hemp-msg - 8/13/15
Use of hemp in period. In ropes, as an intoxicant, clothing. Hemp seeds in food. Recipes. Sources for hemp seed.
NOTE: See also the files: hemp-cloth-msg, hemp-nettle-art, rope-msg, silk-msg, cotton-msg, linen-msg, herbs-msg, seeds-msg, smoking-msg.
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From: haslock at fiacha.zso.dec.com (Nigel Haslock)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Smoking at events
Date: 15 Nov 1994 21:01:51 GMT
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation
Greetings from Fiacha,
eadengle at watcgl.uwaterloo.ca (Ed "Cynwrig" Dengler) writes:
|> The question I would like answered is: did ships/boats in period use
|> hemp for anything?
|> Cynwrig
Lets think. Ropes, sails, caulking, clothing (probably bedding too).
Think of hemp as the period wonder fiber, cheap, durable and capable of being
worked to any degree of fineness.
Fiacha
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Smoking at events
From: david.razler at compudata.com (David Razler)
Date: Tue, 15 Nov 1994 00:17:00 -0500
Organization: Compu-Data BBS -=- Turnersville, NJ -=- 609-232-1245
GR>Hi, Angharad ver' Rhuawn here, feeling silly.
GR>Aleksandr the Traveller says,
> Actually, those of us from early period who come from points east or
>travelled as I have should be smoking substances other than tobacco - I
>wonder if an educational organization can get the same kind of exemption
>from certain dracconian laws granted religious organizations like the N
>American Church?
>
> "But officer, I was just giving a class on the historic growing of
>and the use of its various components during the Middle Ages. How can you
>truely teach such a subject without, uh, inhaling ...."
GR>Actually, in the Middle East, virtually every medical text from period
GR>describes treatments that involve smoking herbs wrapped in silk or paper
GR>(the pictures look remarkably like cigarettes). The most common substan
GR>in them, I believe, will get you in rather more trouble than hemp.
GR>Comes from poppies.
GR>Now, if you want a well documented use for hemp in period, try Plotina's
GR>recipe for hemp soup.
GR>-- Angharad/Terry
Have to {ahem, unofficially, I didn't do it, never ever would break the
law, etc.> give it a try, though the thought of the TASTE of hemp soup is
more than offputting. I have noticed ONE bad habit of some of my Arabic and
Indian friends at Pennsic, to offer me delightful drinks and candies, that,
according to my old recepie books, call for many spices, including copius
quantities of the aromatic dried resin of hemp.
Bhang: Bring 10 oz. water to a rolling boil, remove from heat and add 1/2
oz. ganja and let soak for 5 minutes, kneed vigorously then remove the
ganja, set aside water, dispose of stems and seeds.place ganja in mortar and
reduce to a pulp, adding milk gradually, along with 1/4 oz. pepper, 1/8 oz.
dry ginger, pinch each of caraway seeds, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom,
1/4 oz cucumber seeds, 6 almonds, one fully-developed rose including hip,
add 1/4 oz poppy seeds. Add paste ball to 20 oz. milk - what you used in
making paste, strain through muslin, throw away everything but milk, add
original water and sugar to taste ( at 8 oz.) Chill and serve.
Manjun: blend 2 oz. ganja and 1 oz. butter, let stand several hours. Place 1
lb. crude sugar and water until it is dissolved and thick, cook to thread
stage, add 2 pinches clove, 3/4 oz caraway seeds, 1 1/4 oz. poppy seeds, 1/2
oz. cinnamon and cook to 300 degrees, remove and blend in butter mixture,
optionally nuts. stretch on a marble surface like peanut brittle.
That and several other recepies can be lifted from The Connoisseur's
Handbook of Marijuana, a grab bag present (really, mom!) I won many years
ago in college.
Aleksandr, uh the, uh , what were we talking about?
[david.razler at compudata.com]
From: IMC at vax2.utulsa.edu (I. Marc Carlson)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Hemp and Pot
Date: 19 Nov 1994 12:54:06 -0600
After a long discussion with some people on this topic, since they were
convinced that there is actually a significant difference between plant known
as Marijuana, and the Hemp that has been traditionally used for rope, cloth,
and other goodies through out the history of Western Europe (and is, I believe,
still used today), I went and visited my handy OED and looked up the
definitions (any odd letters are the result of special characters in the
OED database)
cannabis.
1. Common hemp, Cannabis sativa, a tall erect herb of the family
MoraceÊ having long dentate leaves on long petioles and common
in central Asia and other warm regions; different regional
varieties, occas. distinguished as Cannabis americana,
Cannabis indica (Indian hemp), etc., are cultivated for their
fibre, their intoxicating properties, or the oil obtained from
their seeds.
2. (Orig. ellipt. for Cannabis sativa or (especially) Cannabis indica.)
Any of various preparations of different parts of the hemp-plant
which are smoked, chewed, or drunk for their intoxicating or
hallucinogenic properties and were formerly used medicinally;
bhang (marijuana), ganja, and charas (hashish) are different
forms of these preparations and there are many other names.
3. attrib. and Comb., as cannabis plant, -smoker; cannabis resin,
the sticky resin produced by the hemp-plant, esp. the
flowering tops of the female, and containing the active
principles.
hemp (henep, hempe, hemppe).
[OE. henep, hÊnep = OLG. *hanap, *hanip, MDu. and Du. hennep,
LG. hemp, OHG. hanaf, -if, -uf (MHG. hanef, Ger. hanf), ON.
hampr (Sw. hampa, Da. hamp):---OTeut. *hanpi-z, *hanapi-z...
1. An annual herbaceous plant, Cannabis sativa, N.O. UrticaceÊ,
a native of Western and Central Asia, cultivated for its
valuable fibre. It is a di?cious plant, of which the female
is more vigorous and long-lived than the male, whence the
sexes were popularly mistaken, and the female called carl or
winter h., the male fimble (i.e. female), barren, or summer
h.: see carl hemp and fimble. (The quotations from the Saxon
Leechdoms appear to refer to some wild British plant, perh.
the wild hemp of 5.)
