|
Showing 1 - 20 of
20 matches in All Departments
Nicholas Culpeper's "The English Physitian: or an
Astrologo-physical Discourse of the Vulgar Herbs of This Nation" is
more commonly known as "Culpeper's Complete Herbal." It was first
printed in September 1653 (Culpeper died in January 1654) and
immediately became a classic reference that is as fascinating today
as it was more than 350 years ago. "Breverton's Complete Herbal" is
a reworking of that classic text for a modern day audience. The
book identifies each of Culpeper's herbs and spices, with a
description of their appearance and Latin name/family; plus
descriptions of the herbs' uses in medicine, dyeing and/or cuisine
from the Greeks to the present day. Informative and entertaining,
and is packed with interesting facts associated with herbs. For
example, most herbs have their uses attached to their old names:
Lungwort cured lung illnesses, Fleabane was strewn to get rid of
fleas, Wolfbane poisoned wolves, and Henbane killed chickens. Dog's
Grass was chewed by dogs when they were sick, Eye-Bright cured eye
illnesses, Ducks-Meat was pond-algae, Gout-Herb cured gout,
Mad-Wort cured the bite of a mad dog, Heart's-Ease was for heart
illness, and Rupture-Wort and Spleen-Wort helped ruptures and
spleen illnesses. Arranged alphabetically, "Breverton's Complete
Herbal" describes 250 herbs and spices while containing feature
sidebars and spreads on scented herb/medicinal gardens, the great
herbalists, as well as New World herbs.
A superbly illustrated guide to the mysteries of myth, legend,
and-gulp!-real life.
A compendium of fascinating information about the great waters that
cover two-thirds of our Earth and the men and women that sailed
them. Breverton's Nautical Curiosities is about ships, people and
the sea. However, unlike many other nautical compendiums, the focus
of this book is on the unusual, the overlooked or the downright
extraordinary. Someone most of us do not know, Admiral William
Brown, is given equal coverage to Admiral Nelson. Without Admiral
Brown releasing Garibaldi, modern Italy might not exist. And
without the barely known genius John Ericsson designing the
Monitor, the Confederacy might have won the American Civil War.
Readers will be stimulated to read more about the remarkable men -
explorers, admirals and trawlermen - who have shaped our world. The
sea has had a remarkable effect upon our language. We hear the
terms 'steer clear of', 'hit the deck', 'don't rock the boat', 'to
harbour a grudge' and the like, and give little thought to them. In
the pages of this book, the reader will find the origin of
'bumpkin', a 'brace of shakes', 'born with a silver spoon', 'booby
prize', 'to take on board', 'above board', 'bombed' (in the sense
of being drunk), the 'blues', 'blind-side', 'blind drunk', 'the pot
calling the kettle black', 'reach the bitter end', 'wasters',
'ahoy', 'all at sea', 'to keep aloof', 'piss-artist', 'taken
aback', 'barbecue'' and 'bamboozle'. Other colourful terms, which
have passed out of common usage, such as 'bring one's arse to
anchor' (sit down), 'belly timber' (food) and 'bog orange' (potato)
are also included, as well as important pirate haunts, technical
terms, famous battles, maritime inventors and ship speed records.
Did you ever wonder what the Tudors ate and drank? What was
Elizabeth I's first meal after the defeat of the Spanish Armada?
Which pies did Henry VIII gorge on to go from a 32 to a 54-inch
waist? The Tudor Kitchen provides a new history of the Tudor
kitchen, and over 500 sumptuous - and more everyday - recipes
enjoyed by rich and poor, all taken from authentic contemporary
sources. The kitchens of the Tudor palaces were equipped to feed a
small army of courtiers, visiting dignitaries and various
hangers-on of the aristocracy. Tudor court food purchases in just
one year were no fewer than 8,200 sheep, 2,330 deer and 53 wild
boar, plus countless birds such as swan (and cygnet), peacock,
heron, capon, teal, gull and shoveler. Tudor feasting was
legendary; Henry VIII even managed to impress the French at the
Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520 with a twelve-foot marble and
gold leaf fountain dispensing claret and white wine into silver
cups, free for all!
The Tudor Family is the most intriguing royal dynasty in British
history. Their era took us out of the Middle Ages through the
Renaissance, founded the British Empire and made Britain a world
power for the first time. The flowering of literature and music was
unprecedented in British history. And what a family! From Henry VII
who usurped Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth, through his
famous son whose multiple marriages led to the break with the Roman
Church, to the brilliant reign of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn's
daughter, Elizabeth I, we see over a century of people and events
that sometimes seem more fiction than reality. Did Henry VIII
compose Greensleeves? What were Thomas Cromwell's bizarre toilet
habits? Did Anne Boleyn have six fingers on one hand? For details
of these, and many more entertaining Tudor facts, just open this
book.
