Do modern-day medical herbalists have anything to learn from Anglo-Saxon medical writings?

The 10th-century Anglo-Saxon (AS) medical texts are the first to have been written in English and use mainly plant preparations, but have received only limited attention from herbalists. Focusing mainly on The Leechbook of Bald, this study considers the potential value of AS recipes to modern herbal practice and discusses why uses of herbs have changed.It was found that no herbs were used in the Leechbooks in exactly the same way as they are today, but a more detailed study of AS uses of Marrubium vulgare and Stachys betonica supported the argument that AS medicine was plausible and is of more than just historical and cultural interest.Some AS uses of Piper nigrum and Ruscus aculeatus could be justified from a modern viewpoint, although they are currently little used in British herbal medicine. The reasons for their loss of popularity are complex but different in each case.A study of Ilex aquifolium, unused in modern herbal medicine, found the AS recipes in which it was used too complex and different from modern thinking to be usefully assessed for future potential. However, the AS use of the saponin-containing Hedera helix boiled in butter for sunburn, could suggest that it has a potential use, perhaps as an anti-inflammatory in skin preparations.The reasons for changes in herb uses are many and varied, but AS herbal writings still have information of value. There is enough evidence of similarity between usage then and now to prevent us dismissing the texts as historically too remote in the nature of the practice described. Furthermore, there is a wealth of material differing from current practice which merits serious consideration. There is every likelihood that AS recipes contain currently unused herbs which could prove beneficial.It is recommended that multi-disciplinary work on the AS medical writings should continue, with input from medical herbalists.