2. The cortical fibre of this plant, used for making cordage, and
woven into stout fabrics.
3. In allusion to a rope for hanging.
4. A narcotic drug obtained from the resinous exudation of the
Indian hemp; bhang; hashish.
5. With qualifying words, applied to numerous other plants
yielding a useful fibre, or otherwise resembling hemp: as
African hemp, (a) bowstring hemp (a); (b) Sparmannia africana
(Miller Plant-names). American false hemp, Datisca hirta
(Miller Ibid.). bastard h., name given to the British plants
Hemp-nettle and Hemp Agrimony (Britten & Holland). Bengal h.,
Bombay h., Madras h., Crotalaria juncea (Miller).
bowstring hemp; (a) a plant of the genus Sanseviera, esp.
S. guineensis, a liliaceous plant of tropical Africa, the
leaf-fibres of which are used by the natives for
bowstrings and for making ropes; (b) in India, S.
Roxburghiana; also Calatropis gigantea (N.O.
AsclepiadaceÊ). brown Indian h., Hibiscus cannabinus
(Miller). Canada or Indian h., Apocynum cannabinum, a N.
American perennial (J. Smith Dict. Econ. Pl.). Cretan h.,
Datisca cannabina (Miller). holy h., an old name for
Galeopsis Ladanum (Miller). Indian h., a tropical variety
of Common Hemp, Cannabis Indica. jute or plant h.,
Corchoris capsularis (Encycl. Brit.). Kentucky h., Urtica
(Laportea) Canadensis and U. cannabina (Miller). Manilla
h., the fibre of Musa textilis, of the Banana family.
mountain h., Hyoscyamus insanus (Syd. Soc. Lex.). nettle
h. = hemp-nettle. Peruvian h., Bonapartea juncea.
Queensland h., the tropical weed Sida rhombifolia (N.O.
MalvaceÊ), called also Paddy or Native Lucerne, and Jelly
Leaf. ramie h., B_hmeria nivea. sisal h., the fibre of
species of Agave, esp. A. Sisalana. Virginian h., willow
h., Acnida cannabina, an amarantaceous marsh plant,
native of eastern U.S. water h., a name given to
Eupatorium cannabinum and Bidens tripartita, in U.S. to
Acnida cannabina. wild h., Eupatorium cannabinum
(Gerarde), and Galeopsis Tetrahit (Britten & Holland).
marijuana, marihuana [American Spanish]
1. A preparation of the hemp plant, Cannabis sativa (see
cannabis), for use as an intoxicating and hallucinogenic drug;
usu. applied to a crude preparation of the dried leaves,
flowering tops, and stem of the plant that is generally
smoked.
2. The hemp plant; = cannabis 1.
So it seems that it is possible that there is a relationship here. However,
hemp, it seems refers to the material taken from the stems (which I'm told by,
er, friends don't make as good a smoking material as the leaves do), while
one smokes the leaves (or just uses them for herbal concoctions :) ).
I still suspect that while it's possible that Hemp leaves were used for
herbal remedies in history, the refinement of smoking them remained unknown
in western Europe until late in the 16th C (at the earliest), when they *might*
have been used to "sauce" up a pipe of mundane tobacco.
A simple scholar,
Diarmuit Ui Dhuinn
University of Northkeep
Northkeepshire, Ansteorra
(I. Marc Carlson/IMC at vax2.utulsa.edu)
From: Neil Maclay <nmaclay at mitre.org>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Hemp and Pot
Date: 20 Nov 1994 03:37:39 GMT
Organization: Planning Systems, Inc. (PSI)
I. Marc Carlson, IMC at vax2.utulsa.edu writes:
> I still suspect that while it's possible that Hemp leaves were used for
> herbal remedies in history, the refinement of smoking them remained unknown
> in western Europe until late in the 16th C (at the earliest), when they
> *might* have been used to "sauce" up a pipe of mundane tobacco.
Herodotus, in his "History of the Persian Wars", describes how the
Scythians got high by inhaling the smoke of cannabis. They did not use
pipes, instead they would gather in a closed tent and throw leave,
flowers, and seeds onto burning coals.
A side thought, I don't believe Herodotus mentions what they used as fuel
for their fire when they did this. I do know that horse nomads such as
the Scythians often used dried animal dung as fuel.
Master Malcolm MacMalcolm, Marshal
( just say 'MMMMM...' )
mka Neil Maclay
Barony of Storvic - Atlantia
mka Wash. D.C. area
From: djheydt at uclink.berkeley.edu (Dorothy J Heydt)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: hemp leaves /was serf's clothing
Date: 24 Nov 1996 22:25:17 GMT
Organization: University of California at Berkeley
David M. Razler <david.razler at worldnet.att.net> wrote:
>| (Which you got, by the way, by plucking up all the female
>| plants before they flowered, when you could only tell
>| male from female by the color of the leaves....
>You can't, or at least none of the hemp growers I've known could tell by leaf
>color. They tried every possible method to tell early on and failed.
Hmmmm. I've never attempted growing hemp myself--there are
interesting legal problems--and all I know is from what Thomas
Tusser said in his _500 Points of Good Husbandry._ I haven't a
copy on hand at the moment, but this is what he said:
Go pluck fro the karl hemp the fimble hemp clean:
That looketh more yellow, the t'other more green.
>Beyond that, aside from 1) drug potency and 2) production of seeds for next
>year's crop, I have never seen anything stating a difference between male and
>female plants in terms of fiber production. ....
Hmmm. Maybe the variety of hemp grown in Europe in period to
produce fibers is different from the variety of hemp grown in the
US in the present day to produce THC?
Just as a cow kept for milk is a different strain from one kept
for meat--they will both produce both, but some are more
productive in one field than another.
>The only difference I can see is that younger stalks may produce fibers which
>are thinner and capable of producing a smoother fabric without treartment to
>soften or split them.
