The Voynich Botanical Plants

Folio 14v. Betony (Stachys officinalis). Antonius Musa, chief physician to the Emperor Augustus, claimed that betony cured 47 diseases and was effective against sorcery. It was planted in graveyards to prevent activity of ghosts. An early medieval herbal states it “shields him against monstrous nocturnal visions and dreams … If a man become tired in mickle riding or in mickle goings let him take betony … seethe it in wine; drink at night fasting three cups full; then he will soon be unweary.” Bancker’s Herbal states that if Betony be “stamped and then laid on a wound in the head … it will heal the wound fair. It is good for all diseases of the head from watery eyes to tooth ache.” (2) (B)