MANUSCRIPT · EARLY MEDIEVAL ENGLAND

Harley 585

Chamomile, Spearmint & Apple

A manuscript where the plants are spoken to.

Apple-like flowers, orchard sweetness and a clean mint finish. A rounded, gently fruity cup.

Enter the Story

Concept Blend · In Development · Not Yet Available

THE PLANT / THE STORY

When a plant could be addressed by name.

The manuscript

A plant is spoken to as though it can remember. In the Nine Herbs Charm, words accompany the gathering and preparation of herbs. They survive in Harley MS 585, where remedies, prayers and charms share the same pages.

What the text records

The British Library dates its Lacnunga section to the early eleventh century. Chamomile and fennel appear in translated plant names; apple also enters the preparation. The instructions concern a salve and spoken words, not a tea. Several plant identifications remain uncertain, and the recorded remedy is not one we would reproduce.

A PRESENT-DAY INTERPRETATION

The modern blend.

Our modern cup begins with the apple-like character of chamomile, then adds dried apple and a little spearmint. The mint is a present-day choice, giving the flowers and fruit a clearer finish. Fennel stays in the historical story rather than our blend.

Harley 585 takes its name from the surviving manuscript, not a recovered formula. It follows the remarkable idea that plants could be more than materials: they could be named, remembered and addressed. The preparation we are developing is entirely our own.

Anonymous hands measuring dried leaves beside separate flower and leaf trays; AI-generated process illustration — Illustrative process image · AI-generated, not a photograph of program participants or sites.

FROM PLANT TO FINISHED GOOD

Proposed Ingredients: Chamomile flowers · Spearmint leaf · Dried apple
In the Making: Dried flower heads, cut leaf and small pieces of dried apple, intended for a hot-water infusion. Blend balance and brewing directions remain to be tested.
Planned Provenance: Columbia City chamomile and spearmint are planned; food-grade dried apple would be sourced. Harvest and supplier origins will be recorded by batch.

Story Notes & Sources

Proposed identities: German chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla), spearmint (Mentha spicata) and apple (Malus domestica). Modern species choices do not resolve every Old English plant name. The manuscript supplies the story, not a preparation method or evidence of efficacy.

British Library · Harley MS 585, Lacnunga ↗Nine Herbs Charm · Old English text and translation ↗

A future product with AI-generated packaging imagery. Ingredients, proportions and brewing directions remain in development. Historical beliefs and uses describe the inspiration; they do not establish effects for this product. No medical or therapeutic claims are made.

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