And presumably the female fibers, having been harvested earlier,
would show that characteristic. But if that were the only
difference, Tusser would simply have said (in the appropriate
doggerel) "Go pull up all your hemp plants except the ones you're
saving for seed."
I'm *not* going to go and experiment....
Dorothea of Caer-Myrddin
From: Brett and Karen Williams <brettwi at ix.netcom.com>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: hemp leaves /was serf's clothing
Date: Sun, 24 Nov 1996 23:27:02 -0800
There is an interesting discussion of the properties of hemp (as a bast
fiber and otherwise) in Professor Barber's "Prehistoric Textiles", ISBN
0-691-00224-X, in which she makes the assertion, via inference, that the
knowledge of the intoxicating qualities of the hemp plant gradually
spread west from southeast Asia. The appendix of Chapter 1,
incidentally, discusses the change of the word used for 'hemp'-- the
original word was gradually displaced as the new variety of hemp moved
its way westwards.
A picture on page 16 displays hemp being grown for rope fiber in
Romania, late 1970's. Large, *large* stacks, tied in shocks. Mine eyes
are red just wondering if it's the older variety without THC or the
newfangled Asian stuff!
ciorstan
From: gray at ibis.cs.umass.edu (Lyle Gray)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: hemp leaves /was serf's clothing
Date: 27 Nov 1996 23:50:59 GMT
Organization: CMPSCI Department, UMass Amherst
dietmarrvs at aol.com wrote:
: I don't believe that hemp fiber is illegal in this country, because you
: can buy it in many hardware stores as sisal rope or twine.
Thank you for inspiring me to look this up. ;-)
Sisal, also called "sisal hemp" because of its similarity to "Indian hemp"
(_cannabis sativa_), is from the West Indian Agave (_Agave sisalana_). It is
not related to Indian hemp, in the same way that "Manila hemp" (abaca, from
the _Musa textilis_ banana native to the Phillipines) is not related to Indian
hemp. The term "hemp" is used to describe a number of plant fibers that have
[supposedly] similar characteristics.
------------------------------------------------------ NON ANIMAM CONTINE
Lyle H. Gray gray at cs.umass.edu (text only)
From: gray at ibis.cs.umass.edu (Lyle Gray)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: hemp leaves /was serf's clothing
Date: 28 Nov 1996 00:00:33 GMT
Organization: CMPSCI Department, UMass Amherst
I wrote:
: Sisal, also called "sisal hemp" because of its similarity to "Indian hemp"
: (_cannabis sativa_), is from the West Indian Agave (_Agave sisalana_). It is
: not related to Indian hemp, in the same way that "Manila hemp" (abaca, from
: the _Musa textilis_ banana native to the Phillipines) is not related to
: Indian hemp. The term "hemp" is used to describe a number of plant fibers
: that have [supposedly] similar characteristics.
BTW, Indian hemp belongs to the mulberry family, and sisal belongs to the
amaryllis family...
------------------------------------------------------ NON ANIMAM CONTINE
Lyle H. Gray gray at cs.umass.edu (text only)
From: David Corliss <corlisd at aa.wl.com>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: hemp leaves /was serf's clothing
Date: Tue, 26 Nov 1996 10:20:14 -0400
Organization: Retro Team, Parke-Davis Ann Arbor
Dick Eney wrote:
> In article <32994A46.721B at ix.netcom.com>,
> Brett and Karen Williams <brettwi at ix.netcom.com> wrote:
> >Medwyn wrote:
> >> djheydt at uclink.berkeley.edu (Dorothy J Heydt) wrote:
> >> <...>
> >> >Hmmm. Maybe the variety of hemp grown in Europe in period to
> >> >produce fibers is different from the variety of hemp grown in the
> >> >US in the present day to produce THC?
> >> <...>
Hemp fiber is taken from the stem of the plant (bast fibers). Drugs are taken,
chiefly, from the leaves. As a results, hemp grow for the two distinct purposes is hardly recognizable as the same species.
Hemp grown for drug production emphasizes the leaves. The plant are bushy and planted very far apart. Hemp grown for fiber emphasizes the stems. The plants are as close together as possible: crowding is deliberate. As a result, light is unavailable at the sides of the plant. The only leaves are at the top. The plant grows very tall and straight, ever reaching towards the sparse sunlight. This gives the maximum amount of bast fiber.
Obviously, specific varieties have been developed to stress particular qualities. The drug varieties might be expected to have even less in common with the fiber varieties as a climbing rose has in common with a miniature shrub rose.
David/Beorthwine
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: What hemp is and isn't- and is and isn't good for.
From: una at bregeuf.stonemarche.org (Honour Horne-Jaruk)
Date: Thu, 12 Dec 96 06:14:15 EST
Respected friends:
dietmarrvs at aol.com writes:
> I don't believe that hemp fiber is illegal in this country, because you
> can buy it in many hardware stores as sisal rope or twine. The hemp fiber
> is very similar to linen, flax, and ramie. If it would make such
> outstanding cloth, than that same need would be filled by those fibers.
> The average person is not clamoring to wear linen clothing. People want
> the comfort and convenience of cotton.
>
> As for paper, the same argument holds. People like nice white wood pulp
> paper. If there were an overwhelming demand for other fibers to be used
> in paper production than there are plenty of legal fibers (papyrus,
> cotton, and linen) that could be used in place of hemp.
>
> Let's not kid ourselves. There is no good reason that hemp should be
> grown in the U.S. If you want to grow hemp, just be honest and admit that
> you want to smoke it.
> Just my 2 cents,
> Flame away,
>
> Dietmar
Respected friend:
I find it necessary to inform you that you are laboring under at least
six, and perhaps more, misapprehensions.
First, that sisal rope or twine is made from hemp: It isn't. It's
made from the fibers of a plant in the Agave family. Manila rope is made from
Manila hemp, which my dictionary describes as "fibers from the leafstalk of
a tropical tree grown in the Phillipines" ; thus, manila rope may or may not
be made from hemp.
Second, that linen and flax come from two different plants: They don't.
