cinnamon, Spikenard, Frankincense, Castor, Pepper, Gentian, &c". It is accounted a Cordial, Opiate, Sudorific, and Alexipharmic". Petrus Andreas Matthiolus considered it more effectual against poisons than Venice treacle, and easier to make. Late versions of the antidote incorporated dried blood or the dried flesh of lizards or vipers or Malabathrum.
Virginia Snake-Root. Found in eastern USA, but was imported from the Virginia Colony. It has been shown to stimulate poor appetizes, reduce fever, and has some use in neutralizing snake venom. In large doses it can cause vomiting, diarrhea, and miscarriages.
Contrayerva, is a rhizome from Central and South America, used as a stimulant, and sweat enhancer, and as a snake bite cure. It can also cause arrhythmia in the heart and increase the chance of infant death if taken by breast-feeding women.
Zedoary, a relative of turmeric, also found in India. Used to treat indigestion, gas, and bloating.
Winters-Bark, Drimys winteri or canelo. Native to Argentina and Chile. Brought to England by Sir Francis Drake in 1579. Loaded with Vitamin C and was used as a remedy for Scurvy. Also used for toothaches and colic in babies.
Cinnamon, no variety is mentioned. Was used for pretty much as a cure-all for infections and colds, even though it does not have much provable medicinal benefits.
Bay-berries, Also known as Myrica, candleberry, sweet gale, and wax-myrtle. Native to South America. Used as a flavoring for beer and other alcoholic beverages, much as is hops. Used in traditional medicine for high blood pressure, ulcers, and diarrhea. Modern research shows that there is no evidence for any medicinal benefits.
Mace, from the far east. Used as a spice and to treat gum inflammation and bleeding.
Cloves, varieties are found from North Africa, through out the Middle East, all the way to India and China. Used as a spice for food and beverage, as well as a numbing agent. Fairly effective as a tooth plaque remover and is still used in natural cough drops.
Nutmeg, from the Spice Islands of Indonesia. In Scarborough's time, Nutmeg was thought that it could cure everything. It couldn't, but it tastes good.
Cardamom, found in the Middle East. Was recommended for heartburn, IBS, and other digestive issues. Was also used as a relief for sore throats. No mention as to which variety of Cardamom: black, green or white. White cardamom is found in China and doesn't have much of a taste, but imparts a wonderful aroma to dishes and to incense. I would assume that Scarborough would have used black or green cardamom.
Juniper-Berries, found through out Northern Europe. Was used to treat joint inflammation, kidney stones, and heartburn.
Jamaica Pepper. Known today as Allspice. Like nutmeg, was claimed to cure everything. It does have some minor effect as an antiseptic, due to its high levels of eugenol.
Ginger, from the far east, but was imported to Europe from the time of the Ancient Greeks. Actually useful for nausea and morning sickness, reducing painful menstrual pain, and joint pain, both through ingestion and by external application.
Saffron, from North Africa, Middle East, and Southern Spain. Used to treat depression, PMS, and asthma.
Cochineel, or Cochineal. An insect best known as a source for carmine dye, from Central and South America. I was unable to find any medicinal benefits for Cochineal. Large doses in modern foods have been shown to cause allergies ranging from mild cases of hives to atrial fibrillation and anaphylactic shock. I don't know why this was included since I could find no period sources describing any health benefits. It would have dyed the mother liquid red, but I am unsure if the end product would have any trace of the red dye, after the distillation process.
Lemon and Orange peel. I think these were added to the mix to provide better flavor. Lemon and Orange oils do distill well. No mention is given as to these are fresh or dried peels. Or if the pith should be removed or not. I would hazard to guess that it these are being added strictly to add flavor, than the piths would be removed to reduce the bitterness. Although, there are other bitter ingredients in this potion.
Rue. Found all over Europe and Asia. One of the bitter herbs mentioned in Exodus. Was used for a multitude of reasons: heart palpations, breathing issues, headache, arthritis, cramps, fever, intestinal worms, bad breath, and to induce miscarriages. Large doses can lead to stomach, kidney, and liver damage.
Rosemary. Another common herb that was given a multiple of medicinal properties: heartburn, high blood pressure, low blood pressure, memory loss, sunburn treatment, hair loss, toothache, eczema, muscle aches. As well as a wound cleaner and a poison antidote. It tastes nice.
Bawin. Looking at the original text, I do not think the writer actually wrote B A W I N, since bawin isn't listed anywhere else in the period's herbals: only in this book. Nor is it to be found in herbals from later centuries. I think that the printer actually used the word Bawm and the font used made it look like Bawin.
The 19th century A Dictionary of English Plant-names: Part 1, does have a listing for "Bawme (or Bawm), which is listed as Melissa officianlis. Bawm was formerly in great repute in Cumb. as a medicinal plant and Bawm-tea is still a cottager's antidote to feverish colds." Melissa officinalis is known by it's modern, English name, lemon balm, which is native to central Europe and the Mediterranean basin. Lemon balm also has some effect in treating upset stomachs, insomnia, and colic.