If it had not been for Owain Glyndwr's 15-year struggle against
overwhelming odds, the Welsh would not have survived as Europe's
oldest nation. His war is the defining era in the history of Wales.
Yet Glyndwr is hardly known - a cultured, literate warrior who was
never betrayed or captured and vanished into history. No less than
six separate invasions were beaten back by Glyndwr's army of
volunteers before he disappeared, his family and children either
dead or imprisoned for life. Not for Glyndwr the brutal public
death of Braveheart, nor a grave to desecrate - only an immortal
legacy of hope and freedom. His war of independence led the way for
the success of another mab darogan (son of prophecy) seven decades
later, when a Welsh army won at Bosworth Field and the Tudor
dynasty was founded. This book tells us how Glyndwr came to stir
Wales into war, and why his name still resonates today as one of
the greatest warriors the world has ever seen.
Did you ever wonder what the Tudors ate and drank? What was
Elizabeth I's first meal after the defeat of the Spanish Armada?
Which pies did Henry VIII gorge on to go from a 32 to a 54-inch
waist? The Tudor Kitchen provides a new history of the Tudor
kitchen, and over 500 sumptuous - and more everyday - recipes
enjoyed by rich and poor, all taken from authentic contemporary
sources. The kitchens of the Tudor palaces were equipped to feed a
small army of courtiers, visiting dignitaries and various
hangers-on of the aristocracy. Tudor court food purchases in just
one year were no fewer than 8,200 sheep, 2,330 deer and 53 wild
boar, plus countless birds such as swan (and cygnet), peacock,
heron, capon, teal, gull and shoveler. Tudor feasting was
legendary; Henry VIII even managed to impress the French at the
Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520 with a twelve-foot marble and
gold leaf fountain dispensing claret and white wine into silver
cups, free for all!
And you thought unicorns were fabulous? Well, of course they are,
but did you know how many other weird and wonderful mythical beasts
are out there waiting to be discovered? From dragons and wyverns to
vampires, werewolves and mischievous gremlins, pixies and fairies,
Breverton's Phantasmagoria is a unique compendium of over 250
mythical animals. Prepare to revisit familiar myths, such as
vampires, werewolves and the Loch Ness Monster, the Minotaur and
Medusa from Greek legend, and Biblical beasts such as Behemoth and
Leviathan. Discover new mysterious animals like the giant serpents
of Central America, the lethal Mongolian death worm, and the Ennedi
tiger in Africa, and investigate the evidence for sightings of
Bigfoot and the reclusive Yeti. Packed with quirky line
illustrations and a wealth of weird and wonderful information,
Breverton's Phantasmagoria surveys the globe to uncover over 250
imaginary creatures passed down from generation to generation.
The Wars of the Roses were a bitter and bloody dispute between the
rival Plantagenet Houses of York and Lancaster. Only one man,
Jasper Tudor, the Lancastrian half-brother to Henry VI, fought from
the first battle at St Albans in 1455 to the last at Stoke Field in
1487 and lived to forge a new dynasty - the Tudors. Fighting the
Yorkists, rallying the Lancastrians and spending years in exile
with his nephew, the future first Tudor monarch, Henry VII, Jasper
was the mainspring for continued Lancastrian defiance. He was
twenty-four years old in his first battle and fifty-three when he
won at Bosworth Field in 1485. Now he could style himself 'the high
and mighty prince, Jasper, brother and uncle of kings, duke of
Bedford and earl of Pembroke'. Without the heroic Jasper Tudor
there could have been no Tudor dynasty. This is the first biography
of the real 'kingmaker' of British history.
This long-forgotten factional novel was the literary sensation of
its day. The Poet Laureate Robert Southey said of it 'Truth is
often stranger than falsehood; and so it is in this case'. This is
the account of the privateer William Williams's adventures after
being marooned upon the Miskito Coast. It is the first story of a
message in a bottle, of buried treasure, the first novel written in
America, and incredibly anti-slavery, at a time when America's
first three presidents owned slaves. The descriptions of flora and
fauna are unparalleled, and some of Williams' stories of mammoth
bones and inscribed basalt pillars have only been discovered to be
factual in the last two decades. This book updates the language of
the original manuscript, which was expurgated when originally
printed, and gives a short account of the life of its polymath
author. This is a wonderful work of literature which will bring joy
to readers old and young, and is crying out to be heard again
today. The amazing William Williams: Painter, Author, Teacher,
Musician, Stage Designer, Castaway. The activities of this
forgotten genius spread across almost every branch of American
culture... he will stand out as a significant figure in the
development of American culture - James Thomas Flexner I have never
read so much of a book in one sitting in my life. He Penrose] kept
me up half the night, and made me dream of him the other half... it
has all the air of truth, and is most entertaining and interesting
in every point of view - Lord George Byron
The bloody Wars of the Roses between the Houses of Lancaster and
York ended with the killing of Richard III. With the recent
discovery of his skeleton, and the consequent controversy over his
final resting place, it is time to re-examine the life of Richard
as a duke and king. Was Richard the grotesque usurper and murderer
of the Princes in the Tower, as depicted by Shakespeare just over a
hundred years after his death in battle? Or has his name been
blackened over the years, as claimed by his apologists, the Richard
III Society? This biography sifts the contemporary evidence,
placing Richard in the context of his times, and assesses the other
candidates put forward to have killed the Princes in the Tower.