Linen is the name of the thread and cloth produced from correctly prepared
flax fibers, which come from the flax plant.
Third, the idea that flax and ramie are interchangeable with hemp:
They aren't. Linen has _very_ poor abrasion resistance; hemp is virtually
immune to abrasion. That's why you don't see flax rope in the hardware stores.
Ramie is _extremely_ difficult to dye with; some deep, strong colors won't
take at all without modern chemicals. Hemp dyes with quite ridiculous ease.
Fourth, that cotton is more comfortable and convenient than the
bast-fiber cloths such as linen, ramie, and canvas (hemp-fiber cloth): It
isn't. Bast fibers are more absorbent and smoother than cotton- thus more
comfortable; they are more soil-resistant, tougher and longer lasting than
cotton- thus more convenient. The only downside is that linen is more
easily creased than cotton. That's never been enough of a problem to deter
me.
Fifth, that hemp paper is less white or less "nice" than wood-pulp
paper: It isn't. The US Declaration of Independence was written on hemp
paper. I've seen the original; it is both less damaged and less yellowed than
any wood-pulp paper of the same age (Of which there are almost no surviving
examples; wood-pulp paper "eats" itself, due to chemical degredation. Some
pulp magazines of the 1950s are already unreadable.) Hemp paper is used by
some of the greatest stationers in the world. Relatively few millionares
and Royal houses are in the habit of choosing second-best, especially when
the best is cheaper.
(By the way, Hemp paper- and cloth- take less energy to produce,
are less depleting of the soil, produce more useful fiber from less land,
and leave less wastes, physical _and_ chemical, behind, than do any of your
listed alternative plants. In fact, on all of the above points, Cotton
scores near the _bottom_. Environmentally, modern cotton is the pits.)
Six, the hemp plants used for fiber and pulp production contain
so little THC that you would have more fun smoking oregano. Therefore, the
notion that we're secret dopers out for a cheap toke simply makes no sense.
I, for example, am seriously allergic to hemp smoke; it would be astoundingly
stupid of me to promote its use. I'm not stupid. I don't.
And to get this back to the SCA -- In the SCA's time period, _all_
canvas tents, sails, bags, and tarps were made of _real canvas_: hemp-
fiber cloth. Modern cotton "canvas" is a very-second-rate substitute; it's
weaker, heavier, less dyeable, less breathable, less waterproof and less
quickly dried. Clothing made of "hemp linen" (silly name!) wears like steel,
holds color like a paint can, is cool in summer and warm in winter, and is
delightfully easy to clean - it can be boiled with lye soap, if the grease
stains are bad enough.
Hemp paper, however, may not have been made pre-1600. It seems
likely the idea postdates wood-pulp paper.
I hope this clarifies the issue for you.
Alizaunde, Demoiselle de Bregeuf
Una Wicca (That Pict)
(Friend) Honour Horne-Jaruk, R.S.F.
From: dalton at ea.net (Nancy Dalton)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Hemp in the US
Date: Sun, 05 Jan 1997 17:46:30 GMT
People following the hemp, legal, available, period, etc. questions.
might be interested in the following.
Nancy Dalton
ska Earnwynn Van Zwaluwenburg
------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
Date: Sun, 5 Jan 1997 07:49:53 -0500 (EST)
To: weaving at quilt.net
Since there was a lot of discussion on the list a couple of months ago
about hemp, I thought some of you might be interested in reading an
article in today's (Sunday) Washington Post business section on hemp.
It covers the legal status, the issues in getting laws passed so we
can grow non-intoxicating hemp in the US, the fiber properties of the
plant, the history of growing it in the US (growing hemp was mandatory
in some places in colonial times). I found especially interesting the
views of the large paper companies. They are *very* interested in
hemp as a paper fiber, but they have to be very cautious so as not to
seem as if they are encouraging legalizing mj. Something of a fine
line for them to walk.
Anyhow, the Post is online at http:\\www.washingtonpost.com.
No personal connection w/ the Post; just enjoyed the article.
Ruth
From: zaphod at zoology.ubc.ca (Lance R. Bailey)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Hemp in the US
Date: 6 Jan 1997 17:39:06 GMT
Organization: The University of British Columbia
Nancy Dalton (dalton at ea.net) wrote:
> People following the hemp, legal, available, period, etc. questions.
> might be interested in the following.
> Nancy Dalton
> ska Earnwynn Van Zwaluwenburg
> Anyhow, the Post is online at http:\\www.washingtonpost.com.
the article in question is at
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1997-01/05/070L-010597-idx.html
--
devin o raudh
Barony of Lions Gate, An Tir
http://www.lydia.org/~zaphod/sca
From: The Custer Family <jcuster at alpha.clarion-net.com>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: CLOTHING INQUIRY FOR HEMP MATERIAL
Date: Thu, 06 Mar 1997 21:52:00 -0500
Organization: EMI Communications
mal1234 at aol.com (MAL1234) wrote:
> I'm wondering if anyone knows where or who may be selling hemp material by
> the yard. Someone in our Barony is looking for such material and has
> mentioned that it's the closest material to period clothing during the
> Hundred Year's War era. And yes I do know what hemp is, HOWEVER, this is
> no way in any shape or form asking for you know what. PURELY A MATERIAL
> FOR CLOTHES question.
> Anyone's insight would be greatly appreciated!
You might try this website: http://hemptech.com/index.html
It is the site of a group called HempTech : The Industrial Hemp
Information Network.
They include a list of the companies in the US that sell hemp based products, as well as news and information regarding the status of groups trying to get the US government to permit the growing of industrial grade hemp. There are also some
quality comparisons on hemp fabric vs. cotton fabric.
Elaine Flamme
From: djheydt at uclink.berkeley.edu (Dorothy J Heydt)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: nettlecloth (was Re: [Q]s about Linen)
Date: 1 Aug 1997 14:03:40 GMT
Organization: University of California at Berkeley
Glenda Robinson <glendar at antispam.compassnet.com.au> wrote:
>.....and indeed if Hemp was ever made into cloth during the Mediaeval
>period?
