Herbs stories reflect the thinking of ancient times, people’s beliefs and superstitions, and how they linked with their history.   Herbs were used for different reasons and over time many of them became reliable ways to treat illness or promote health.   The  subject that one does not read much about is the nutritional value of herbs.  That is something that we have been able to analyse and understand in modern times.  The following stories about parsley are both fact and legend.  They are our history. Enjoy!
Germinating parlsey seeds is a hit or miss affair as any gardener will tell you.  In the mid 17th century there was a belief that when you planted parsley seeds  they would have to travel to the devil nine times before they would germinate. The seeds that did not germinate belonged to the devil.  Now that is an interesting way of saying that  germinating parsley seeds is a real gardening challenge!

Several  herbs were connected with death.  Parlsey was no exception. The ancient Greeks believed that parsley was sacred.  It was used for decorating  the tombs of the deceased  but  this was only one way it became  associated with death.

Ancient Greek mythology tells the story of Opheltes, the child of the Nemean king who was left in the charge of his nurse.  One day whilst they were out in the field, the nurse was asked the way to a water supply by some travelling warriors known as the Seven.  She left the child to direct the travellers and he was killed by a dragon. The travellers then buried the body and the name of the child was changed to Archemorus which meant Forerunner of Death. The Nemean games were started in his memory and were held every third year.  It was common in those days to hold games at funerals.   Winners were often crowned with wreaths of parsley.   There are other legends around Archemorus.  One is that he was slain by snakes and the parsley sprouted from his spilled blood.

Another myth is that the Greeks  dedicated the parsley plant to Persephone the Greek goddess of spring and, paradoxically,  the underworld.

With all these stories going on it is not surprising that the Greeks never ate parsley but they did feed it to their war horses.

‘To be in need of parsley’  is an ancient way of saying that  a person was so sick they were not expected to recover.

Another Greek saying was “Oh! we are only at the Parsley and Rue” arose from the fact that Greek gardens often had borders of parsley and rue. The meaning of the saying was that a project had not reached completion.

The Romans had different ideas about parsley.  Wreaths of parsley were used at weddings to protect against evil spirits.   The Romans also believed that parsley protected them from intoxification. They used it at meals as a breath freshener.

Charlemagne was a herb enthusiast. He is partly responsible for parsley becoming more popular in the kitchen.   One of his favorite foods was cheese flavored with parsley seeds.

One of  the greatest European botanist of his time was a man called Joseph Pitton de Tournefort who lived in the 17th and 18th centuries. He somehow got a crazy idea that  parsley contained an acrid and corrosive salt.  He believed  that when parsley became wet and was left in contact with a glass,  the glass became extremely fragile and  broke easily.  It would be interesting to know how he arrived at that conclusion!

Philip Miller was chief gardener at the Chelsea Physic Garden in England and contemporary of Tournefort.  His claim to fame lay in the fact that he built the Chelsea Garden to a standard the it apparently outranked  all the gardens of Europe for its amazing variety of plants of different spcies and from different parts of the world.  Referring to parsley, Miller said  that not only could it could prove fatal to small birds, but in humans it could damage eyesight  and aggrevate or even cause epilepsy.  There must be an interesting story behind that observation.

On the other hand, Pliny (23 – 79 AD) said that  parsley was a cure for ailing fish.  (Depends what ails them I would say!)

Fact. During the Hebrew celebration of the Passover a vegetable is   dipped into salt water and eaten.  It is a reminder of new life, of spring, and the salt is a reminder of the slavery that Jews in history underwent.   Parsley is one of the plants used for this ceremony.

Fact.  Parsley used to be  used by the Romans as a breath freshener especially after eating raw garlic and onions.  As there was no dentistry up until fairly recently, historically speaking, bad teeth must have been common.   Parsley must have been much appreciated for this quality.

I love this story.   Parsley  was once planted by farmers as a crop for sheep in the belief that it would keep them healthy.  The story goes that the local rabbit and hare populations thought this was a great idea and made heavy inroads into the crop.  Farmers had to fence their fields.  Realising this, gardeners decided to plant carnations in their parsley crops as an alternative.  The leporidae population (fancy name for hares and rabbits) merely trampled the carnations to get to the parsley.

We enjoy many herbs from the mint family.  However there is one plant that is literally death. It is called Poison Hemlock  or Fool’s parsley because it strongly resembles the flat leaf parsley. or. Apparently in the Middle Ages people preferred to grow curly leaf parsley so that they knew exactly what they were eating.    If you are up to date with your ancient Greek history you will remember that Socrates, the Greek philosopher,  was poisoned with a heavy dose of hemlock for upsetting local Important People!

England is always a good source of myths and legends and old wives tales.

If you cut  parsley  you  will be crossed in love so if you dont want to be crossed in love, do not cut parsley.  Apparently dreaming about parsley was another significantly bad idea which lead to more problems in your love life.

‘Welsh parsley is a good physic’.    ‘Welsh parsley’ was polite speak for  the gallows rope.

Peasants in Hampshire, England would not give away any parsley because it would bring them bad luck.  I am not sure what happened in other parts of England!

Parsley grows better if you are pregnant when sowing it.   Sorry guys! Parsley grows better if the woman of the house “wears the pants”  Again, sorry guys!!

Again from Suffolk in the south of  England.  Sew parsley on Good Friday and it will come up double.   (I wonder what happens to the devil that has to be visited nine times?)

(The English again) Where parsley’s grown in the garden, there’ll be a death before the year’s out.

In Devonshire, England,  transplanting parsley apparently offended the guardian of parsley beds, and the transgressor would be punished within the year.

Since the Tudor era parsley was thought to be a remedy for baldness so when you have tried everything else try parsley.  (Do you drink parsley  infusion tea or rub it on?)

Parsley was once thought to be effective against poisons. One of our sources suggested that parsley’s ability to counteract the strong smell of garlic as a possible source for this belief and usage.

Apparently it can be used to get rid of head lice. Simply infuse the parsley in hot water and allow to cool. Apply to the head after usual shampooing and wrap your head in a towel for 30 minutes and allow to dry naturally.   (First get head lice……Let me know how it goes.)

Good herbs gardening!