Mint. Found almost everywhere. Used for heartburn, toothache, bad breath, bleeding gums, morning sickness, sore throats, coughs, and peppermint oil has been used, in period, for muscle and joint pain. And was used in Classical Roman and Greek times for dry and itchy skin. Scarborough does not say what type of mint to use, though.
Peniroyal, or pennyroyal, a common European herb. Was used to regulate mensural cycles, treat mouth sores, gout, insect bites, and as an insect repellent. Pennyroyal was also used to induce abortions, although the doses required can cause permanent kidney and liver damage.
Sage, another common herb. Was used for a laundry list of treatments: digestive problems, including loss of appetite, flatulence, stomach pain, gout, diarrhea, bloating, heartburn, excess sweating, sore throats, cold sores, gum disease, clogged nasal passages, depression, driving off demons, reducing menstrual pain, hot flashes, and to help with milk flow while breast feeding. The inhalation of burning sage smoke is still used as a treatment for asthma in places where modern inhalers, nebulizers, and medications are not available.
Savory, another common herb. Used for sore throats, mouth sores, insect bites, and has been shown to slow blood clotting and was used in in bleeding to allow more of the "bad humors" to escape the body.
Mother of Thyme, or common thyme, yet another common herb. Was used as a cough remedy, fever, and in reducing lung mucus in sick people. Was used in tooth cleaning recipes, as it contains Thymol which is an anti bacterial agent that is effective against gingivitis. It was also used as a anti-fungal agent for stinky feet.
Lavender-Flowers. Used for treatment of migraines, joint pains, hair loss, and as a insect repellant.
Angelica, native to northern Europe, Asia, and North America. Used to stop bleeding, treat heartburn, running noses, insomnia, joint pain, skin rashes, and was generally thought of as a cure for the Black Death in and of itself.
Now, please take most of these claims with a hug grain of salt as modern medicine has not gathered sufficient evidence of the medical benefits that people have claimed. Although, some of these claims do bare out as true in double-blind trials. Peppermint is still the number one flavoring in toothpaste because of the benefits of peppermint oil on the gums and in reducing bad breath. Mace, cloves, and cardamom can still be found in cough drops as they are effective in reducing scratchy throats and dry coughs.
Looking through this list of ingredients, about half of them were thought to be able to reduce fever and/or inflammation. Others were seen as treatments of heartburn and other digestive problems. While not a panacea for the plague, it is possible that this concoction could ease some minor aches and pains. As well as making one's dying breath minty fresh.
Spirit of wine. This would be brandy.
White wine. Early in the text, Scarborough waxes on about French wine: "The Wines of Provence and Languedoc, are most commonly Red, and not inferior to Burgundy; but the most excellent Wines for Strength and Flavour, are the Red and White St. Laurence, a Town between Toulon and Nice; and the Frontiniac of Vic, Mirabel, and Frontiniac, Three Towns near the Sea, in Languedoc, where this Wine is made." Other text discussing distilling wine into brandy call for the best wine.
So, our ingredient list would be:
9 ounces of:
Royal Mithridate.
1 ounce of:
Virginia Snakeroot.
6 drams (0.782 ounce) of: (apothecaries dram)
Contrayerva
Zedoary
Winters-Bark
Cinnamon
Bay-berries
3 drams (0.42 ounce) of:
Mace
Cloves
Nutmeg
Cardamom
Juniper Berries
Allspice
Ginger
2 drams (0.28 ounce) of:
Saffron threads
Cochineel shells
Lemon Peel
Orange Peel
A heavy pinch of:
Rue
Rosemary
Lemon balm
Mint
Pennyroyal
Sage
Savory
Thyme
Lavender flowers
Angelica flowers
Three pints of:
Brandy
Two quarts of:
White wine
I will assume that all of the ingredients would be dried: The spices from the other side of the planet would most certainly be dried to survive the long travel time. The herbs from Scarborough's figurative back yard would most likely also be dried so that they would be available year round. Also, no mention is made of using fresh ingredients, which is often the case in cordial recipes, if fresh herbs are required.
Clearly, this would be an expensive cordial, whether it worked or not. Mint and sage might have been a penny for a year's supply, but spices from the far East and the New World would not be cheap. In 1617 prices were set for nutmeg in India; English traders could purchase 1 pound of nutmeg for 4d (4 Pennies) and could sell them in London for 70 to 90 Shillings a pound (840 to 1080 Pennies or 3.5 to 4.5 Pounds). At a time when the average London laborer was making 20 to 30 Pennies a week, this was a luxury item. The cost for just the amount of nutmeg used, in this potion, would be around 24 pennies, or a week's salary for an average laborer. This "cure" clearly was intended for the richest people of London.