Oh, yes. Hemp was grown, in fact, for two kinds of fibers:
relatively fine ones, for a cloth like flax but coarser, and
coarse ones for rope and so forth.
(Remember Puck, in _Midsummer Night's Dream,_ saying of the
rustics, "What hempen homespuns have we here?" They were wearing
working clothes of hemp, tougher than flax.)
Since I happen to have some editions of Thomas Tusser out from
the library, I can tell you a little about hemp cultivation in
England in the fifteenth century.
Tusser was a farmer who worked various farms in East Anglia,
and who published a little book of doggerel verses on when, and
how, to do the farmwork.
He says you should sow both flax and hemp in May.
Good flax and good hemp, to have of her own,
In May a good huswife will see it be sown;
And afterwards trim it, to serve at a need,
The fimble to spin, and the karl for her seed.
(The editor notes that "fimble" is "female" and for "karl"
says "coarse seed hemp for ropes, etc." "Karl" means "male."
In July, says Tusser, you pull up both the female hemp and the
flax:
Wife, pluck fro thy seed hemp, the fimble hemp clean,
This looketh more yellow, the t'other more green:
Use t'one for thy spinning, leave Mighel the other,
For shoe-thread and halter, for rope and such other.
In other words (to the disappointment of all the cannabis
advocates in Berkeley) you pull up all the female plants [except,
presumably, those you're saving to bear seed for next year]
before they have flowered, when you can only tell them from the
male plants by their yellowish color. You let the male plants
grow till Michaelmas (late September), so their coarse fibers
will get really coarse.
You also pull the flax in July.
Now pluck up thy flax, for the maidens to spin,
First see it dried, and timely got in:
And mow up thy brank, and away with it dry,
And house it up close, out of danger to lie.
(Brank is buckwheat.)
So your hemp cloth will do fine for peasant gear, or carrying
sacks (those that don't need to be made of *really* tough fibers
from the karl hemp), or anything else you'd use a tough coarse
fabric for.
Dorothea of Caer-Myrddin Dorothy J. Heydt
Mists/Mists/West Albany, California
PRO DEO ET REGE djheydt at uclink
Date: Fri, 13 Nov 1998 11:43:44 -0500
From: "Knott, Deanna" <Deanna.Knott at GSC.GTE.Com>
Subject: SC - Hemp recipes!
On Right Pleasure and Good Health
Platina
A critical edition and translation of De Honesta Voluptate et Valetudine
by Mary Ella Milham
Book VII, part 49
Hemp Dish
Make a hemp dish for twelve guests in this way: cook a pound of well washed
hemp until it splits open. When it is cooked, add a pound of almonds. When
it has been pounded with bread crumbs in a mortar, moisten it with lean
stock, and stir it into a pot through a sieve. Then, when it has been
places on the hearth, stir it frequently with a spoon. When it is almost
cooked, put in a half pound of sugar, a half ounce of ginger, and a little
saffron with rose water. When it is cooked and apportioned on serving
dishes, sprinkle with rather sweet spices. I think this is very similar to
baricocoli of the people of Siena, for an extraordinary dish has been made
from many ordinary things, but it is also difficult to digest and causes
squeamishness and pain.
Book VII, part 68
For Hemp
Leave hemp seed in water a day and a night, then throw away what floats on
top as useless. Pound this with well cleaned almonds, and when it is
pounded, soak in pea juice. Add a bit of sugar and rose water, and cook all
together, mixing well, for four-fifths of an hours. Cassius Hemina reacts
badly to this food, than which nothing can be more harmful, he claims.
Book VIII, part 57
Hemp Balls
In a mortar, grind hemp seed well, so cooked that it shows its hulls split,
with cleaned almonds. When it is ground, soak in fresh water, and pass
through a sieve into a pot. It is necessary that it boil a little with a
bit of salt and sugar, and pepper should be added, if that also pleases you.
Let it boil again for a little while. You will prepare slightly toasted
bits of bread, and put this food into serving dishes; spread out the bits
themselves as if they were on a board. Make three or four layers of them.
Finally, sprinkle spices, especially the sweet variety, sparingly. This is
completely to be fled from, for it nourishes badly, arouses squeamishness,
generates pain in the stomach and intestines, and dulls the eyes.
BTW, from all the research I have done, sterilized hemp seeds are legal in
the United States as a food product. I don't know where to get them, but
that is what I have heard.
Avelina
Date: Fri, 13 Nov 1998 18:00:14 -0600
From: Mike and Pat Luco <mikel at pdq.net>
Subject: SC - Re: Hemp seeds
You can get bulk Hemp seeds from some of the wholesale/retail bird seed
companies. We use them for our canary seed mixtures when they are sitting on the eggs (to promote calmness and the hens will sit tighter.) The birds will pick though a whole bowl looking for them. They aren't really for human consumption, and they have been sterilized so you can't plant them.
Henri and Antea
Kingdom of Ansteorra, Barony Star Gate
Date: Fri, 13 Nov 1998 18:20:50 -0600
From: Mike and Pat Luco <mikel at pdq.net>
Subject: SC - Re:Hemp Seed again
Sorry for a double post, but I went back to our seed retail catalog and did
some reading. The company says that their seeds are of human grade quality.
Their prices are: $1.25 for 1 lb and $5.75 for a 5 lb sack. These prices are US dollars and do not include shipping charges. They ship UPS out of Miami FL, so figure from there. If you are interested in their address let me know.
PS. Does anyone know if eating these seeds will cause a positive on a drug
screening?
- --
Henri and Antea
Kingdom of Ansteorra, Barony Star Gate
From: powers at cis.ohio-state.edu (william thomas powers)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Hemp Rope
Date: 31 Jan 1999 01:26:16 GMT
Organization: The Ohio State University, Department of Computer and Information Science
>I am currently working on a period pavilion, and need a resource for
>good hemp rope. Any one know of a source?