John Locke wrote that 'the actions of men are the best interpreters
of their thoughts' and upon this basis the investigation leads to
one conclusion.
About the Book This is the first new and unexpurgated translation
of Meddygon Myddfai, The Physicians of Myddfai, for over 150 years.
The original mediaeval manuscripts are unique, being written in
Middle Welsh, whereas across England and the rest of Europe, Latin
was the universal language for documents. Nicholas Culpeper's
famous 17th century medical handbooks are at least five hundred
years later than the genesis of the works of the Myddfai
mediciners. Around 1000 Welsh remedies and suggestions for a
healthy life make fascinating reading, with many being useful
today. The evocative Legend of the Lady of the Lake (Llyn y Fan
Fach) is included. This tale is the starting point for the line of
practising Myddfai physicians from being court mediciners to Prince
Rhys Gryg (d.1234) until the present day. Not only has the herbal
and healing tradition carried on for around 800 years, but the
places named in the legend can still be seen, and many of the plant
cures have uses in modern medicine. About the Author Terry
Breverton has written over forty books, with his main focus being
upon Welsh history, heritage and culture. A former businessman,
consultant and academic, he has worked all over the world, has
given talks about Wales in Boston, Washington, Vancouver and
elsewhere, and has appeared in several documentaries. He believes
that books, whether in print or electronic form, have to be
entertaining and informative, and hopes that this is the case with
The Physicians of Myddfai.
Breverton's Nautical Curiosities is arranged into thematic
chapters:1) 1) The ocean environment - animals, geography, geology,
weather, coasts, islands2) 2) Ship types and parts - from the first
boat to the latest cutting-edge technology1) 3) People - heroes,
heroines, pirates, sailors, captains 2) 4) Disasters, battles,
wars3) 5) Literature - stories, myths, legends, proclamations,
acts, orders 4) 6) Nautical sayings and slang Breverton's Nautical
Curiosities is about ships, people and the sea. However, unlike
many other nautical compendiums, the focus of this book is on the
unusual, the overlooked or the downright extraordinary. Thus,
someone most of us do not know, Admiral William Brown, is given
equal coverage to Admiral Nelson. Without Admiral Brown releasing
Garibaldi, modern Italy might not exist. And without the barely
known genius John Ericsson designing the Monitor, the Confederacy
might have won the American Civil War. Readers will be stimulated
to read more about the remarkable men - explorers, admirals and
trawlermen - who have shaped our world. The sea has had a
remarkable effect upon our language. We hear the terms 'steer clear
of', 'hit the deck', 'don't rock the boat', 'to harbour a grudge'
and the like, and give little thought to them. In the pages of this
book, the reader will find the origin of 'bumpkin', a 'brace of
shakes', 'born with a silver spoon', 'booby prize', 'to take on
board', 'above board', 'bombed' (in the sense of being drunk), the
'blues', 'blind-side', 'blind drunk', 'the pot calling the kettle
black', 'reach the bitter end', 'wasters', 'ahoy', 'all at sea',
'to keep aloof', 'piss-artist', 'taken aback', 'barbecue'' and
'bamboozle'. Other colourful terms, which have passed out of common
usage, such as 'bring one's arse to anchor' (sit down), 'belly
timber' (food) and 'bog orange' (potato) are also included, as well
as important pirate haunts, technical terms, famous battles,
maritime inventors and ship speed records.