Method redaction:
Take all of the ingredients and prepare them as needed. "Bruse what are to be brusied" implies that leaves are not ground into powder, but just bruised to open them up for extraction. No mention is given to if the harder spices, the cinnamon and nutmeg, were ground into powder. Personally, I feel that since Scarborough did not mention grinding the ingredients into a powder, he did not intend them to be ground into a power. Two reasons: 1) The goal was to extract the oils of the ingredients, it was not to integrate them into a sauce. 2) From experience with cordials, the larger the pieces, the easier it is to clean, and the less time it takes for the sediment to settle.
So, I would recommend bruising the leaves and flowers and lightly tapping the spices with a ball-peen hammer, just to slightly crush them and open them up. Any kind of hammer could be used, but I prefer using a ball-peen hammer.
All of the ingredients need to be put into a container and then three pints of brandy added. Spirit of wine is brandy, not vodka. The flavors are very different. Let them soak in the brandy for two weeks. The brandy will extract alcohol and water soluble oils and flavors. After the two weeks, pour the brandy and herbs and spices into a still and add two quarts of white wine. The herbs and spices must be added to the still so that they can be cooked while the alcohol is distilled. Skipping this step will mean that the final beverage will not be all that it can be. This is actually an issue that mock-cordials have. Soaking herbs and spices in a neutral spirit, such as vodka, then straining the particulate matter out, cannot compare with cooking the oils, flavors, ethers, and other things, and letting those particulates be distilled along with the alcohol. The taste differences between an actual distilled cordial and herbs infused in a spirit are like the differences between night and day.
An alembick, or alembic, is a style of still and the refrigeratory is cooling tube to assist in the condensation of the alcohol vapor. I do not know what style of workshop Scarborough had. I will assume that he had more than an single still. Perhaps he had a set up similar to the 16th century alchemy lab found in a tunnel under a street in Prague, Czech Republic.
With the three pints of brandy, herbs and spices, and two quarts of white wine in the still (seven pints of liquid, total), distill three pints of spirits in one container. In a separate container, distill an additional quart of spirits.
This does not make sense to me, too much liquid is being distilled. Also, the next steps are to add sugar to the extra quart and then reduce it down to a syrup. That is a lot of liquid to reduce and a lot of sugar: more sugar than alcohol. I had to find a second copy of a period printing to double check the text. Two different books to show that a quart is distilled after three pints are distilled. That is five pints of liquid out of a starting volume of seven pints. The average ABV of modern wine is 11.6%. There is no reason to assume that 17th century, unfortified wine was any different. If this is the correct amount of distilled product, then that would indicate that the mother liquid was being brought to a boil and water vapor was being removed and distilled. Most of the water was being removed along with the alcohol. Even if the starting brandy had an ABV of 40%, the end result of the distillation would be mostly water. I think that the recipe should had read "draw off a pint more" which also makes more sense grammatically: "draw off three pints.... then a pint more."
So, if I were to make this cordial, I would complete the text as follows:
With the three pints of brandy, herbs and spices, and two quarts of white wine in the still (seven pints of liquid, total), distill three pints of spirits in one container. In a separate container, distill an additional pint of spirits. Mix the single pint of spirit with an equal volume of the whitest sugar and cook it down to a syrup. Mix the syrup into the first three pints of spirit and let sit until any particulate material has settled.
The text does not tell us how much sugar to use, only to use triple refined sugar, which would be white sugar, similar to modern refined sugar. Another expensive ingredient: at this time, sugar was selling for about 18d a pound in London. I think that we are to take an equal volume of spirit and sugar to make a simple syrup. We are not told to cook it down into a thick syrup or to cook it for a given amount of time. Since we will be mixing it, right away, with three pints of liquid, I feel that a simple syrup would be best. Many similar cordial and medicinal syrup recipes don't explain how to make a syrup, just to do so. The 1854 A Universal Formulary tells us to only make small amounts of syrup so that it doesn't go bad ("the best is to prepare them only in such quantities as will be used within a short time." p520). The 1909 National Standard Dispensatory gives us the following instruction for Aromatic Syrup of Rhubarb, "Digest and evaporate till the liquor is reduced to half a pint; strain, and add one pound of sugar, and half a pint of diluted alcohol; then boil a little to form a syrup." Modern simple syrup recipes call for an equal volume of liquid and sugar.
So, with that in mind, if I were to make this cordial, I would take one pint of the finest, ground, white sugar I had access to and add it into my one pint of reserved spirit, and bring it up to a boil only long enough to fully dissolve the sugar into the alcohol. Then I would pour the simple syrup, I just created, into the three pints of cordial, and then let it stand until any particulates settle to the bottom of the container. Now, technically, what we would end up with is a liqueur, since we added sugar to it. The sugar would counter-act the bitterness of the rue, snakeroot, winters-bark, and the bay berries. Our liqueur, if we were to actually make it, would be extremely sweet, essentially one quarter sugar syrup. But, we are not expected to drink it. We are told to take a half to two spoonfuls at a time. Looking at the spoons of the time period, I would make an educated guess that we are talking about a modern tablespoon amount. A tablespoon of bitter, savory, sweet medicine doesn't sound so bad.
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