Ask the folks at the Ohio Hempery, 1-800-BUY-HEMP
Or you might inquire of the peopel at the Open Air Museum at
Bad Windsheim Germany what they plan to do with their crop...
wilelm the smith
From: Tanya Guptill <tguptill at mail.teleport.com>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Hemp Rope
Date: Sat, 30 Jan 1999 17:56:49 -0800
Found the following listing for hemp rope at
http://www.hempseed.com/cfpro/hempseed_1/prod_dtl.dbm?prty_id=194&screen_id=204431653&user_id=0&prdct_id=PWR16+++++++++++++++
Less than a dollar a foot....
Mira
--
MEDIEVAL PAVILION RESOURCES
http://www.teleport.com/~tguptill/tent.html
From: Tanya Guptill <tguptill at mail.teleport.com>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Hemp Rope
Date: Sat, 30 Jan 1999 18:01:21 -0800
... I forgot to say that the listings of other sizes is on
http://www.hempseed.com/cfpro/hempseed_1/prod_list.dbm
Mira
Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2000 08:50:52 -0400 (EDT)
From: Jenne Heise <jenne at tulgey.browser.net>
Subject: Re: SC - cornstarch and cannibis
Interestingly, this month's Organic gardening has an interesting
allegation in the letters column, that claims that industrial hemp and
medicinal marijuana are different strains, and in fact look very
different. I don't know if it is true, but the OED (I'm so happy, my
school just got subscription to the OED online) sez:
"1. Common hemp, Cannabis sativa, a tall erect herb of the family Morace
having long dentate leaves on long petioles and common in central Asia and
other warm regions; different regional varieties, occas. distinguished as
Cannabis americana, Cannabis indica (Indian hemp), etc., are cultivated
for their fibre, their intoxicating properties, or the oil obtained from
their seeds."
Which might actually explain the lack of references to smoking of hemp in
the period English sources available-- they had the wrong variety for it.
(It may well be a pity: I hear that it is supposed to be good for
migraines, and currently theory holds that Hildegarde of Bingen probably
was a migraine sufferer. She pointed out that EATING too much hemp was
bad for the weak-brained, but apparently nothing about smoking it.)
Anyone have more information about hempseed porridge or hempseed oil,
though? I have some secondary references to hempseed porridge.
Jadwiga Zajaczkowa, mka Jennifer Heise jenne at tulgey.browser.net
Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2000 13:52:30 -0400
From: Christine A Seelye-King <mermayde at juno.com>
Subject: SC - Hemp seed preparations
> Anyone have more information about hempseed porridge or hempseed
> oil, though? I have some secondary references to hempseed porridge.
>
> Hmm. The porridge sounds almost good. Documentation? I thought I...
> oh man... I dunno... um, what was the question again? I forgot.
> 'Lainie
I have tried various food preparations made from and with hemp seed, and
my usual impression is "Hmm, this is pretty good, all except for the hemp
seed. If they took that out, it would be better." They aren't very
digestible, they are like popcorn kernel shells that get stuck in your
teeth. And they burn pinholes in your clothing. ;)
Christianna
Date: Sun, 16 Jul 2000 01:13:19 +0200
From: Thomas Gloning <gloning at Mailer.Uni-Marburg.DE>
Subject: SC - hemp recipes from Maister Hanns 1460
In the cookbook of Maister Hanns (1460; ed. Ehlert) there are five hemp
recipes, one of them for "haniff muos":
<25> Ain haniff mu:os mach
Item ain haniff mu:o? dar zue nym haniff der gesotten sey, vnd sto:ess
jn klain vnd nym semlein prott, vnd den haniff schlah mit dem prot durch
ain tuch das mach mit dem gew¸rcz ab.
Very roughly: 'A hemp porridge/a hemp dish
Further: for a hemp porridge/hemp dish, take hemp that is boiled,
chop/pound it, take bread from rolls, strain the hemp through a cloth
together with the bread, season with spices'.
Best, Thomas
Here are the other ones, untranslated:
<22> Ain haniff suppen mach also
du solt jn durch schlahen mit wein wildu sy gu:ot haben ain gu:ote
suppen vnd gepa:ettes prot. vnd ain zwifel vnd ain apffel vnd hack das
klain. vnd schwai? das klain jn ˆll rain vnd thue das daran.
<199> Von ainem haniff ka:e?
Item dem haniff soltu also thuen Schlah jn zwirund oder drej stund durch
mit ainem gesotten wasser, vnd thue ain lot hausen plater, vnd ein pfunt
mandel darein oder dar zue, vnd seud jn ab jn wasser das sein nicht mer
werd dann auf ein essen, Du solt machen ein gu:ote milich die sol dick
sein, vnd mit zucker ab gemacht, Magstu den zucker aber nit gehaben, So
nym hˆnig vnd geus jn an den ka:e?, Du solt haben ain pfunt mandel den
schlach durch das es sej als dick als du ain kalte milich wilt geben den
mandel vnd den hausen plater pr¸e soltu durch schlahen das jr nicht mer
sej dann der anndern vnd als vil du jr wol bedarfft. So wirt es ein
gu:ot ka:e? Nym ein pfunt mandel milich das die dick sej vnd thue ein
wenig salcz daran, vnd besteck jn oben mit mandelkeren, vnd schu:ett die
milich oben vf den ka:ee?.
<201> Ainen schotten von haniff ze machem dem thue also
Item Nym Rohen haniff wasch den schon vnd reib jn jn ainem mˆrser vnd
schlah jn durch drej stund jn ain kessel, vnd lass jn sieden, Du solt
haben ain rindlein vol, vnd zwenn ˆpffel oder drej die schell schon vnd
schneids klain nach der lennge vnd prenn die ab jn dem ˆll das sy nicht
schwarcz werden, thue sy aus dem ˆll vnd leg sy auf die reim das jr
genu:og sej, stra:e zucker darauf Das ist ein schott.