"Him cheat him friend of him last guinea Him kill both friar and
priest, O dear Him cut de t'roat of piccaninny Bloody, bloody
buccaneer " --old West Indian balladThis is the swashbuckling
biography of the naval officer known as the Sword of England, the
Welshman Henry Morgan. Over the years, Morgan came to be portrayed
as a black-hearted, fierce pirate. This error in terms and in the
assessment of Morganis character led to the filing of the first
libel lawsuit, brought in protest to a book published in 1684
claiming he had been an indentured servant, was a pirate, and was
responsible for atrocities. In fact, Morgan was commissioned to aid
the British navy in fighting enemies of the crown and was a superb
military tactician who led a dozen victorious campaigns against
massive odds. In 1655, Spain was the greatest naval and military
power on earth, and controlled the sea lanes of Central America and
the Caribbean. Henry Morgan's career as a buccaneer officially
began when, at age twenty, he landed in Barbados as part of a force
deployed to capture Cuba or Hispaniola (Puerto Rico) for the
British. The deployment failed, but the forces did capture Jamaica,
which would become Morgan's adopted home base for the rest of his
life. From there, Morgan planned the attacks that would enrich the
British throne and usher in the era of British supremacy on the
high seas. For his leadership in battle and as lieutenant governor
of Jamaica, Admiral Sir Henry Morgan deserves to take his place
alongside Sir Francis Drake and the Duke of Wellington in the
panoply of history's greatest heroes.
'The Welsh habit of revolt against the English is an old-standing
madness ... from the sayings of the prophet Merlin they still hope
to recover their land. Hence, they frequently rebel ... but because
they do not know the appointed time, they are often deceived and
their labour is in vain.' (Vita Edwardi Secundi) The appointed
time, it turned out, was 1485. For generations, the ancestors of
Welshman Owen Tudor had fought Romans, Irish Picts, Vikings,
Saxons, Mercians and Normans. His uncles had been executed in the
Glyndwr Welsh War of Independence. Owen fought for Henry V in
France and entered the service of Henry's queen, Catherine of
Valois. Soon after the king's death he secretly married her, the
mother of the eight-month-old Henry VI. Owen and Catherine would
have two boys together. Henry VI would go on to ennoble them as
Edmund Earl of Richmond, and Jasper Earl of Pembroke, but upon
Catherine's death Owen was imprisoned. Escaping twice, Owen was
thrown into the beginnings of the Wars of the Roses with his two
sons. It would be Edmund's son, Henry Tudor, who would take the
English throne as Henry VII. When Jasper led the Lancastrian forces
at Mortimer's Cross in 1461, the ageing Owen led a wing of the
defeated army, was captured and executed. Without his earlier
secret marriage for love, there would have been no Tudor dynasty.
Have you ever wondered what the Tudors ate? What was served at the
courtly feasts of Henry VIII, or what kept peasants alive through
the harsh winters of the sixteenth century? The Tudor Cookbook
provides over 250 recipes from authentic period manuals for
starters, mains, desserts and drinks, from chicken blancmange to
white pease pottage with seal and porpoise. It even covers
vegetarian dishes - the Tudors designed dishes of vegetables to
look like meat to be cooked during religious festivals when
abstinence from meat was required. A few of the more outlandish
ingredients and methods of cooking are now illegal, but the rest of
the recipes have been trialled; many are delicious and surprising.
Who flew before the Wright Brothers? How was plastic surgery
invented? Did Leonardo da Vinci design the first robot? When was
the first email sent? Where was beer first brewed? Who invented
zero? From the fish hook to fibre optics, the pyramids to postage
stamps, and from gunpowder to GPS, this eclectic compendium will
inform, inspire and fascinate anyone to know more about the moments
of genius that gave shaped our lives today. An extraordinary guide
to the greatest feats of ingenuity and innovation.
Henry Tudor, the future Henry VII, has been called the most
unlikely King of England. Yet his rise from obscurity was foretold
by the bards, and by 1485, the familial bloodbath of the Wars of
the Roses left Henry as the sole adult Lancastrian claimant to the
throne. The hunchback usurper Richard III desperately wanted him
dead, and in his exile Henry Tudor was left with no choice. He
either invaded England or faced being traded to Richard to meet
certain death. Henry's father, Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond, was
the son of a Queen of England, sister to the King of France, and of
an obscure Welsh court servant, who had been born in secrecy away
from court. Edmund's death at the beginning of the Wars of the
Roses left Henry to grow up in almost constant danger, imprisonment
and exile. In 1485, his 'ragtag' invading army at Bosworth faced
overwhelming odds, but succeeded. Henry went on to become England's
wisest and greatest king, but it would be his son Henry VIII and
granddaughter Elizabeth I who would take all the credit.
|
You may like...
Hot Water
Nadine Dirks
Paperback
R265
R207
Discovery Miles 2 070
Loot
Nadine Gordimer
Paperback
(2)
R398
R330
Discovery Miles 3 300
Loot
Nadine Gordimer
Paperback
(2)
R398
R330
Discovery Miles 3 300
|