<202> Aber von haniff
Item von haniff das er knˆdel gewynne Nym ain wein vnd schlah jn damit
durch da mach du ain gu:ote milich von vnd secz zue dem feur vnd lass
sieden, vnd nym dann ain zwifail vnd ain appfel vnd hack den klain, vnd
schwaiss jn jn ainem o:ell rain, vnd thue daran ein pa:etes prot mu:ost
du haben, Du magst machen die suppen von gu:otem gewurcz vnd Saffran
Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2001 11:01:25 -0500
From: Christine A Seelye-King <mermayde at juno.com>
Subject: SC - Hempseed
On Wed, 21 Feb 2001 00:27:47 -0800 lilinah at earthlink.net writes:
> So, those of you who do cook with hemp seed, where do you get them?
> (if you grow them yourselves, perhaps you shouldn't answer :-)
>
> Anahita
I work in a large Natural Foods store, and I have a couple of products
that we sell here. One is a sample bag of Shelled Hempseed from Nutiva -
available in 12 oz. cans. www.nutiva.com, or 707-823-2800.
The other product is a 12 oz. can called "All Natural, The Original
'HempNut' Hulled Hempseed" by The Hemp Corporation. Here is all the
copy from the can.
"Enjoy HempNut right from the can - thousands of uses. High in EFA's
and Protein. HempNut is hempseed with the shell removed using a special
machine. HempNut is very nutritious, high in essential fatty acids
(EFA's) and high-quality albumin protein. We think it's the greatest
thing to ever happen to hemp! HempNut tastes like sunflower seed. Use
it like sesame seed, as a topping on foods, or added to any recipe. Also
try pan roasting with spices. Since it is 36% EFAs keep from heat above
350 degreesF. HempNut is free of drugs, and will not cause a positive
drug test. It has not been heated but will not grow (because of
de-hulling), and it is legal everywhere. For more info isit us at
www.thehempcorp.com or send us an email to <hempnutinfo at thehempcorp.com>.
Member of the Hemp Food Association (www.hempfood.com). For info email
<moreinfo at hempfood.com>
Ingredients: 100% hulled hempseed.
The photo is larger and not exactly what's in the can, but is pretty
close. There are always some seed shells and even the occasional whole
seed in here. They are fine to eat, providing dietary fiber. Watch for
the rare stone. Use within 6 months. Best if kept cold and sealed.
Nutrition Facts
Serving size - 1/2 oz. (14g)
Servings per container 24
Calories per serving 80 Fat cal 60
Total fat 7g
Sat. fat 0.5g
Cholesterol 0
Sodium 0
Total carb 2g
Dietary fiber 1g
Sugars 0
Protein 9g
80% of the Total Fat is Essential Fatty Acids: Linolenic acid (Omega 3)
= 1.3g per 1/2oz. Linolei acid (Omega 6) = 3.9g per 1/2 oz.
Recommended use: Eat at least 2 oz. of HempNut daily. Product of
Germany, packed in the USA. HempNut is a trademark of and is packed
exclusively for: The Hemp Corporation, 616 Davis Street, P.O. Box 1368,
Santa Rosa, CA 95402-1368
Phone (707) 527-8113.
An exotic, delicious experience in nutrition that could change the way
you eat!"
So, there you go, plenty of (legal) information to get you started!
Christianna
Date: Wed, 18 Jul 2001 01:13:14 -0400
From: Underground Cooks Collective <undergroundcook at operamail.com>
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
Subject: [Sca-cooks] A redaction of Platina's Hemp Dish
Some dishes from period sources are rarely going to be attempted by modern
cooks. These include, for obvious reasons, Platina's two recipes involving
hempseed. Taking advantage of a small quantity of seed which recently made
itself available, we recently decided to produce a version of his "Cibarium
Cannabinum" (Hemp Dish) (VII:49).
Millham's translation is as follows:
"Make a hemp dish for twelve guests this way: cook a pound of well-washed hemp
until it splits open. When it is cooked, add a pound of almonds. When it has
been pounded with breadcrumbs in a mortar, moisten it with lean stock and stir
it into a pot through a seive. Then, when it has been placed on the hearth,
stir it frequently with a spoon. When it is almost cooked, put in half a pound
of sugar, a half ounce of ginger, and a little saffron with rose water. When
it is cooked and apportioned on serving dishes, sprinkle with rather sweet
spices. I think this is very similar to the _baricocoli_ of the people of
Sienna, for an extraordinary dish has been made from many ordinary things,
but it is also difficult to digest and creates squeamishness and pain."
Our version, with quantities unfortunately constrained by the available
seed:
hemp/cannabis seeds: 2/3 oz
ground almonds: 2/3 oz [1]
soft breadcrumbs: 2 tbsp
meat or vegetable stock: 3 tbsp
sugar: 1 1/2 tsp
ginger: 1/8 tsp
saffron: 3 threads, powdered
rosewater: 1/8-1/4 tsp [2]
1/8 tsp cinnamon, pinch cloves and pinch mace for spice mix, or your
favorite
poudre douce
Wash the seeds and boil them [3] until they split open (a bit over half an
hour in our case, but may very depending on the seeds). Place the seeds,
almonds and breadcrumbs into a mortar and pound until the seeds are well
crushed.
Mix in the stock, put the mixture into a fine seive and press it through the
seive into a pot. This may take a bit of work, as the mixture is fairly
thick. [4]
Gently cook the mixture until it thickens up (around 15 minutes). Stir in
the sugar, ginger, saffron and rosewater and cook for another few minutes.
Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle lightly with sweet spice mix before
serving.
This gives a pleasant-tasting, smooth dish, almost reminiscent of a mousse in
texture, though heavier. The tasters did not notice the squeamishness or
pain alleged to accompany it.
[1] If you like pounding away with your mortar and pestle, whole almonds are
presumably intended in the original.
[2] We incautiously used 1/2 tsp, which was far too much and tended to obscure
other flavours. 1/8-1/4 tsp would probably have been about right, depending
on personal taste.
[3] We deliberated on what cooking method to use, and decided boiling was
most likely to burst the seeds as required.
[4] We believe that this step is intended to separate out the outsides of
the seeds, giving a much smoother dish. For this reason, we think that using a
blender instead of a mortar and pestle is not a good idea, as it may chop up
the outside of the seed fine enough that it can get through the seive. We
actually used a two-step process with a coarse and a fine seive, but this is
probably unnecessary if you have a big enough fine seive to start with.
Production would probably be easier if one had more seeds available, as
procedures were a little fiddly with such small quantities and we really
only got enough for a small dish for one person.
Platina's other hemp recipe (VII:67) is fairly similar, with the seeds again
being pounded with almonds, moistened and cooked with sugar and rosewater. It
specifies a longer cooking time than we used, but does not start with cooked
seeds. It's interesting to note that hemp seeds count as an "ordinary
thing".
Does anyone know of other recipes using them (aside from the versions of
these two in Martino, whence Platina copied them)?
We're interested in suggestions for substitutes for hempseed, as this dish
is well worthy of being served more widely. Those living in areas where
cultivation of industrial hemp (low-THC cannabis) is legal might be able to
get access to seeds of that variety and thus be able to serve a fully
authentic version of the dish, but it would be useful to know of other
grains which might serve as well.
Disclaimer: The posession and consumption of hempseed may well be illegal
where you live. The quantities required to get a reasonable amount of this
dish may be enough to attract severe penalties. In addition, this is probably
an inefficient means of ingesting THC if that's what you're actually after.
The Underground Cooks' Collective
(Our apologies for the anonymity, but it's probably wiser not to publicly
sign names to this...)
From: "Decker, Terry D." <TerryD at Health.State.OK.US>
To: "'sca-cooks at ansteorra.org'" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
Subject: RE: [Sca-cooks] A redaction of Platina's Hemp Dish
Date: Wed, 18 Jul 2001 14:42:18 -0500
While it is illegal to grow hemp in the U.S., sterile hempseed, hemp meal
and hemp oil are exempt from the 1937 Maijauna Tax and may be imported as
long as the THC is below specified levels. Sterile hempseed runs between $5
and $10 per pound.
Of course, being legal doesn't necessarily protect one from harassment, as
some of the importers found out a few years ago. However, I note the
importers are still in business and their products are still being offered
in the U.S.
Bear
From: "ruadh" <ruadh at home.com>
To: <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] A redaction of Platina's Hemp Dish
Date: Wed, 18 Jul 2001 21:37:28 -0400
http://www.ecomall.com/biz/hemp.htm
a good list of Links to Hemp products. seeds and Oil and woven.
Canada can grow hemp for fibre use. some states are relaxing their outdated
laws, and finally recognising the difference of hemp to cannabis. Until the
30's their were many Hemp farms in the states.
Hemp was a more period used 'cloth' than linen, and often mistaken by
historian as linen. Ask a weaver.
Ru
Date: Mon, 16 May 2005 21:53:08 -0400
From: Robin Carroll-Mann <rcmann4 at earthlink.net>
Subject: [Sca-cooks] What Not to Eat
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
I was hunting through the _Arte de Cortar_, a 1423 Spanish carving
manual, and came across something unexpected. The author is discussing
the ideal habits and qualities of young men who are to serve the King at
table. They should be clean, respectful, decorous, etc. Then he says,
"Concerning this, they must keep themselves from things contrary to the
said conditions and customs; especially, from eating garlic, onions,
leeks, and cilantro, shallots, and the electuary of hemp leaf, which the
Moors call alhaxixa."
An electuary is a medical compound, made into a paste with honey, or
with sugar and water. (De Nola has a recipe for an electuary of sour
cherries, meant to stimulate the appetite of invalids.) The 1729 RAE
dictionary says that hemp leaves have an "abominable odor". So, is
electuary of hemp a cause of bad breath?
--
Brighid ni Chiarain
Barony of Settmour Swamp, East Kingdom
Date: Wed, 30 Jan 2013 23:24:01 -0500
From: Saint Phlip <phlip at 99main.com>
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Dry sites
Trying to sort out the laws relating to alcoholic beverages in the US
will drive you crazy. Where I lived in Ohio, on one side of the river
you could drink or buy anything you wanted, but on the other side you
were limited to beer or wine- unless you belonged to the American
Legion or the Eagles, where you could drink anything- until you set
foot out of town, where it was bone dry. All of these different rules
held forth in the same county, in very easy walking distance of each
other. Maybe within 100 yards?
In the mean time, it looks like the SCA is going to contribute to even
more confusion, in relation to the marijuana laws. The latest BoD
meeting ruled that ( from
http://eastkingdomgazette.org/2013/01/30/highlights-from-saturdays-bod-meeting/
)
"In another reminder of how real life politics affect the SCA, the BoD
created a new policy prohibiting marijuana at all events, even in
states where it is legal. Because federal law prohibits it, the SCA
will do so as well."
This is going to be interesting, the first time an event is held in a
state which allows consumption of medical marijuana, and some poor
event steward/autocrat/whatever attempts to make them stop. I'm sure
you all know that there will be at least one person who will want to
push the envelope, and I suspect all Hel is going to break loose-
"What do you mean, I can't take my medicine?" I think the BoD would
have been better served to say nothing- I don't think we can afford
another lawsuit. I hear we're still paying for the last one.
Oh well, I suspect things are going to get interesting.
--
Saint Phlip
Date: Thu, 13 Aug 2015 05:24:52 -0400
From: Garth Groff via Atlantia <atlantia at seahorse.atlantia.sca.org>
To: Merry Rose <atlantia at seahorse.atlantia.sca.org>
Subject: [MR] BBC: Was Shakespeare An Early Dope Smoker?
Today BBC is featuring a very interesting video on smoking pipes
recovered from Shakespeare's garden. They suggest the possibility that
Shakespeare was inspired by the evil weed. Enjoy the show:
http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-33892339
As yes! " I betook me to the Hashfire Inn for a secret caucus of the
Libertines . . . where we got goodly stretched by the hemp . . . ."
(Paraphrased from Firesign Theater).
Lord Mungo Napier, That Crazy Scot
<the end>